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Coalition and the Liberal Democrats For the study of Liberal, SDP and Issue 88 / Autumn 2015 / £10.00 Liberal Democrat history Journal of LiberalHI ST O R Y Coalition and the Liberal Democrats Adrian Slade Coalition and the deluge Interviews with Nick Clegg and former ministers Stephen Tall, Nick Harvey, John Pugh, Matthew Huntbach, David Howarth Why did it go wrong? Robert Hazell, Peter Waller, Jonathan Oates, William Wallace, Matthew Hanney Managing the coalition Craig Johnson, Caron Lindsay, Jim Wallace, David Dutton The impacts of coalition and Comparing coalitions John Curtice, Michael Steed, Mark Pack The 2015 election campaign and its outcome Liberal Democrat History Group New from the Liberal Democrat History Group British Liberal Leaders Leaders of the Liberal Party, SDP and Liberal Democrats since 1828 Duncan Brack, Robert Ingham & Tony Little (eds.) As the governing party of peace and reform, and then as the third party striving to keep the flame of freedom alive, the Liberal Party, the SDP and the Liberal Democrats have played a crucial role in the shaping of contemporary British society. This book is the story of those parties’ leaders, from Earl Grey, who led the Whigs through the Great Reform Act of 1832, to Nick Clegg, the first Liberal leader to enter government for more than sixty years. Chapters written by experts in Liberal history cover such towering political figures as Palmerston, Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George; those, such as Sinclair, Clement Davies and Grimond, who led the party during its darkest hours; and those who led its revival, including David Steel, Roy Jenkins and Paddy Ashdown. Interviews with recent leaders are included, along with analytical frameworks by which they may be judged and exclusive interviews with former leaders themselves. ‘The leaders profiled in this book led the Liberal Party, SDP and Liberal Democrats through the best of times and the worst of times. Some reformed the constitution, led the assault on privilege and laid the foundations of the modern welfare state. Others kept the flame of Liberalism burning when it was all but extinguished. I am humbled to follow in their footsteps and learn from their experiences.’ Tim Farron MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats ‘Political leaders matter. They embody a party’s present, while also shaping its future. This is particularly important in the values-based Liberal tradition. The essays in this book provide a fascinating guide to what it took to be a Liberal leader across two centuries of tumultuous change.’ Martin Kettle, Associate Editor, The Guardian British Liberal Leaders will be launched at the Liberal Democrat History Group’s fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference in Bournemouth, on Sunday 20 September (see back page). British Liberal Leaders is available at a special discounted price to subscribers to the Journal of Liberal History: £20.00 instead of the normal £25.00. Copies can be purchased: • At the History Group’s stand at the Liberal Democrat conference (see back page); or • Via our website, www.liberalhistory.org.uk; or • By sending a cheque (made out to ‘Liberal Democrat History Group’) to LDHG, 54 Midmoor Road, London SW12 0EN (add £3 P&P). 2 Journal of Liberal History 88 Autumn 2015 Journal of Liberal History Issue 88: Autumn 2015 The Journal of Liberal History is published quarterly by the Liberal Democrat History Group. ISSN 1479-9642 Coalition and the Liberal Democrats 4 Editor: Duncan Brack Duncan Brack introduces this special issue of the Journal Deputy Editor: Tom Kiehl Assistant Editor: Siobhan Vitelli Biographies Editor: Robert Ingham Coalition and the deluge 6 Reviews Editor: Dr Eugenio Biagini Adrian Slade interviews Nick Clegg and ten other former Liberal Democrat Contributing Editors: Graham Lippiatt, Tony Little, ministers on their experiences of the 2010–15 coalition York Membery Why did it go wrong? 32 Patrons Stephen Tall, Nick Harvey, John Pugh and Matthew Huntbach offer their Dr Eugenio Biagini; Professor Michael Freeden; analyses of why the coalition experiment ended so disastrously for the Liberal Professor John Vincent Democrats; David Howarth reviews Seldon and Finn, The Coalition Effect 2010–2015 Editorial Board Dr Malcolm Baines; Dr Ian Cawood; Dr Matt Cole; Dr Roy Douglas; Dr David Dutton; Prof. David Gowland; Managing the coalition 46 Prof. Richard Grayson; Dr Michael Hart; Peter Hellyer; How did the coalition work as a government? And how was the party itself Dr Alison Holmes; Dr J. Graham Jones; Dr Tudor Jones; managed? Contributions from Robert Hazell and Peter Waller, Jonathan Tony Little; Michael Meadowcroft; Dr Mark Pack; Dr Ian Oates, William Wallace and Matthew Hanney Packer; Dr John Powell; Jaime Reynolds; Prof. Andrew Russell; Dr Iain Sharpe; Dr Michael Steed The impacts of coalition 58 Editorial/Correspondence The coalition and Liberal Democrat members, by Craig Johnson; the impact on the party in Scotland, by Caron Lindsay Contributions to the Journal – letters, articles, and book reviews – are invited. The Journal is a refereed publication; all articles submitted will be reviewed. The 2015 election campaign and its outcome 64 Contributions should be sent to: John Curtice and Michael Steed analyse the election result, and Mark Pack Duncan Brack (Editor) looks at what happened to the party’s campaigning machine 54 Midmoor Road, London SW12 0EN email: [email protected] Comparing coalitions 76 All articles copyright © Journal of Liberal History. All Jim Wallace compares the coalition with the Scottish experience of 1999–2007; rights reserved. David Dutton draws parallels from history Advertisements Full page £100; half page £60; quarter page £35. Discounts available for repeat ads or offers to readers (e.g. discounted book prices). To place ads, please contact the Editor. Subscriptions/Membership An annual subscription to the Journal of Liberal History costs £25.00 (£15.00 unwaged rate). This includes membership of the History Group unless you inform us otherwise. Non-UK subscribers should add £10.00. Institutional rate £60.00, including online access. As well as printed copies, online subscribers can access online copies of current and past Journals. Online subscriptions are available to individuals at £45.00. Subscribe via our website: www.liberalhistory.org.uk. Or send a cheque (payable to ‘Liberal Democrat History Group’) to: Liberal Democrat History Group Patrick Mitchell 6 Palfrey Place, London SW8 1PA; The Liberal Democrat History Group promotes the discussion and research of topics relating email: [email protected] to the histories of the Liberal Democrats, Liberal Party, and SDP, and of Liberalism. The Group organises discussion meetings and produces the Journal of Liberal History and other Cover design concept: Lynne Featherstone occasional publications. Published by the Liberal Democrat History Group, For more information, including historical commentaries, details of publications, back issues c/o 54 Midmoor Road, London SW12 0EN of the Journal, and archive and other research sources, see our website at: Printed by Kall-Kwik, www.liberalhistory.org.uk. 18 Colville Road, London W3 8BL Subscribers’ code for discounted sales from the History Group online shop: mbr001. September 2015 Chair: Tony Little Honorary President: Lord Wallace of Saltaire Journal of Liberal History 88 Autumn 2015 3 COaliTION AND THE libERAL DEMOCRATS Duncan Brack introduces this special issue of the Journal of Liberal History, devoted to the impact of the coalition government of 2010–15 on the Liberal Democrats and of the Liberal Democrats on the coalition. elcome to this spe- support has fallen back not to the the rapid formation of an effective cial issue of the Journal level of 1970 (the last election at majority government. And fur- Wof Liberal History (and, which the number of Liberal MPs thermore, no one bounced Lib- incidentally, the longest issue we was in single figures) but to the Lib- eral Democrats into coalition. The have ever published). eral nadir of the mid 1950s. highly democratic process the party If the history of the Liberal For the remainder of the issue, followed in agreeing the deal helps Democrats since the party’s for- Phil Cow- we invited a wide range of con- to explain why the Liberal Demo- mation in 1988 can be likened to a ley used the tributors (mostly, though not crats avoided the disastrous splits so roller-coaster ride – from the lows entirely, drawn from within the characteristic of Liberal history in of 1989, fourth placed behind the term ‘zug- Liberal Democrats) to write about the early twentieth century – and Greens in the European elections, any topic of their choosing of rel- also why it was the Conservative and of 2006 and 2007, when suc- zwang’ to evance to the impact of the coali- parliamentary party that was more cessive leaders were forced out of tion on the party and of the party prone than Liberal Democrat MPs office, to the highs of 1997, with a describe the on the coalition. Their thoughts to rebellion in Parliament. doubling in the number of seats, are gathered under four headings: The second reason behind the and of 2005, and the highest num- predicament overviews of why the coalition 2015 catastrophe was the perfor- ber of seats won by a third party experiment ended so disastrously; mance of the Liberal Democrats in since 1923 – then the period from the Liberal aspects of how the coalition worked coalition: could the party have run 2010 to 2015 has encapsulated even in practice; reviews of some of the things better? Here our contribu- more dramatic swings in fortune Democrats impacts on the party; and com- tors differ widely in their views, over just five years. The collapse parisons of the coalition with other and this will be the contested from 2010, when the Liberal Demo- found them- experiences. ground for much debate and discus- crats gained their highest share of So what went wrong? How did sion in the future.
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