Liberal Democrats is the name of a political party in the United Kingdom. The Liberal Democrats originated with the Whig Party, which was formed in the late 1600’s. It became the Liberal Party in the 1800’s. In 1988, it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Social and Liberal Democratic Party. The party has been called the Liberal Democrats since 1989. Its members support decentralization of government and greater public resources for education, health services, and the poor. Traditionally, the Liberal Democrats have been a strong third party in the United Kingdom. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are the country’s leading parties.
Beginnings.
England’s Whig Party emerged in the late 1600’s in opposition to the growing power of royalty. In the early 1800’s, some of its members formed an alliance with reformers called Radicals. This alliance came to be called the Liberal Party. The early Liberals led a movement in Parliament that resulted in political reforms, including child labor laws and an act that increased representation in Parliament of areas with large populations.
A major party.
By the 1850’s, the Liberal and Conservative parties replaced the Whig and Tory parties as the United Kingdom’s two largest political organizations. In the second half of the 1800’s, government control passed back and forth between Liberals and Conservatives. The most famous Liberal leader of the period was William E. Gladstone. He served as prime minister from 1868 to 1874, from 1880 to 1885, in 1886, and from 1892 to 1894. Under Gladstone, the Liberals led a movement for more reforms, including voting rights for the working classes and a system of free elementary schools.
The strength of the Liberal Party continued into the early 1900’s. Its leading members of the period included the Earl of Rosebery, prime minister in 1894 and 1895; Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, prime minister from 1905 to 1908; Herbert H. Asquith, prime minister from 1908 to 1916; and David Lloyd George, prime minister from 1916 to 1922. Liberal reforms from 1906 to 1914 included the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the Old Age Pension Act, and measures to aid the unemployed. Such reforms laid the foundation for the United Kingdom’s welfare state.
Party split and decline.
When Lloyd George became prime minister in 1916, the Liberals and Conservatives set up a coalition (partnership) to govern. The coalition led to a split between the Liberal followers of Lloyd George and those of Asquith, who opposed the coalition. The split helped the Labour Party, which had formed in 1900, replace the Liberal Party as the main opposition to the Conservatives. The Liberal Party became much smaller than the Conservative and Labour parties.
Alliance with the Social Democrats.
In 1981, some members of Parliament who belonged to the moderate wing of Labour quit that party and formed the Social Democratic Party. In general, the Social Democrats and the Liberals had similar policies. The parties formed an alliance in 1981. In 1983 and 1987, the alliance won about 25 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections. In 1988, most members of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democratic Party. In 1989, party members began to call themselves the Liberal Democrats.
Coalition government.
In May 2010, the Conservative Party won the most seats in a general election but not an overall majority. The Conservatives then created a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. Conservative leader David Cameron became prime minister. Liberal Democratic leader Nick Clegg became deputy prime minister. Clegg served as deputy prime minister until 2015, when the coalition ended.
