Jump to content

User:Ralbegen/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< User:Ralbegen

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ralbegen (talk | contribs) at 17:42, 2 June 2020 (ce). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Ideology

The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions.[1] The party is primarily social liberal, supporting redistribution but sceptical of increasing the power of the state, emphasising the link between equality and liberty. The party supports investment and progressive taxation, but also promotes civil liberties and a less centralised economy.[2] This distinguishes the party from many liberal parties elsewhere in Europe that are instead dominated by classical liberalism.[3][4] By comparison, the Liberal Democrats support a mixed economy and have sometimes opposed privatisation.[2]

The party spans the centre and centre-left, and has emphasised each aspect at different times.[4][5][6][7][8] The public have traditionally viewed the party as centre-left,[9] though during the Cameron–Clegg coalition they were seen as centrist.[10] On economic issues, the party has usually been positioned between the Conservatives and the Labour Party, though typically closer to the Labour Party.[11] There is a degree of ideological diversity among members of the Liberal Democrats, with a wide range of opinions on most subjects.[1]

A key ideological influence on the Liberal Democrats is Leonard Hobhouse, and there is substantial overlap between the party's platform and the form of social democracy advocated by Anthony Crosland in The Future of Socialism.[2][12][13] The party's egalitarianism is based on the concept of equality of opportunity and have been sceptical of positive discrimination, including in their process for selecting political candidates. The party has frequently debated the introduction of all-women shortlists in selection, but not implemented them.[13]

The Liberal Democrats support a range of constitutional reforms, including by advocating a decentralised federal structure for the United Kingdom, including devolving power to the regions of England.[14] The party supported devolution to Scotland and Wales enacted by the Labour government under Tony Blair. The party has consistently supported electoral reform to produce more proportional results.[15] On social issues, the party is liberal and progressive. It has consistently supported LGBT rights and drug reform.[16] The party is internationalist and pro-European. They have consistently supported policies of European integration, including long-term advocacy of the United Kingdom adopting the euro,[17] though they have opposed the establishing of a European army.[4][18] Both before and after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the party has advocated for the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union. The party support liberal interventionism. They supported the war in Afghanistan, later opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq due to its lack of support from the United Nations.[11] The party has also faced internal division over the issue of nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom.[7]

The party has a number of factions representing different strains of thought.[19] Apart from the social liberal majority, there are factions that support more centrist economically liberal positions, such as the "Orange Book" tendency, named after The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism, which is associated with the former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.[20] The party also has a faction in the social democratic tradition, associated with the party's leadership in the 1990s and early 2000s.[20][21]



  1. ^ a b Professor of Politics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Political Parties University of Sheffield (Emeritus) Patrick Seyd; Paul Whiteley; Patrick Seyd (27 July 2006). "3: Ideology and the party members". Third Force Politics: Liberal Democrats at the Grassroots. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-924282-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c Grayson, Richard S. (2007). "Social Democracy or Social Liberalism? Ideological Sources of Liberal Democrat Policy". The Political Quarterly. 78 (1): 32–39. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00828.x. ISSN 1467-923X.
  3. ^ Brack, Duncan (2010), Griffiths, Simon; Hickson, Kevin (eds.), "The Liberal Democrats and the Role of the State", British Party Politics and Ideology after New Labour, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 173–188, doi:10.1057/9780230248557_21, ISBN 978-0-230-24855-7, retrieved 2020-06-02
  4. ^ a b c Smith, Julie (2014-01-01). "Between ideology and pragmatism: Liberal party politics at the European level". Acta Politica. 49 (1): 105–121. doi:10.1057/ap.2013.28. ISSN 1741-1416.
  5. ^ Meadowcroft, John (2000). "Is there a Liberal Alternative? Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats' Strategy" (PDF). The Political Quarterly. 71.4: 436–442.
  6. ^ Zur, Roi (undefined/ed). "Stuck in the middle: Ideology, valence and the electoral failures of centrist parties". British Journal of Political Science: 1–18. doi:10.1017/S0007123419000231. ISSN 0007-1234. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b Evans, Elizabeth (2011-06-01). "Two heads are better than one? Assessing the implications of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition for UK politics". Political Science. 63 (1): 45–60. doi:10.1177/0032318711404532. ISSN 0032-3187.
  8. ^ Hall, Stephen (2016), Weber, Florian; Kühne, Olaf (eds.), "The rise and fall of urban regeneration policy in England, 1965 to 2015", Fraktale Metropolen: Stadtentwicklung zwischen Devianz, Polarisierung und Hybridisierung, Hybride Metropolen, Springer Fachmedien, pp. 313–330, doi:10.1007/978-3-658-11492-3_16, ISBN 978-3-658-11492-3, retrieved 2020-06-02
  9. ^ Pattie, C.J.; Johnston, R.J. (2001-05-01). "Routes to party choice: Ideology, economic evaluations and voting at the 1997 British General Election". European Journal of Political Research. 39 (3): 373–389. doi:10.1023/A:1011077921719. ISSN 1475-6765.
  10. ^ Dommett, Katharine (2013). "A Miserable Little Compromise? Exploring Liberal Democrat Fortunes in the UK Coalition". The Political Quarterly. 84 (2): 218–227. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2013.12013.x. ISSN 1467-923X.
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Craig (2018). "Co-operation or competition: incentives and obstacles to co-operation between Labour and the Liberal Democrats".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Elizabeth Evans (19 July 2013). "2: The Liberal Democrats: ideology and organisation". Gender and the Liberal Democrats: Representing women. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-787-2.
  13. ^ a b Elizabeth Evans (19 July 2013). "2: The Liberal Democrats: ideology and organisation". Gender and the Liberal Democrats: Representing women. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-787-2.
  14. ^ Evans, Adam (2014-09-01). "Federalists in name only? Reassessing the federal credentials of the Liberal Democrats: An English case study". British Politics. 9 (3): 346–358. doi:10.1057/bp.2014.5. ISSN 1746-9198.
  15. ^ Cole, Matt (2010), Griffiths, Simon; Hickson, Kevin (eds.), "Icarus Turns Back: Liberal Democrat Constitutional Policy", British Party Politics and Ideology after New Labour, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 155–172, doi:10.1057/9780230248557_20, ISBN 978-0-230-24855-7, retrieved 2020-06-02
  16. ^ Emilie van Haute; Caroline Close (12 February 2019). "9: The UK Liberal Democrats: Liberalism at a crossroads". Liberal Parties in Europe. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-24549-4.
  17. ^ Lynch, Philip (2011), Lee, Simon; Beech, Matt (eds.), "The Con-Lib Agenda for Europe", The Cameron—Clegg Government: Coalition Politics in an Age of Austerity, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 218–233, doi:10.1057/9780230305014_14, ISBN 978-0-230-30501-4, retrieved 2020-06-02
  18. ^ Andrew T. Russell; Andrew Russell; Edward Fieldhouse (6 May 2005). "4: Dual identities: grassroots vs leadership elite". Neither Left Nor Right: The Liberal Democrats and the Electorate. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-6601-6.
  19. ^ Emilie van Haute; Caroline Close (12 February 2019). "9: The UK Liberal Democrats: Liberalism at a crossroads". Liberal Parties in Europe. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-24549-4.
  20. ^ a b McAnulla, Stuart (2012), Heppell, Timothy; Seawright, David (eds.), "Liberal Conservatism: Ideological Coherence?", Cameron and the Conservatives: The Transition to Coalition Government, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 166–180, doi:10.1057/9780230367487_12, ISBN 978-0-230-36748-7, retrieved 2020-06-02
  21. ^ Peter Dorey; Mark Garnett (2016). The British Coalition Government, 2010–2015: A Marriage of Inconvenience. Springer. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-137-02377-3.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Ralbegen/sandbox&oldid=960387134"