Fate of the Liberals With No SDP split?

[Time Enough]

So, if there was No SDP Split (as in maybe Woy bumbles off to the Liberals but William’s, Owen and Rodgers stay put in 81’) what would be the effect on the Liberals?

An important question would be if there would be any form of Modernisation of the party in the late 80s, with a Ashdown or maybe Penhaligon type figure?

Another would be, would there be cooperation between the Greens and Liberals? With the Young Liberals supporting increasingly more Green/Eco issues and the chance of there still being a possible Green surge at some point, would there be the possibility of local Green-Liberal alliances etc.

 

[Charles EP M.]

Seems to depend on how much of the OTL SDP's support would go to the Liberals in the 80s if there's no SDP - do you need a Gang of Four splitting away to bring some glamour & weight to a third party at this time? "We're run by former Cabinet ministers you might have heard of as people who run things and they're unhappy with the current direction too" VS "you've heard of David Steel, he did the Lib-Lab Pact that didn't go well and helped Callaghan who you may not have liked" and, after Steel has gone, "this guy you've probably not heard of".

(The obvious thing the SDP had over Change UK - only Ummunah was someone enough people would know, and usually in terms of "he will someday do something")

 

[Elektronaut]

The Liberal Party continues on with its assembly and a much more fractious and less professional structure.

 

[Time Enough]

"you've heard of David Steel, he did the Lib-Lab Pact that didn't go well and helped Callaghan who you may not have liked" and, after Steel has gone, "this guy you've probably not heard of".

I do get the sense that Steel would likely bugger off in the aftermath of a 83/84 election if the Liberals kind of just flop around. Without the SDP you probably also get a Liberals that’s still regulated to the Celtic Fringes and the occasional city seat (and Ashdown in Yeovil).

The Liberal Party continues on with its assembly and a much more fractious and less professional structure.

Probably not the best for the long term development of the party. I do have a feeling that there would be some attempt to modernise the party in the 90s, though it’s success would probably be limited.

 

[Mumby]

I think there is potential for a Liberal Party in that situation to develop in some very interesting directions, depending on what happens with the Red Guard/Green Guard generations of young members, if the party remains this sort of 'we're not tainted by westminster' sort of vibe

 

[Time Enough]

I think there is potential for a Liberal Party in that situation to develop in some very interesting directions, depending on what happens with the Red Guard/Green Guard generations of young members, if the party remains this sort of 'we're not tainted by westminster' sort of vibe

I hadn’t considered that, the Liberals becoming directed by the Felix Dodds sorts would be fascinating on the development of the party (and does make the possibility of the Liberals absorbing the Green vote too maybe).

But also this does make me half jokingly think that there would be a Libertarian Municipalism faction of the LibDems in a scenario like this.