The Alliance and Others

Abstract

The Alliance between the Liberal and Social Democratic parties had very variable electoral fortunes in its first three years. During the euphoria ofits first months, it touched 50% in the opinion polls when Shirley Williams had just won the Crosby by-election of November 1981. But the early dreams of a breakthrough waned with the Falklands war and the Conservative recovery. By the time of the general election in June 1983 it was almost a surprise that the Alliance came so close to being the second party, winning 26% of the vote as against Labour’s 28%. Yet, with only 23 seats to Labour’s 209, the Alliance had failed to establish a bridgehead at Westminster. Thereafter, as the Alliance leaders intensified their campaign for a fairer voting system, they looked with particular interest to the European Parliament, with its long term commitment to a common electoral system (which would necessarily involve proportional representation).