SDP–Liberal Alliance
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SDP-Liberal Alliance
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|---|---|
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| Founded | 16 June 1981 |
| Dissolved | 3 March 1988 |
| Merged into | Liberal Democrats |
| Ideology |
Centrism Social liberalism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Colours | Gold (1987) |
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was a centristpolitical and electoral alliance in the United Kingdom. Formed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party, the Alliance existed from 1981 to 1988, when the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later renamed the Liberal Democrats.
Following the establishment of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) by the 'Gang of Four' (Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams), who had left the Labour Party in March 1981, the SDP entered into an informal alliance with the Liberal Party, led by David Steel. The SDP fought its first by-election, in Warrington, with future leader Roy Jenkins standing as "SDP with Liberal support".
On 16 June 1981, this arrangement was formalised into an alliance, with both parties agreeing to stand down in each other's favour and govern as a coalition government if the two parties ever won enough seats between them for a majority. Between 1981 and 1983, the parties together won seats in by-elections in:
The formation of the SDP and the subsequent alliance came at a time when the British economy was in a deep recession and Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government was proving unpopular; since coming to power in May 1979, unemployment had risen from over 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 and beyond by 1982, due to the closure of many formerly state-subsidised factories.
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