Event location:
Liberal History Events are about 1631836800 Liberal Democrat autumn conference
Related time periods
Chair:
Liberal History Events speaker are about 1631836800 Liberal Democrat autumn conference
Speakers:
Liberal History Events events are about 1631836800 Liberal Democrat autumn conference
Historical Subjects:
Liberal History Events events are about 1631836800 Liberal Democrat autumn conference
This event appears in the Journal:
Liberal History Events subjects are about 1631836800 Liberal Democrat autumn conference
In 1981 the alliance between the Liberal Party and the newly founded SDP was agreed; the two parties would fight elections together on a joint platform with join candidates. Between 1983 and 1987, however, the working relationship between the Liberal leader, David Steel, and his SDP counterpart, Dr David Owen, became increasingly marked by tension and distrust. Steel became steadily more frustrated at Owen’s resistance to joint selection of candidates, and any convergence on policy proposals. The Liberal Party and the SDP clashed over some issues, most notably nuclear weapons. In particular, Owen strongly opposed any long-term moves to merge the two parties.
The clash became painfully obvious during the 1987 general election campaign, when Steel ruled out supporting a minority Thatcher government while Owen was adamant that Labour was unfit to govern. The results of the election were disappointing for both parties. The leadership tensions ultimately wrecked the Alliance.
Discuss what went wrong with Sir Graham Watson (Steel’s former Head of Office) and Roger Carroll (former SDP Communications Director). Chair: Christine Jardine MP.