Recently, I joined the Liberal Democrats; or rather rejoined as I was briefly a member a few years ago. I have been politically active since I was a teenager, for the majority of that time as a member of the Labour Party. My return came after a long period of reading and reflection. For some time, I had been aware of my growing unease at the culture within the Labour Party (which is exceptionalist, toxic and tribalistic), and the Party’s underlying philosophical basis (which is authoritarian). Eventually the cognitive dissonance required to be a Labour Party member was too tiring, so I left. Now at the age of 55, I have found (hopefully) my political home.
What attracted me to the Liberal Democrats? Not that it is Labour-lite, or a bit like Labour, or that they want broadly the same things. I regard such thoughts as both insulting to the Party, and holding it back at what I perceive to be a key moment in its history. The Liberal Democrats are not a substitute or a surrogate either for Labour or the Conservatives. One simple thing pulled me into the Liberal Democrats – liberalism. I think this essential factor, the reason why the Party exists, can get a bit lost, at least out there in the political arena. This is a problem, because I think the Party’s liberalism is a vital asset in the ideological struggle in which this country, and indeed in the world where it finds itself.
The old 20th Century left-right, class v class, political paradigm has gone. Labour finds itself trying to play the same old tunes, but the world in which it was born no longer exits. It has no purpose other than to gain power, and keep it. No sense of mission. No big intellectual or philosophical idea. Their rhetoric is hollow; no one really believes that British society is gradually developing towards socialism, and that come ‘the glorious day’ we will be living in the New Jerusalem. The Conservatives are similarly a party without a purpose. The One Nation wing has been purged or walked away. The neo-Thatcherites have disappeared in laissez-faire la la land. Out flanked on the Right by Reform, the most successful election winning machine in the Western world is in real danger of ceasing to exist.
To me, the great ideological struggle is between liberalism and authoritarianism. On the authoritarian side, we have Reform, the Tory right-wing, and Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. On the other, the Liberal Democrats. The Party needs to be pushing liberalism, talking about what it is and demonstrating that whilst, ostensibly some or desired outcomes resemble Labour’s, the motivation and desire come from a very different place.
I read extensively into liberalism as a concept, and in action. If I am a party member, transient policies are not what should have attracted me; fundamentally, you feel aligned to the fundamental values of your chosen party. I could not join a party without knowing what I was signing up to. Only reading about the principles after joining makes no sense. You cannot join a party without knowing what you are signing up to. And that, is liberalism.
Right now, the UK needs liberals. Reform are in the ascendency, both of the main parties are nostalgia acts, with nothing new to say. The Liberal Democrats need to take on Reform and make it plain that it is doing so to uphold and defend liberalism. This is the Liberal Moment – this is not about being a vaguely Labour-esque centre-left Party or being the repository of protest votes. This is about defending our core values as a nation. This is existential. It was realising this that brought me here. It is by proclaiming, and explaining what liberalism means, that many others will be brought here.
* Mark Paine is a Liberal Democrat member
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
The street in Australia named after my great great grandfather
Lib Dems pick Richard Kilpatrick as candidate for the Greater Manchester Mayoral election
Matt Wardman
David Warren
Roland
David Raw
16 Comments
“the Party’s liberalism is a vital asset in the ideological struggle in which this country, and indeed in the world … finds itself.”
“the great ideological struggle is between liberalism and authoritarianism.”
Could not agree more. Welcome!
Thank you. If you study Britain’s constitutional and political history, you can see that liberalism and the struggle to increase and defend personal liberty within a liberal democracy are the key drivers. The old-fashioned and much denigrated ‘Whig View of History’ still has some truth in it. In a society, and world, which in many ways seems to be going backwards, we need to make a firm and decisive stand against the forces of reaction, blood and soil nationalism and authoritarianism.
Mark. Thank you for taking time out and answering the comments section.
“you can see that liberalism and the struggle to increase and defend personal liberty within a liberal democracy are the key drivers”
Many were disappointed with the Smoking Vapes ban etc – with only 7 MPs really understanding that concept..
“The old 20th Century left-right, class v class, political paradigm has gone.”
It certainly hasn’t. But the Labour party now supports the bourgeousie, rentier class. Which is why many are now struggling with high rents, housing shortages, precarious work, loss of status and income (doctors, nurses). Those selling their labour for money are still being exploited, but now the party that was supposed to be on their side has switched. That’s why Labour has tanked in the polls.
Some of us who have encountered Labour at close quarters over many years (who have been invited but never tempted to join that party) will recognise some of Labour’s problems as outlined in Mark’s analysis). From time to time I have toned down any full frontal criticism of Labour with some vague sense of not interfering in private grief! I warmly welcome Mark’s willingness to use the word ideology which liberals can use with confidence. Non-ideological Labour gives pragmatism a bad name!
Welcome home Mark.
Excellent stuff. Now the challenge, how do we get ourselves back in contention in those many areas where the party has become virtually non existent, where Reform and the Greens have filled the void vacated due to Clegg’s coalition.
All political parties have big flaws, primarily because, well, that’s the human race for you! Labour’s flaws have indeed always included tribalism and authoritarianism, together with uncritical devotion to outdated socialist ideology.
Nowadays, Labour have finally junked most of those ideologies, leaving then rather bereft of purpose. As Jenny says, they have effectively switched sides, though more by accident than design. The lobbyists have recognised that Labour are short of ideas, and so, that has been a great opportunity for lobbyists to feed in theirs!
But let’s not kid ourselves that the Lib Dems, or any other party, are free of major flaws. Tribalism – got that too, in spades. Self-delusion – got lots of that too. Belief that some old guru (whether it’s Marx or Mill) has the answer to all life’s dilemmas – Yes, Lib Dems got that too!
I agree in principle and its excellent that Mark has joined us after much thought and reading. However, how does it work out in practice. On more than one occasion I have shown someone the preamble to our constitution and the reaction has been to say it is good but not practically meaningful enough for them to take the step of joining us.
Theakes asks, “how do we get ourselves back in contention in those many areas where the party has become virtually non existent”.
I’m sorry to say it would be more accurate to describe it as ‘those many areas which the party has abandoned’.
The self proclaimed party of ‘middle England’ seems now to have abandoned long held strongholds in the Scottish Borders, Northumberland, West Yorkshire and Lancashire. Could it be that those calling the shots in the modern party are all from said ‘middle England’ and start to get vertigo when they get out of their comfort zone ?
In response to the questions about how do we practically increase our membership/visibility, I think Reform and the Greens offer lessons in how to do this. Both have clear USP’s which give them a ‘brand identity’ – people know broadly what they stand for, and how they are distinct from other parties. The Liberal Democrats do not have the same level of strong brand identity amongst the wider electorate – they are ‘centrists’ (which is both, I would argue, a nebulous and misleading term with regard to the Lib Dems), the traditional repository for protest votes, the sort of not-Labour and not-Conservative party, nice and middle class, the evil Coalition partners and architects of Austerity, bearded eccentrics wearing sandals and socks etc. Not very exciting or attention-grabbing. OK, I am a newbie so my views are probably irrelevant and unwelcome, but I think if the Lib Dems are going to make the step up to the next level, they need to ditch anything that suggests being ‘centrist’ – this is based on an outdated political model of a left -right political axis. Better to go all out on what liberalism is, how it can be used as a guiding principle to improve everybody’s lives and how it differs from the various flavours of authoritarianism on offer to the electorate. The 2029 election is going to be one of rival ideologies – not the traditional ‘class struggle’ of Tories v Labour (which increasingly resembles a historical re-enactment by the Sealed Knot), but of liberal democracy v authoritarianism. In my view, the Lib Dems need to firmly position themselves as the standard bearers for personal and societal liberty. Whilst liberalism is a complex philosophy, with a myriad of often-conflicting interpretations, it can be boiled down to basic principles which everyone can understand. Clear messaging. Clear identity. Not a vague centrist mishmash, but an inspiring rallying cry. Young people are flocking to the Greens, like they did to Corbyn, because they offer something different, something radical, something that promises to make the world better. The Lib Dems need to find a way of doing that.
In addition, Reform and the Greens have a big presence on social media (Reform in particular uses TikTok very effectively); I know it is heresy to suggest that leaflets are out of date in the 2020’s, but, sorry, they are. At best, it is preaching to the converted, or the already at least vaguely interested. The Lib Dems need to have a similar social media presence. OK, the traditional media ignore the Party, fine, circumvent them – they are becoming more and more irrelevant every year.
@Mark: I appreciate your thoughts and do agree with you about the need to have an identity and a fundamental and well known philosophy. However I can’t see pushing the LibDems as the standard bearer for personal and societal liberty working electorally in the short term. There are two problems: Firstly, it just doesn’t match where voters’ priorities lie. LibDems: “We’ll give you more personal freedom”. Reform “We’ll cut your taxes by £50/month” – which one do you think will get most votes?
But more fundamentally, different people understand liberty in different ways. Many Conservatives for example very earnestly believe their party stands for liberty – but they interpret it, as freedom from nanny-state regulations, being able to drive where they want, not having their earnings taxed away, freedom from being mugged and assaulted (because the muggers are all locked up), etc. And they see our big-state policies as authoritarian – a point of view held by many people which I think many liberals don’t really understand. So if you want to present LibDems as standing for liberty – be prepared for a fight with the Conservatives/Reform about what liberty actually means.
I like where you’re coming from, but it needs a lot more careful thought.
Voters’ priorities are not the promotion of liberalism, but promotion of liberalism WILL attract in members and activists.
SimonR – fair points. I am on a very steep learning curve in this new political environment! More thinking needed.
What a number of the contributors to this article are really calling for is a new or refreshed liberalism underpinned by enduring social values . The very reasons we founded this relatively new party . We should not be afraid of promoting those values or explaining how important they still remain in the current polarised political environment .