Time Period: 1976-1988
Liberal history news
Obituary: Ronnie Fearn
The question of Europe
Review of Vernon Bogdanor, Britain & Europe in a Troubled World (Yale University Press, 2020).
The Liberal rise in Richmond
The story of how the Liberals grew their local government strength in Richmond in the 1960s and 1970s; with an introduction setting the context.
Shirley Williams (27 July 1930 – 11 April 2021)
A recollection of the life and political career of the much-missed Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby.
Nancy Seear (Lady Seear), 1913-1997
When Lady Violet Bonham Carter died in 1969, the Liberal Party lost its most powerful and indomitable female campaigner. The vacuum she left was filled by Beatrice Nancy Seear, always known by her middle name, a formidable politician possessed of a towering intellect. Seear was an active Liberal and latterly Liberal Democrat for over fifty…
Lord Tony Greaves
An appreciation of the life of Tony Greaves (27 July 1942 – 23 March 2021).
The two Davids: Steel versus Owen
In 1981 the alliance between the Liberal Party and the newly founded SDP was agreed; the two parties would fight elections together on a joint platform with join candidates. Between 1983 and 1987, however, the working relationship between the Liberal leader, David Steel, and his SDP counterpart, Dr David Owen, became increasingly marked by tension…
Ulster’s Liberal MP
Review of Ruth Illingworth, Sheelagh Murnaghan – Stormont’s only Liberal MP (Ulster Historical Foundation, 2019).
Hampshire Liberals
Review of Martin Kyrle, Liberals in Hampshire: a part(l)y history, Part 4, Eastleigh 1978–85 (Sarsen Press, 2020).