Social Democratic Party (UK)

For the current minor political party of the same name, see Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present). For other parties with the same name, see Social Democratic Party (UK, 1979) and Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990).

Social Democratic Party
AbbreviationSDP
Founders
Founded26 March 1981[1]
Dissolved3 March 1988
Split fromLabour Party
Merged intoLiberal Democrats
Succeeded bySDP (1988) (minority)
Headquarters4 Cowley Street, London
Youth wingYoung Social Democrats
Ideology
Political positionCentre to centre-left
National affiliationSDP–Liberal Alliance
European Parliament groupTechnical Group of Independents (1983–84)
ColoursRed and blue
SloganBreaking the Mould

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a centrist to centre-left political party in the United Kingdom.[2][3][4] The party supported a mixed economy (favouring a system inspired by the German social market economy), electoral reform, European integration and a decentralised state while rejecting the possibility of trade unions being overly influential within industrial relations.[5] The SDP officially advocated social democracy,[5] and unofficially for social liberalism as well.[6][7]

The SDP was founded on 26 March 1981 by four senior Labour Party moderates, dubbed the "Gang of Four":[8] Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams, who issued the Limehouse Declaration.[9] Owen and Rodgers were sitting Labour Members of Parliament (MPs); Jenkins had left Parliament in 1977 to serve as President of the European Commission, while Williams had lost her seat in the 1979 general election. All four had held cabinet experience in the 1970s before Labour lost power in 1979. The four left the Labour Party as a result of the January 1981 Wembley conference which committed the party to unilateral nuclear disarmament and withdrawal from the European Economic Community. They also believed that Labour had become too left-wing, and had been infiltrated at constituency party level by Militant tendency whose views and behaviour they considered to be at odds with the Parliamentary Labour Party and Labour voters.

Shortly after its formation, the SDP formed a political and electoral alliance with the Liberal Party, the SDP–Liberal Alliance, which lasted through the 1983 and 1987 general elections. In 1988, the two parties merged, forming the Social and Liberal Democrats, later renamed the Liberal Democrats,[10] although a minority, led by Owen, left to form a continuing SDP.

  1. ^ "26 March 1981: 'Gang of four' launches new party". BBC News On This Day. 26 March 1981. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. ^ The SDP is widely described as a centrist political party:
  3. ^ "Social Democratic Party (SDP) Archives - Archives Hub".
  4. ^ Kay Lawson, Peter H. Merkl, ed. (2014). When Parties Fail: Emerging Alternative Organizations. Princeton University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9781400859498. On the other hand, the British SDP might settle into an ideological space in line with most West European Social Democrats, i.e., on the center-left, a position perhaps facilitated by the strong pro-Europeanism of its leaders.
  5. ^ a b "Social Democratic Party | political party, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  6. ^ Stephen Driver (2011). Understanding British Party Politics. Polity. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7456-4077-8.
  7. ^ Ian Adams (1998). Ideology and Politics in Britain Today. Manchester University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7190-5056-5.
  8. ^ This name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Maoist Gang of Four
  9. ^ Chris Cook; John Stevenson (2000). The Longman Companion to Britain Since 1945. Longman. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-582-35674-0.
  10. ^ Peter Barberis; John McHugh; Mike Tyldesley (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. Continuum. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.