The hidden federal party: The policy process of the Welsh Liberal Democrats

Deacon, Russell

doi:10.1080/00343409850116871

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Rarely, if ever, the focus of the British media's eye, they remain something of a forgotten part of the Liberal Democrats' federal system. 1 Their MPs represent only around 8 per cent of the parliamentary party and none of these, with the exception of ever media-friendly Lembit O È pik, hold any national prominence politically. Yet the Welsh party has considerable prominence within Wales, both having taken part in the government of Wales from 2000 to 2003, and with their councillors presently leading the council of the Welsh capital city, Cardi.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Welsh Liberal Democrats: From Government to Opposition and Then Back Again?

Deacon

2007

Political Quarterly

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For over 50 years from 1945 onwards, the Liberal Party and then the Liberal Democrats were either in decline in Wales or struggling to survive from election to election. Since 1997, however, there has been a steady evolution in the party's electoral and political strength. Over this past decade, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, as a state party, have experienced a change in electoral fortunes that has on occasions put them into national political power well in advance of their federal counterparts in England. As an autonomous state party within a federal structure, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have been able to take like a duck to water to the arrival of devolution in the form of the Welsh Assembly. This article examines how the evolution of the party has occurred and, in particular, the role that has been played by the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Members in Welsh politics. The article also explores not only the strengths but also the weaknesses that still dog the Welsh party as it seeks once more to become a major force in Welsh politics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Welsh Liberal Democrats: From Government to Opposition and Then Back Again?

Deacon

2007

Political Quarterly

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British Statewide Parties and Multilevel Politics

Hopkin

2006

Publius: The Journal of Federalism

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The squeezed middle? The Liberal Democrats in Wales and Scotland: A post-coalition reassessment

Evans¹

2015

Scottish Affairs

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In the wake of the repeated electoral losses suffered by the Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2011 and 2012, it is perhaps unsurprising that recent analysis has focused on the ‘toxic impact of the federal party's coalition with the Conservative party’ on the devolved state parties electoral fortunes. Certainly this significant electoral collapse, alongside the hostility to both parties recorded in the 2011 Scottish and Welsh electoral surveys, could be said to lend credence to such a research focus. However, this article argues that the real potency of the Westminster coalition has resulted from it exacerbating and exposing weaknesses that have long blighted the Liberal Democrats in Scotland and Wales. Indeed, by adopting an approach that places the Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats' current woes within a historical context, this article will contend that such frailties highlight structural weaknesses at the very heart of the Liberal Democrats federally.

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The hidden federal party: The policy process of the Welsh Liberal Democrats

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

The Welsh Liberal Democrats: From Government to Opposition and Then Back Again?

The Welsh Liberal Democrats: From Government to Opposition and Then Back Again?

British Statewide Parties and Multilevel Politics

The squeezed middle? The Liberal Democrats in Wales and Scotland: A post-coalition reassessment

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