Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats [ lɪbəɹəɫ deməkɹæts ] ( German: Liberal Democrats ) is a liberal party in the United Kingdom. They went in 1988 from the union of the Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party forth. Current party leader since 2007, Nick Clegg. The party is the first time since 2010 the ruling party.
At European level, the Liberal Democrats Party member of the European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. In the European Parliament they represent according to the German FDP, the second largest national group of liberal ALDE Group, the third largest group in the European Parliament.
History
The British electoral system means that smaller parties are under-represented in the lower house. Therefore, 1988, the two smaller parties in the middle of the political spectrum, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, together, after they had already formed at the general election in 1983 and 1987, an electoral alliance. The associated hope to catch up with the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, was not fulfilled. However, the Liberal Democrats represent several municipal governments and by 2007 were involved in Scotland in the government coalition with the Labour Party. In an opinion poll conducted shortly before taking place on 6 May 2010 parliamentary elections the Liberal Democrats were up 32 percent for the first time in the lead - an increase of twelve percentage points.
Originally hoped the Liberal Democrats, to be able to still more socialist Labour Party replace as the second strongest force in the 1980s. Under John Smith and Tony Blair, the Labour Party moved but more in the political center and thus close to the Liberal Democrats, whose strategy is now the replacement of the Conservatives, who have moved in recent years in the political spectrum more to the right, as the strongest opposition party had. The concentration on the most promising constituencies resulted in the general election, 1997, 2001 and 2005, a significant increase in the number of Mandates for the Liberal Democrats, seeking to change the electoral law that will provide them with a number of lower house seats in accordance with their national share of the vote. In the elections on 5 May 2005, the Liberal Democrats reached with 62 mandates, the best result since 1923. In May 2010, they won in the general election, 57 seats.
The party has been involved since the general election in 2010 as a coalition partner in the government of Prime Minister David Cameron ( Conservative) and provides five ministers in the Cabinet.
Objectives
Domestically, it advocated a strengthening of a under the Labour government under the Terrorism and Crime restricted civil rights and an improvement in the provision of public services. In this context, for the Liberal Democrats to finance tax increases to be considered - a subject in which they differ from the other two major parties. Politician of the Liberal Democrats criticize here the behavior of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, while general promise tax cuts and no deterioration of public services, as a feint. The Liberal Democrats are the proeuropäischste of the three major British parties. Foreign policy in favor of the Liberal Democrats the renunciation of nuclear weapons and refused contrary to the Labour and Conservative Party from the Iraq war. In its party program for the 2005 election they put an emphasis on environmental protection.