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27 Brack Leaders and Leaders Interview Duncan Brack and Mark Pack interview Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party 1967–76. LeadersLeaders andand LeadershipLeadership eremy Thorpe was elected as leader of the Liberal Party only three MPs, two Scottish and one Welsh. Fortu- Jin January . When he took over from Jo Grimond, nately, Charles Kennedy appears unlikely to have to the party’s support seemed stuck at no more than %, as face this kind of challenge – but if he does, he needs the country swung away from Labour towards Ted Heath’s the ‘courage and determination that Paddy displayed Conservatives; in the election, the Liberals polled just in ’ in the face of the devastating Euro election .% and lost half their seats. Yet in the following four results, where, Thorpe believed, if the Greens had years, Thorpe took the party into its second great post-war been able to capitalise on the result, ‘they could have revival, winning five by-elections and seeing the Liberal broken us’. vote rise, in February , to more than six million, over But there could be too much concentration on % of the total vote. internal matters. ‘If he finds in the organisation a In the light of growing allegations about his personal standing committee charged with constitutional is- life, Jeremy Thorpe stood down as leader in May , and sues – abolish it’. There have been clear differences lost his seat in the general election. Soon after the elec- in leadership styles here. Jo Grimond, for example, tion he was tried at the High Court for conspiracy to mur- had ‘no idea what was going on in organisation. On der, but was found innocent of all charges. He now lives in policy, yes – he liked writing articles, and the more retirement in London and North Devon. difficult they were to understand, the more brilliant Duncan Brack and Mark Pack interviewed him for people thought they were.’ Thorpe himself was not the Journal of Liberal Democrat History on the lessons particularly involved in day-to-day party matters, that can be drawn from his period as party leader. but he certainly knew what was going on. The dis- aster of was due in large part to a failure of We started by asking him what advice he had, as a party organisation, and as a result, he believed he former leader to a current one, for Charles Kennedy. concentrated more than any other leader on this Party organisation is an important area. The leader, area. But policy was still important – he was criti- Thorpe suggested, had the right to enquire – tact- cised, for example, for spending too much time on fully – of various departments and committees what Rhodesia, though this was a subject he knew and they are up to and what they are not; as, at the end of cared about. the day, ‘he bears the rap’. It was a struggle to maintain a public profile for Some things never change – when he was elected the party. The television companies told him one as Party Treasurer in , he discovered that the year that they would only come to the Liberal As- party had enough money only for six months, so sembly to cover his speech, on the last day. ‘Oh’, said fund-raising became an urgent priority. Several years Thorpe, taking a decision instantly, ‘I’m making my beforehand he had created and raised finance for tar- speech on the first day … and a second speech on geted ‘winnable seats’. However, the shortness of the last day.’ So he did, and the cameras stayed there time and money meant that as leader there was no for the whole time – but this was a further proof of immediate prospect of raising funds. As it was, the weakness of the party’s position in the run-up to money started to come in to help the headquarters the fiasco. overdraft, but there was inadequate time to deal ad- One innovation in February was spending equately with the winable seats. £, on national advertising – a step which had The result was the disaster of the general never been taken before, by any party, at least dur- election, where the Liberals only narrowly avoided ing general election campaigns. There was some losing three of the six seats they in the end won – doubt over the legal position, but the Liberals justi- had Liberal voters voted Tory in the wrong seats, fied it by dividing the total costs between all the John Pardoe, David Steel and Thorpe himself would constituency campaign expenses. In retrospect, did have been defeated, leaving a parliamentary party of Thorpe regret opening this Pandora’s Box, where Journal of Liberal Democrat History 27: Summer 2000 3 Bannerman and drive the Conservatives apart, as had George Mackie, the repeal of the Corn Laws a century mid-Wales, with and a half ago. Roderic Bowen Whether this would result in a major and Emlyn Hooson, split, into two distinct groupings, or sim- the Home Coun- ply a steady stream of defectors to other, ties, and so on. ‘I more pro-European, parties was ‘too went to all the by- early to say’ – but could well happen af- elections. I was at ter the next election. Part of this de- the counts in pended on William Hague, who, Thorpe Orpington, believed, ‘would be for the chop’ after Roxburgh & Sel- losing the next election – as was Home, kirk and Mont- Heath, and, in a similar manner, gomeryshire.’ It was Thatcher, when Conservative MPs be- important that the came convinced that her continued ‘leader must always leadership would cost them victory. It be accessible to was likely, however, that he would be re- party members. placed not by someone even more Bearing in mind right-wing, but by ‘a healer’ who would that the person with try to bring both sides together’. the cause at heart is On Liberal Democrat positioning, probably a volun- argued Thorpe, ‘to remain radicals’, the teer worker, and has party must oppose the government nothing to gain ex- when they fall short on social issues cept the satisfaction such as education and health care. of seeing the party ‘There are certain things they are trying the other parties could heavily out- do well.’ In particular, Thorpe ensured to achieve which we should back, and spend the Lib Dems? Not at all – it that he established regular monthly or have done, like devolution … on those would have happened at some point in weekly meetings with the Young Lib- sort of issues of course we should back any case, and pound for pound he be- erals – then in their ‘Red Guard’ phase them. On certain social issues, they’ve lieved the party benefited much more – to ensure proper liaison with the na- done something. But I think we have to from its national advertising. tional party. keep them up to their own standards One Liberal party political broad- which they had when they were in op- cast involved Lester Pearson, the Ca- position.’ In particular, Thorpe was not nadian Liberal leader. Pearson was ini- Looking towards tially reluctant to take part in an David Steel with Jeremy Thorpe and portrait at the overtly political activity, but Thorpe the election National Liberal Club promised not to ask him anything What policy challenges about politics in Britain, but only will Charles Kennedy face? about the benefits of Liberal govern- Europe is undoubtedly the ment in Canada. ‘“Mr Pearson, you are greatest, as it was in the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada. Thorpe’s years as leader (in How is it the Liberal Party has consist- his small group of ently defeated the Labour and Tory MPs saved the legislation parties in debate and organisation? taking Britain into the What is so great about your party?” It Community from defeat). was marvellous broadcast.’ Many Tories had always Did Jeremy Thorpe think it was displayed ‘a gut reaction true that leaders inevitably grew more against foreigners. If distant from the grassroots of their Harold Macmillan had had parties? ‘I don’t think so. I was never a free vote in the House of very close to the committee-, consti- Commons when he de- tutional-amendment sort of people. cided to apply for Com- But I used to get right in there, getting munity membership [in round and seeing people.’ His impres- ], he would have had a sion was that he was good at staying in massive vote against.’ He touch with the different parts of the believed that the issue of country – Scotland, with Johnnie Europe would eventually 4 Journal of Liberal Democrat History 27: Summer 2000 impressed by Jack Straw, who seemed to be trying to go one better than his To ry predecessor Michael Howard. Is there a likelihood of electoral re- form for Westminster? ‘It depends upon how much the Labour Party needs the tactical Liberal vote at the next elec- tion’. They have not entirely ruled out anything. In fact, the Tor ies should really now be keen proponents of reform, given the way in which their represen- tation had been eliminated in many of the big cities. ‘My heart bleeds for them’, said Thorpe. Thorpe himself has argued – to the Jenkins commission – for a dual sys- tem, using the single transferable vote, with multi-membered constituencies, for the bigger towns and cities, and the alternative vote, with single-member constituencies, for rural areas; in fact, Thorpe on the hovercraft campaign tour in August 1974 this was the system recommended by the Speaker’s Conference on electoral to avoid the – situation, where haps not surprisingly given the timing reform in .
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