12-10-2015, 09:14 PM
Your recent piece on the perilous state of the LibDems(“Not Dead
Yet”,May 16th) speculated that the party may fall back on a change of
name to the Liberal Party. Unfortunately for them that name is already
taken.
When the Liberals and SDP voted to merge in 1988, they created a fresh
party and registration with the electoral commission, initially as the
Social and Liberal Democrats. Remember that?
In fact many members of the two parent parties resisted the merger,
and my understanding is that within a year, the Liberal Party had
relaunched itself and we can claimed with considerable justification
to be the continuation of that radical, centrist Liberal tradition.
The political experiment that is the LibDems, a compromise between
Liberals and Social Democrats, now appears to be drawing towards its
inevitable conclusion. It was a dead-end which seems to think it can
re-invent itself by simply calling itself Liberal.
That is a name and philosophy the real Liberal Party will never surrender
Yet”,May 16th) speculated that the party may fall back on a change of
name to the Liberal Party. Unfortunately for them that name is already
taken.
When the Liberals and SDP voted to merge in 1988, they created a fresh
party and registration with the electoral commission, initially as the
Social and Liberal Democrats. Remember that?
In fact many members of the two parent parties resisted the merger,
and my understanding is that within a year, the Liberal Party had
relaunched itself and we can claimed with considerable justification
to be the continuation of that radical, centrist Liberal tradition.
The political experiment that is the LibDems, a compromise between
Liberals and Social Democrats, now appears to be drawing towards its
inevitable conclusion. It was a dead-end which seems to think it can
re-invent itself by simply calling itself Liberal.
That is a name and philosophy the real Liberal Party will never surrender