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#21
July 8th, 2012, 08:26 PM
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The Liberals As it became clearer what was going on, many Liberals watched with a mix of disaffection and scorn. "Who do these tossers think they are to come in and just push us aside?" Was the prevailing attitude. The Liberals knew that a new third party headed by prestigious members of former Labour and Tory men could potentially gobble them up and they just did not want that. They'd spent far too long building back up since the end of their power after the First World War. A succession of personable leaders had helped to keep the party in the headlines. Jo Grimond and Jeremy Thorpe had been very adept at stealing headlines and attention where possible. Thorpe had high hopes for his party until the eventual scandal that brought about his downfall and the subsequent loss of his seat in 1979. After Thorpe it looked like the Liberal Party finally had a leader for the future.  David Steel David Steel was young and personable and he was very good with the media. Although never well versed on the multitude of issues, his personality could make up for it. That was the feeling. Scotsman Steel held a different view from many of his Liberal colleagues. The SDP would be a good thing he said, provided that they would work with the Liberals. Steel assessed that both parties were losing some eminent figures. By the time of the next election, the Liberals could have a real chance at being involved in a government in coalition with the yet to be officially formed SDP. Beyond all, Steel wanted to do something important for Britain. He wanted to be a Minister and provide some real service rather than lead a band of between 8 and 15 outsiders to harass the major parties into occasionally doing things their way for which they'd get none of the credit. Some of the Liberals, like Cyril Smith, enjoyed that sort of rogue existence... Cornish MP David Penhaligon also enjoyed the status of rogue MP, though it frequently bothered him when he couldn't enlist support for the local projects he advocated in Truro. Steel had to deal with the elements in his party that preferred a lean and unaccountable existence. Some of them really did enjoy only having to account to their local constituents because they were such a decentralized group. Others, like Steel, wanted to do more. He subtly prodded the conspirators on both sides to join him in changing the British political system. Something that some of the conspirators found irritating. "We're not going to be pushed into some irresponsible spot by David Steel. It's not about what he wants. He should look after his own party..." --- Bill Rodgers  Bill Rodgers
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199 
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#24
July 15th, 2012, 08:35 PM
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THE SPLIT COMES Until now, various conspirators had hardly been in communication with each other. Owen had his little group, Hattersley had his, Jenkins had his Jenkinsites and the Tory group tended to split along the lines of those who were following the advice of Ian Gilmour (the more left) and those who followed the lead of Michael Heseltine (the more right). It wasn't until just before the splits came that all sides became aware of each other. Thatcher had become aware of the discontent in her party, especially among some of her cabinet. Instead of delicate handling, she ignored the advice of William Whitelaw, who encouraged her to use a softer approach with the disaffected and sacked anyone suspected of disloyalty to the party. Upon hearing of his termination from the frontbenches, Gilmour ruefully remarked in his diary that "We see now that Thatcher cannot listen to advice from anyone. The Conservative Party has been irreparably damaged by her failed leadership. These are DARK TIMES.  The shuffle of the Tory frontbench had been just the catalyst to get the conspirators on both parties talking to one another. Although veteran Labour members had trouble relating to Tories and vice-versa, younger MPs bridged the gap rather easily. David Owen welcomed Tories to his home in Limehouse as easily as he did Labourites. It was at Owen's home in London that everyone truly came together for the first time. Invitations and go-betweens managed to get everyone sitting down civilly, though maybe not as cordially as one would hope from the newest members of a fledgling political party. Roy Hattersley nearly walked out of the meeting over disagreements, but was persuaded to stay by the calming influence of Shirley Williams, who assumed a natural leadership role at the meeting. Although she didn't enjoy Tory company, she wasn't going to reject them outright. Bill Rodgers complained of stomach pain through the course of the meeting, while bizarre headaches seemed to plague Ken Clarke. Two of the meeting members, who were medical doctors (Owen and Mabon) both diagnosed the ailing parliamentarians with anxiety. Alan Haselhust, a properly mannered backbench Tory suggested that everyone had better get used to each other's company if they were to succeed at all. Most everyone agreed. Roy Jenkins, who had been quiet during most of the informal meeting, stepped forward and stated that there needed to be a proper statement drafted "Which would air our grievances and reasons for wanting to change the British electoral system". Teasingly, Mike Thomas whispered to Owen that it sounded like Jenkins was trying to mimic American revolutionaries and their "Declaration of Independence". He wasn't really that far off.     Pictures of various SDP founders hard at work... The Limehouse Declaration The Limehouse Declaration stated to the British political world that a change would be forthcoming. Signed not only by Labour and Tory MPs, but also members of the Lords, academics like Alan Bullock, businessmen like David Sainsbury and others. Big names and small names attached to the document, leading one writer to quip that the list of names attached was longer than the document itself. The Limehouse Declaration stated that those undersigned were terribly uncomfortable with the leftward and rightward drifts of their respective parties and that unless action was taken, nothing could be done to save Britain from either extreme. The intent was plain and clear. A new party would be born. But what would it call itself? The name SDP was a compromise. One half of the delegation preferred the name "Centre" while the other half leaned toward "People's". Neither was particularly satisfying to either group, so the name Social Democratic was born. Although some of the ex-Tories complained about being associated with such a name, they gave in when they were promised extra platform concessions. The platform, on the whole, was moderately left of center. Conservative planks included the promise of more moderate privatization and property ownership. The SDP took a hawkish stand on defense matters and a moderate course on the economy. They deplored violence from both unions and the police in strikes. They supported devolution for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. They were very early in their support of LGBT rights. Promising civil unions and allowing gay couples to adopt. The NHS was promised more funding and perhaps most crucial to the SDP's success was the endorsement of Proportional Representation... All in all, it was a plank all the members could stand on. Internal party structure proved easily sorted. David Owen and Shirley Williams got through "one member-one vote". So rather than an electoral college like Labour or sitting MPs like the Tories, the SDP would elect its leader by ballot of the whole membership. Roy Jenkins had deep misgivings over this as he wanted to be Party Leader and this would make it more difficult for him. Also, the party pledged to campaign finance reform. They would rely neither on unions nor big business for contributions. Rather, they would favor private donors until it could be possible for matching funds for parties. That is to say, the SDP eventually wanted a system whereby no party had a monetary advantage over the other. With all of this in mind, the new Social Democratic Party was launched. The big names all sat together as reporters crammed to hear them all announce the big news. "Good morning to you," announced David Owen just before statements were given. "This should be most exciting,"added someone else, possibly Michael Heseltine.
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#25
July 15th, 2012, 08:53 PM
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THE DEFECTORS A partial list. Only first defectors. Others who came after the launch are not listed. Roy Jenkins Edward Heath David Owen Shirley Williams Bill Rodgers Roy Hattersley John Smith Michael Heseltine Ian Gilmour Alan Haselhurst Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler J. Dickson Mabon Bob Mitchell James Dunn Edward Lyons Kenneth Clarke John Grant Richard Crawshaw Tom McNally Robert Maclennan Mike Thomas John Wells Lord Diamond Lord Dell Earl Attlee Duke of Devonshire Lord Kennet Baroness Burton Lord Perry Baroness Stedman Others came later, but these individuals were considered "the founders".
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199 Last edited by drcynic; July 15th, 2012 at 09:15 PM..
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#26
July 15th, 2012, 09:04 PM
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You said there were other defections to come, does that mean more MP's as well?
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#27
July 15th, 2012, 09:15 PM
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#29
July 16th, 2012, 02:04 PM
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#30
July 16th, 2012, 04:36 PM
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Just been reading through this, keep it up, I want to see if Ted Heath gets another chance in the limelight
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#32
July 16th, 2012, 05:16 PM
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#33
July 16th, 2012, 05:18 PM
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#34
July 16th, 2012, 05:19 PM
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#35
July 16th, 2012, 05:22 PM
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#37
July 16th, 2012, 06:49 PM
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The Aftermath of the Split As the founder members sat before reporters in alphabetical order and answered questions, the whole of Britain seemed to bubble over with excitement. After all, a new party hadn't been created in many years and certainly not one with so many distinguished names. Ex-Tories and Labourites were sitting together harmoniously and promising a moderate course with plenty of fresh ideas. Everyone seemed energized. One question though really seemed to deflate the group. A Times reporter asked if they would resign their seats to fight by-elections. Privately some of them felt the overwhelming need to. Feeling it was the only honest course of action. However, they realized that they would risk their seats and possibly lose momentum with losses. It was decided that members could decide for themselves if they wanted to. They all decided to keep their seats and fight under the party at the next general election. The publicly given reason was that since they had been elected by their constituents, there was no reason for them to resign. The SDP decided to borrow the American saying that their constituents "voted for a person, not a party". It was a shaky defense, but one that held up well publicly.  Edward Lyons at the launch of the party Getting Organized The Social Democrats became an official parliamentary party in March 1981 when the new members walked in together, announced that they were resigning their respective whips and that they now wished to be known as Social Democrats. An uproar in the House, followed by a snide comment from Dennis Skinner to Roy Hattersley, who was standing next to him, that his fly was down. Labour and Tory MPs heckled the new group mercilessly for several minutes, causing George Thomas, the Speaker, to threaten to suspend sitting. The Prime Minister then stood and spoke for several minutes, subtly chastising her former colleagues for allowing themselves to join with former members of Labour. Her wrath was especially directed at Heath and Gilmour. Michael Foot spoke next, choosing for his targets specifically Owen and Hattersley. He also jabbed at Smith and refused to even acknowledge Rodgers or Mabon as former Labourites, an especially harsh slap at Bill Rodgers, who had deep ties to the Labour movement. The first SDP MP to speak in the House was Smith, who was judged to be the strongest speaker. He outlined the reasons for defection in his speech which was tied to the debate on the economy, one of his particular interests. The only other SDP member to speak for the remainder of the debate was Mike Thomas, the pint-sized Pavarotti. Thomas was a bulldog of a man with a bushy beard and he had no qualms about a good fight. By the end of the debate, David Penhaligon summed things up by saying that he rather enjoyed how lively the House was. "Perhaps there should be new political parties created more often."  John Smith speaking in the House Before the day finished out, three more Labour MPs resigned their whips to join the SDP. Bruce Douglas-Mann, Ronald Brown, John Cartwright and Bryan Magee resigned the Labour whip to join the SDP. By the end of the month, they were followed by Tom Bradley, Giles Radice and Edmund Marshall. Also, in the same number of weeks, the Tories lost Chris Patten, Stephen Dorrell, George Young and Peter Walker.      Various SDP defectors "This is all getting out of hand," wrote Neil Kinnock."There must be a way of slowing down this juggernaut before it swallows up all of us and leaves nothing behind." David Steel recorded different thoughts in his journal. Despite the problematic quotes of Cyril Smith who scorned the SDP working with the Liberals, Steel was eager to do so. If his guess proved right, he saw the SDP-Liberal coalition winning the next election and he wanted to be a part of it. Meanwhile, two of the SDP's leading figures, Jenkins and Williams were out of Parliament. The next big test for the SDP would be to find a pair of by-elections for them to fight in. They wouldn't have to wait long.
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The Birth, Life and Rise of the SDP: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...d.php?t=235199
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#39
July 16th, 2012, 07:21 PM
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My MP, Sir George Young, has always been a Wet, so no surprises for him leaving the Tories for the SDP.
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#40
July 16th, 2012, 08:24 PM
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