Social Democratic Party (UK)

Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party
Abbreviation	SDP
Founders	Roy Jenkins; David Owen; Bill Rodgers; Shirley Williams;
Founded	26 March 1981
Dissolved	3 March 1988
Split from	Labour Party
Merged into	Liberal Democrats
Headquarters	4 Cowley Street, London
Ideology	Social liberalism
Political position	Centre to centre-left
National affiliation	SDP–Liberal Alliance
European Parliament group	Technical Group of Independents (1983–84)
Colours	Red and blue
Slogan	Breaking the Mould
	Politics of the United Kingdom; Political parties; Elections;

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 the industrial sphere.^[5] The SDP officially advocated social democracy,^[6] but its actual propensity is evaluated as close to social liberalism.^[7]^[8]

The SDP was founded on 26 March 1981 by four senior Labour Party moderates, dubbed the "Gang of Four":^[9] Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams, who issued the Limehouse Declaration.^[10] 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,^[11] although a minority, led by Owen, left to form a continuing SDP.

^ "26 March 1981: 'Gang of four' launches new party". BBC News On This Day. 26 March 1981. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^
The SDP is widely described as a centrist political party:
- Peter Rutland (2005). "Britain". In Jeffrey Kopstein; Mark Lichbach (eds.). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-521-84316-4.
- Mark Kesselman; Joel Krieger; Christopher S. Allen; Stephen Hellman (2008). European Politics in Transition. Cengage Learning. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-618-87078-3.
- John R. Cook; Peter Wright (2006). British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-84511-048-2.
- Kerstin Hamann; John Kelly (2011). Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts. Taylor & Francis. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-415-58195-0.
- Peter Barberis; John McHugh; Mike Tyldesley (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. Continuum. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.
^ "Social Democratic Party (SDP) Archives - Archives Hub".
^ 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.
^ "Social Democratic Party | political party, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ "Social Democratic Party | political party, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
^ Stephen Driver (2011). Understanding British Party Politics. Polity. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7456-4077-8.
^ Ian Adams (1998). Ideology and Politics in Britain Today. Manchester University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7190-5056-5.
^ This name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Maoist Gang of Four
^ Chris Cook; John Stevenson (2000). The Longman Companion to Britain Since 1945. Longman. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-582-35674-0.
^ 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.

[1] "26 March 1981: 'Gang of four' launches new party". BBC News On This Day. 26 March 1981. Retrieved 25 July 2016.

[Centrist-2] The SDP is widely described as a centrist political party:
Peter Rutland (2005). "Britain". In Jeffrey Kopstein; Mark Lichbach (eds.). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-521-84316-4.

Mark Kesselman; Joel Krieger; Christopher S. Allen; Stephen Hellman (2008). European Politics in Transition. Cengage Learning. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-618-87078-3.

John R. Cook; Peter Wright (2006). British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-84511-048-2.

Kerstin Hamann; John Kelly (2011). Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts. Taylor & Francis. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-415-58195-0.

Peter Barberis; John McHugh; Mike Tyldesley (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. Continuum. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.

[3] Peter Rutland (2005). "Britain". In Jeffrey Kopstein; Mark Lichbach (eds.). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-521-84316-4.

[4] Mark Kesselman; Joel Krieger; Christopher S. Allen; Stephen Hellman (2008). European Politics in Transition. Cengage Learning. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-618-87078-3.

[5] John R. Cook; Peter Wright (2006). British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-84511-048-2.

[6] Kerstin Hamann; John Kelly (2011). Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts. Taylor & Francis. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-415-58195-0.

[7] Peter Barberis; John McHugh; Mike Tyldesley (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century. Continuum. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.

[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] "Social Democratic Party | political party, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2018.

[6] "Social Democratic Party | political party, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2018.

[Driver2011-7] Stephen Driver (2011). Understanding British Party Politics. Polity. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-7456-4077-8.

[Adams1998-8] Ian Adams (1998). Ideology and Politics in Britain Today. Manchester University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7190-5056-5.

[9] This name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Maoist Gang of Four

[CookStevenson2000-10] Chris Cook; John Stevenson (2000). The Longman Companion to Britain Since 1945. Longman. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-582-35674-0.

[BarberisMcHugh2000-11] 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.

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Social Democratic Party

Abbreviation	SDP
Founders	Roy Jenkins David Owen Bill Rodgers Shirley Williams
Founded	26 March 1981^[1]
Dissolved	3 March 1988
Split from	Labour Party
Merged into	Liberal Democrats
Headquarters	4 Cowley Street, London
Ideology	Social liberalism
Political position	Centre to centre-left
National affiliation	SDP–Liberal Alliance
European Parliament group	Technical Group of Independents (1983–84)
Colours	Red and blue
Slogan	Breaking the Mould
Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections