Liberal Left is an organised political faction within the British Liberal Democrats which opposed the party's participation in the 2010–2015 coalition with the Conservative Party.

Organisational history

Establishment

The establishment of "Liberal Left" was announced in February 2012. According to the organisation's head, Linda Jack, the Liberal Left faction was created as an internal

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

for the influence of government policy.Linda Jack
"The Liberal Left — Less Cameron and Clegg, More Gladstone and Beveridge,"
''The Guardian,'' February 9, 2012. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

,'' Jack stated that

"We are seeking to organise opinion that is currently angry but uncoordinated, and unable to make its voice heard as strongly as is necessary.

"We see ourselves as a pressure group that shares the objectives of the majority of our party, but believes we need to go further in two areas. The first of these is challenging the leadership position on economic and fiscal policy. The second is building good relations across the left between Liberal Democrats, Labour, the Greens and the non-party liberal left."

Jack noted that the Liberal Left faction emerged due to dismay of Liberal Democrat activists "at just how far our leadership seems to have snuggled up, particularly on policies that fly in the face of our manifesto and our values." In its founding statement, the Liberal Left upbraided Liberal Democrats party leader

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

for shifting the party to the right and making it "part of a Government which is Eurosceptic,

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

and

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

."Andrew Grice
"Boundary Changes Could Leave Lib Dems with 11 Seats,"
''The Independent,'' 9 February 2012. The statement further called for "overt and public dialogue" between the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Greens, and non-party individuals of the left.

Connection with Labour

Liberal Left has been identified by Liberal Democratic politician Gareth Epps as being centred on party activists close to the progressive pressure group

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

, a coalition based in the Labour Party but containing as well members affiliated with the Liberal Democrats and Greens. In a statement issued shortly after the establishment of the Liberal Left group, chair of Compass

Neal Lawson Neal Lawson (born 1963) is a British political commentator and organiser. Lawson was born in and brought up in Bexleyheath, South East London. He became interested in politics through his father, who was a printer in Fleet Street and joined the ...

welcomed the formation of the new Liberal Democratic faction, declaring to a Labour Party readership that

"Anything that challenges the Centre-right voting block of the Coalition is clearly a good thing. Anything that helps develop centre-left relationships as an alternative now, tomorrow or in the future to a Conservative led government is to be welcomed. With Labour currently struggling to maintain a healthy poll lead it would be stupid not to look for political partners outside of Labour’s ranks."Neal Lawson
"The Launch of Liberal Left is to be Welcomed,"
Labor List, labourlist.org/ February 8, 2012.

Lawson noted that many were put off by sometimes conservative policies and a lack of internal democracy inside the Labour Party and observed the "different but complimentary traditions can make us stronger."

Founding conference

While Liberal Left was launched as an organised faction in February 2012, an event much remarked about in the national press, the group's formal institutional establishment was slated to be held in conjunction with the Spring Conference of the twice-yearly

Liberal Democrat Federal Conference The Liberal Democrat Conference, also known inside the party as the ''Liberal Democrat Federal Conference'', is a twice-per-year political conference of the British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in ...

, to be held 10 March 2012 at

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Key figures

The party's Executive Committee at the time of its formation"LiberalLeft: Who We Are,"
www.liberalleft.org.uk/ consisted of : * ''Chair:'' Linda Jack * ''Vice-Chair (Strategy):'' Ron Beadle * ''Vice-Chair (Membership):'' Ruth Bright * ''Vice-Chair (Policy):'' Richard Grayson * ''Publications Editor:'' Jo Ingold * ''Treasurer:'' Stephen Knight * ''External Liaison:'' Simon Hebditch

Footnotes

External links

Liberal Left official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Left (UK) 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom Liberal Democrat (UK) factions Organisations associated with the Liberal Democrats (UK) Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 2012 Progressivism in the United Kingdom Social liberalism