1976-1988
The Limehouse Declaration and the birth of the SDP
On 25 January 1981, four former Labour cabinet ministers – Roy Jenkins, David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams – published the Limehouse Declaration, publicly signalling their intention to quit the leftward path that the Labour Party had taken. The Declaration advocated a classless society and called for the realignment of British politics. After an…
Policy and ideology
Review of Tudor Jones, The Revival of British Liberalism – From Grimond to Clegg (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
Consolation government?
Review of Bernard Donoughue, Downing Street Diary Volume Two: With James Callaghan in Number 10 (Jonathan Cape, 2008).
Helen Suzman: An Appreciation
Personal recollection of the life of South Africa’s first anti-apartheid MP. To access this content, you must purchase Annual subscription (digital) – unwaged rate, Annual subscription (digital) – standard rate, Annual subscription (print plus digital) – overseas, Annual subscription (print plus digital), standard rate, UK or Annual subscription (print plus digital), unwaged rate, UK.
Michael Meadowcroft on the merger negotiations
It is difficult to realise that it is now sixteen years since the trauma and angst of the merger negotiations. As far as factual accuracy is concerned the book by Tony Greaves and Rachael Pitchford is an excellent record of the proceedings. There were only a few points of difference that I took up with…
Realignment of the left
The end of Jo Grimond's leadership in 1967 heralded a bleak period for the Liberal Party. His successor, Jeremy Thorpe, was never assured of the complete confidence of his parliamentary colleagues. Unlike Grimond, he displayed little interest in ideas, though he was an accomplished organiser, fund-raiser and speaker.