A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 Obeying the iron law? Changes to the intra-party balance of power in the British Liberal Democrats since 1988. Emma Sanderson-Nash UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2011 2 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature:……………………………………… Date……………………………………… The information contained within this thesis are derived from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with 70 individuals, listed fully in Appendix A between January 2008 and July 2011. The thesis has not been worked on jointly or collaboratively. The conclusions arrived at formed part of a contribution to the following publications: Bale T & Sanderson-Nash E (2011). A Leap of Faith and a Leap in the Dark: The Impact of Coalition on the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The Cameron-Clegg Government: Coalition Politics in an Age of Austerity. S Lee and M Beech. Basingstoke. Palgrave MacMillan. Evans E & Sanderson-Nash E, (2011). Sandals to Suits – Professionalisation, Coalition and the Liberal Democrats. British Journal of Politics and International Relations 13 (4). 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those that have helped in the production of this thesis. Firstly thank you to my tutors, Professor Paul Webb and Professor Tim Bale, who have overseen my studies for 4 years. Approaching a study of this kind following a career in politics and with a family of my own brought many challenges, all of which were treated with sensitivity and understanding. I would like to thank Professor John Dearlove, who taught me as an under-graduate at Sussex University over 20 years ago but with whom I kept in touch and who has been encouraging throughout this process. I would also like to thank Dr Mark Bennister who gave me some invaluable advice about switching from attributable to non-attributable interviewing methods, and Dr Dan Keith, Dr Ed Maxfield, Amy Busby, Dr Charlotte Skeet and friends in the Sussex European Institute for listening to my various musings along the way. I have also received help, encouragement and professional advice from colleagues Dr James Hampshire, Professor Shammit Saggar, Professor Aleks Schzerbiak and Professor Paul Taggart, and for which I am very grateful. I have been fortunate too in being able to share various ideas and get advice from with new friends in the academic community, in particular Dr Elizabeth Evans, Dr Matthew Francis, Professor Jack Nagel, Dr Jon Golub, Dr Tom Quinn and Professor Rod Rhodes and at Sussex University including Mary- Beth Kitzel, Sian McPhee, Linnett Taylor, Dr Jamie Goodwin-White, and thank these and others for their friendship and encouragement. The administrative staff, in particular Chloe Manhire, Julie Carr, Lindsay Cavell and Amanda Sims in Politics and Contemporary European Studies at the University of Sussex were all particularly helpful and kind in the early stages of my studies. I should also thank Mark Smullian who collected and lent me the entire library of 22 years of „Liberator‟ as reference material. At the beginning of this process I was supported by friends Norman Baker MP and Duncan Brack both of whom agreed to provide references to the University in backing my application to undertake the DPhil. I am also grateful to other friends, David Boyle, Reg Clark, Chris Deavin, Olly Grender, Margaret McGavin, Matthew Sowemimo, Alison Suttie, and Tim Ward, all of whom I met while working for the party, and Amanda Attenborough, Rhiannon Barker, Jilly Burnett, Jaq Chase, Jo Clark, Michelle Moore, Mark-Jon Parkhouse, Danielle Proud, Lesley Rogers, Greta Sani, Liz Thomas, Emma-Jayne Wright, Miranda White, Lou Whitehorn and Jutta Wrobel, and their families, whose weekend company has kept me sane. Preparing this research relied heavily on the co-operation of the party and there are certain individuals who were particularly accommodating. Thanks in particular must go to Sian Norris- Copson first and foremost for friendship, co-operation and patience, and Elizabeth Hannah and Kate Heywood for providing me with essential contact information. All the staff at Cowley Street and in the Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats, particularly Ben Williams, were helpful in accommodating this research, together with Linda Wilson in the Scottish Lib Dems, Ben Stoneham for organizing two days of data collection at Cowley Street and Phil Bell in Norma Baker‟s Office for helping with interviews. Colin Rosensteil kindly provided useful data on the internal party elections. I am of course also very grateful to all those individuals that took time out of their often extraordinarily busy schedules, in order to be interviewed. They were helpful, courteous and 4 accommodating in particular Shirley Williams and Graham Elson who both did so during periods of recuperation. During the preparation of this work a long-term colleague and friend, Anna Werrin, passed away suddenly. Anna possibly knew more than anybody about the subjects contained in this paper, and I am sad not to be able to share it with her. A number of my interviews were transcribed by „cyber-secretaries‟ Wendy Smythe and Jayne Burton. Both were professional and discrete and their help is much appreciated. Most of all I am deeply grateful to my husband John, without whom this self-funded project would not have been possible and whose belief in me has been invaluable. He helped me keep my feet on the ground, and reassured me when I found the work difficult. My children have been tolerant and respectful, as I completed most of this work from home, and I am grateful for their understanding. Were it not for them necessitating a rigid timetable be adhered to, this work may never have been completed. Finally I dedicate this thesis to my Dad, Arnold Sanderson. He taught me that it was important to learn new things, and always good to be curious. 5 University of Sussex Emma Sanderson-Nash Thesis submitted for degree of Doctor of Philosophy Obeying the iron law? Changes to the intra-party balance of power in the British Liberal Democrats since 1988. Summary This study examines intra-party power in the Liberal Democrats, looking at the formal role and remit of the various sectors that make up the party bureaucracy, and evaluating the exercise of power with regard to policy, campaigning and the use of resources. It is interested in two overarching questions: has the party professionalised, and has power moved toward the top? If so could this have had an impact on its electoral success? The theoretical context for this study is a well-established tradition of scholarship on party organisation going back to Moise Ostrogorski (1902) and Robert Michels (1911). The hierarchical nature of party organisations has been a constant refrain in this literature, especially in respect of major parties that are serious contenders for governmental office (McKenzie 1963; Kirchheimer 1966; Panebianco 1988; Katz & Mair 1995). This thesis offers a test of these theories by applying them to a smaller party that gradually evolved from a party of opposition to a party of government. While the incentives for intra-party centralisation are clear in office-seeking parties (the leadership requires maximum autonomy in order to devise and adapt a competitive strategy), this research explores whether it is a necessary precursor to electoral success. It will test whether the party has become more professional, or top-down, by looking at the policy making process, at the way the party campaigns, and at its distribution of resources. Finally the thesis examines the role of intra-party politics in achieving and maintaining the coalition with the Conservatives negotiated in May 2010. The research spans the lifetime of the party from 1988 to present day, and relies on an extensive series of semi-structured interviews with 70 individuals connected to the party including prominent politicians, senior staff and ordinary members. It argues that the party has become significantly more professional during this time, and that this was a contributory factor in delivering office. 6 CONTENTS Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 3 Summary…. .......................................................................................................................... 5 Appendices & list of table .................................................................................................... 11 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... 12 I – Research Foundations Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................. 13 i) Introduction ..................................................................