Serpents, Goats and Turkeys

The book tells the story of the relationship between the Labour Party and Liberal Party (later the Liberal Democrats) over the last 100 or so years, focusing on the formal and informal arrangements that have sustained the parties in office in the UK. This includes electoral pacts, support for minority governments, formal pacts, and full Coalitions. The book will look at how both parties might respond if there is a hung parliament in the future, and what this might mean for electoral reform.

It focuses on periods where one party needed the other to secure electoral support or the ability to govern. The book also looks at the development of policy thinking in both parties over this period, to consider whether and when policy positions have diverged or converged. It will consider attitudes in both parties to voting reform, and how this has changed over time.

Drawing on the history of this period, it considers Labour/Lib Dem options in the event of a future hung Parliament. Should the parties work together? Would they be able to? Which model of cooperation would work best? What are the prospects for voting reform?