Values and Traditions of the Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are largely considered as the third main party in the United Kingdom and they are by far the most different when compared to the Conservatives and Labour. Liberal Democrats are huge believers in civil liberties: they believe in standing up for the people rather than the government. They are very Pro-European and current leader Nick Clegg was an ex MEP. The Liberal Democrats believe that a high percentage of public spending should be on Welfare Services, increasing the personal, social and financial lives of those who aren’t as well of as the rest of the population.
The Liberal Democrats are strongly against following in the US’ footsteps when it comes to our foreign policies and humanitarian intervention – they believe that we, as a country, should make our own choices rather than leading our people into unnecessary conflict: they argue that Tony Blair’s decision to send troops into Iraq was a very poor decision and that it only happened because Conservative and Labour governments favour this method of dealing with things.
When it comes to Law and Order, the Liberal Democrats believe that the emphasis should be on tackling the causes of crime rather than the severe punishment of the criminals. They believe that prison should primarily be a place of rehabilitation rather than extreme punishment with beliefs and policies that including educating prisoners and providing them with literature and works of significant social importance. They also focus on defending the rights of the citizens and believe that many modern day law and order policies are a threat to the civil liberties of said citizens.
The other main tradition and core value of the Liberal Democrats is the higher emphasis on environmental protection than the other main parties, they believe that regulations should be set in place to stop large companies from exploiting the earth and they are committed to promoting human rights throughout the world, however, that this should be achieved through diplomatic means rather than military intervention that the Labour or Conservative parties may suggest.
What tensions exist within the modern liberal democrats?
The modern day supporters of the Liberal Democrats can largely be classified into one of two groups: Social Liberals or Economic Liberals. Social