The Liberal Democrats , often shortened to Lib Dems , are a centrist political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of the SDP. The party's leader is Nick Clegg.
The Lib Dems are the third-largest party in the UK Parliament, behind Labour and the Conservatives. There are 63 Lib Dem Members of Parliament (MPs) – 62 were elected at the 2005 general election, and one in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, 2006. The Scottish Liberal Democrats formed a coalition Scottish Executive with Labour in the first two sessions of the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh party were in a coalition with Labour in the National Assembly for Wales from 2001 to 2003.
Promoting social liberalism, Lib Dems seek to minimise state intervention in personal affairs: they oppose what they call the 'nanny state'. Their president's book of office is John Stuart Mill's On Liberty , which defined the harm principle of law. While objecting to state limitations of individual rights, they favour a welfare state that provides for the necessities and amenities of life.
They support multilateral foreign policy; they opposed British participation in the War in Iraq and supported the withdrawal of troops from the country, and are the most pro-European Union of the three main parties in the UK. The party has strong environmentalist values – favouring renewable energy and commitments to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Since their foundation, Lib Dems have advocated electoral reform to use proportional representation, replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber, and cutting government departments.
Ideology
The Liberal Democrats describe their ideology as giving "power to the people"; they are against the concentration of power in unaccountable bodies. They propose decentralisation of power out of Westminster, and electoral and parliamentary reform, to create a system of tiered government structures to make decisions at what they see as the right level, including regional assemblies, the European Union, and international organisations. Lib Dems want to protect civil liberties, and oppose state intervention in personal affairs.
Position
The Lib Dems are a centrist party, like both of its predecessor parties, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, favouring the welfare state and progressive taxation. Former leader Charles Kennedy said that they were neither to the left nor the right. His successor Menzies Campbell later stated, however, that his party is of the centre-left. Using a two-dimensional scale, Political Compass defined the Lib Dems as social libertarians and economically liberal, with both positions close to the centre, while New Labour and the Conservatives were defined as more economically liberal and also socially authoritarian.
The centrist shift of Labour accelerated after the election of Tony Blair; New Labour increased support by courting centrist Conservative voters. Thus the Lib Dems tried to accommodate the Labour left with social liberal policies. This was partly successful: for example, the Marxist Tariq Ali, implored Londoners to vote for the party in the 2005 general election, over the Iraq war. At the 2005 conference, there was a discussion on whether social liberal policies had attracted as much support as possible, and whether the party should move to the right to attract Conservative voters. Menzies Campbell dropped proposals such as a 50% tax rate for those who earn over £100,000 as part of a tax policy review; such policies portrayed the party as left-wing, which risked losing the support of wealthier floating voters. However, in September 2008 the party conference passed a motion to cut 4p from the basic rate of income tax, which some have alleged is an attempt to win favour with Conservative voters.
Human rights and law
The Liberal Democrats' constitution speaks of:
..."a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives."
The party's presidential book of office, On Liberty , defines the harm principle:
"That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."
When Nick Clegg was Home Affairs spokesperson, he proposed a Freedom Bill to repeal what he described as "illiberal or irrelevant legislation"; part of the 3000 criminal offences that the Labour government had created, which took up more pages than "two hundred copies of War and Peace ". Legislation that he wanted to repeal included: restrictions on protests in Parliament Square, DNA retention of those found innocent, and extradition to the United States without evidence.
Lib Dems want the United Kingdom to have a written constitution to "enshrine the rights of the British people and the responsibilities of Government", and a Bill of Rights to "provide a final guarantee of civil liberties". They are in favour of laws against all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, and sexuality in an 'Equality Act': in 2001 the party proposed to expand the Commission for Racial Equality to uphold such laws. 25 Lib Dem MPs including Nick Clegg signed EDM710, calling on the government to extend the protections for religious groups to lesbian women and gay men, in respect of discrimination in the provisions of goods, facilities and services. They first proposed civil partnerships in the UK, and want to end all differences in law and pensions between same- and mixed-sex marriages and they would make incitement of homophobic hatred an offence.
They oppose the more authoritarian of Labour's anti-terror laws, including 'detention without trial'. They strongly oppose the British national identity card, supporting the NO2ID campaign, and would only allow the use of biometrics in passports, on the condition that the database behind these passports would carry only the information on the passport and the biometric match. They would use phone-taps and other 'intercept communications' as evidence in court against terrorist suspects, making prosecution easier; and propose that judges should be able to give life sentences to those who should stay in prison forever, opposing mandatory life sentences for all serious crimes which may not mean life. The party has been popular among campaigners for the decriminalisation of recreational drugs; Lib Dems want scientific reform of drug classification – they think that it is "not in the public interest" to prosecute for possession or cultivation of cannabis for personal or medical use, but would introduce a new offence of 'dealing' for those who supply illegal drugs, especially in sensitive areas such as near schools or psychiatric facilities.
In January 2007 Clegg launched the 'We Can Cut Crime!' campaign, "proposing real action at a national level and acting to cut crime where we are in power locally." The proposed '5 steps to a safer Britain' were: using the £97,000 per day spent on national ID cards to pay for more police officers; compulsory work and training in prison; better compensation for victims (funded from prison work); close 'trouble-making' pubs and clubs and making criminal sentences "mean what they say". In 2005 the party announced that they wanted to fund 10,000 police officers on top of Labour’s plans, provide an extra 20,000 community support officers, and equip the police with new technology to cut time spent on paperwork.
Spending and taxation
Summary: The Lib Dems state they would lower taxes for poor and middle class people, and make up that government revenue deficit by taxing the rich more, closing tax loopholes exploited by corporations, and by making government spending more efficient and effective.
Historically Lib Dems favoured raising progressive taxes to spend on public services, and 'small-state' policies such as the abolition of government departments. Under Nick Clegg's leadership they advocate cuts in the tax burden, particularly for lower and average earners, funded by reallocation and savings in government spending, further green taxation and raising taxes for the top 10% of earners. Their policy for most of the 1990s was to increase the basic rate of income tax by one percent to fund increase public funding (especially in education). This proposal was abandoned after Tony Blair's Labour government increased national insurance contributions by the same amount, which had a similar effect. Other previous policy included increasing the top rate of income tax by ten percentage points to 50% for those earning over £100,000 per year, but this was abandoned in 2006 after the party conference approved new tax policies which left the top rate at 40%.
Lib Dems support universal free education, and propose to abolish university top-up fees and set up a system of Government grants
Party Bags, Personalised Party bags, Party Bags
Party Bags for childrens parties in UK and Europe, weddings and corporate events. Filled party bags or fill your own party bags. Party bag ideas for both boys and girls.
Filled Party Bags 2 Go uk|Wedding Activity Bags|Childrens Party Bags ...
All About Party Bags uk supply party bags 2 go, wedding activity bags and childrens party bags. We also sell party bags for children, party bag ideas and filled party bags fillers ...
Bells Party Bags
Bells Party Bags - Pre-Filled Party Bags, Fillers, Children & Adults Themed & Licenced Party Goods, Tableware, Balloons, Hen & Stag Novelties, Birthdays Novelties and much more...
Party Bags, Filled Party Bags, Party Bag Fillers, plain, themed and ...
Party bags, Filled Party Bags, Party Bag Filler, Filled Party Bags, Pre-Filled Party Bags, Child Party Bags, Children's Party Bags, Kid's Party Bags from Party Delights.
To Buy Party Bags Try Allaboutpartybags
Luxury party bags ... the perfect end to any party!|party bags|filled ...
party bags that stand out from the crowd! Next day delivery. Party bags, filled party bags, create your own party bags, Readymade pass the parcel,tableware & prizes. National next ...
Eco Party Bags, Affordable Party Bags and Party Bag Fillers, Party ...
Welcome to Eco Party Bags, home to Affordable, Eco Party Supplies, Party Bags for Childrens, Wedding Favours, Balloons and all your Eco Party Supplies
Party Bags
retro sweets heaven! Welcome to A Quarter Of... the traditional, old-fashioned sweetshop online, full of the best sweets ever.
Childrens party suppliers for children's birthday party UK
Childrens party supplier for children's birthday party UK ... Childrens Party supplies, whether it's a childrens party or adult celebration you will find it here.
Character & Themed Party Loot Bags
Character loot bags featuring all your favourite Disney Movie and kids TV characters As with all our party bags these are sold in single units so