Defectors and the Liberal Party 1910-2010 A Study of Inter-Party Relationships

In May 2010, much to the surprise of most commentators, voters and even the parties themselves, a coalition agreement was reached between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The general assumption beforehand had been that the natural coalition allies for the Liberal Democrats would have been the Labour Party. However, this book reveals that over the whole century leading up to the 2010 election, there had been an enduring cultural compatibility between the Conservatives and the Liberals/Liberal Democrats, which had not been the case with the relationship between the Liberals/Liberal Democrats and Labour. This book is the first analysis of political defections over a long time span. It investigates all the Liberal/Liberal Democrat MPs and former MPs who defected from the party between the elections of December 1910 and May 2010 - around one sixth of all those elected - as well as the smaller number of inward defectors. Each of the 122 defections was an expert judgment on the state of the party at a specific date. The research investigates the timing and reasons for all the defections and reveals long-term trends and underlying causes and apportions responsibility between leaders for them. The author finds some significant differences which distinguished defectors from loyalists and draws wider conclusions about the underlying factors which lead MPs to defect. This book will be of interest to students and lecturers of British politics and anyone interested in the relationship between British political parties in the last century.