Beveridge Group

Beveridge Group

The Beveridge Group is a centre-left ginger group within the Liberal Democrat party in the UK. It was set up in 2001 by MPs Alistair Carmichael, Paul Holmes, John Barrett and John Pugh to promote debate within the party regarding public service provision.

The group was set up largely in response to a perceived rightwards drift in Liberal Democrat thinking, typified by the economic liberalism of Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vincent Cable and former Shadow Home Secretary Mark Oaten.

In its first article, the group questioned the claim in the Liberal Democrat policy paper "Setting Business Free" that the party should "start with a bias in favour of market solutions"”:

"Should the party of Beveridge and Keynes approach issues with a prejudice in favour of the free market system? Should we enter every policy debate with an underlying belief that private is always better than public? I certainly do not think so. That was the approach which led the Conservatives to undertake the disastrous privatisation of British Rail in the mid 1990s." (Alistair Carmichael, 2003)

With the election of Paul Holmes as parliamentary party chairman in 2005, the group's influence within the party appears to be growing. At the 2005 Liberal Democrat party conference, the party then voted against a plan by the leadership to privatise the post office, a policy which Beveridge Group members have attacked as an unnecessary example of market fundamentalism. The outcome of this vote, and of another on capping the European Union budget, appears to have weakened the positions of those who wish to reposition the Lib Dems as a party of the centre-right, and consequently strengthened the position of social liberals within the party (such as the Beveridge Group).

Membership

*Norman Baker MP
*John Barrett MP
*Annette Brooke MP
*Alistair Carmichael MP
*Tim Farron MP
*Don Foster MP
*Andrew George MP
*Sandra Gidley MP
*Mike Hancock MP
*Evan Harris MP
*John Hemming MP
*Paul Holmes MP
*Martin Horwood MP
*David Howarth MP
*Simon Hughes MP
*Chris Huhne MP
*Mark Hunter MP
*Paul Keetch MP
*John Leech MP
*John Pugh MP
*Dan Rogerson MP
*Paul Rowen MP
*Bob Russell MP
*Adrian Sanders MP
*Mark Williams MP
*Roger Williams MP
*Stephen Williams MP
*Phil Willis MP
*Jenny Willott MP
*Richard Younger-Ross MP

See also

*William Beveridge
*John Maynard Keynes
*Social liberalism
*Welfare state

External links

* [http://www.beveridgegroup.org.uk The Beveridge Group]
* [http://www.beveridgegroup.org.uk/articles/ac.pdf "Setting Communities Free" by Alistair Carmichael (2003)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gordon Beveridge — Sir Gordon Beveridge, FEng, FIChemE, FRSA (1933, St Andrews – 1999, Bangor), was President and Vice Chancellor of Queen s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1986 1997. He was knighted in 1994 for his services to higher education.… …   Wikipedia

  • Radical Reform Group — The Radical Reform Group was a pressure group inside the Liberal Party, set up in 1952 to campaign for social liberal and Keynesian economic approaches. According to Andrew Gamble, the Radical Reform Group believed that the task of Liberals was… …   Wikipedia

  • John Hemming (politician) — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = John Hemming honorific suffix = MP constituency MP = Birmingham Yardley majority = 2,672 (9.1%) term start = 6 May 2005 term end = predecessor = Estelle Morris successor = Incumbent birth date = Birth date and …   Wikipedia

  • Evan Harris — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = Evan Harris honorific suffix =MP party = Liberal Democrat constituency MP = Oxford West and Abingdon term start = 1 May1997 term end = parliament = majority = 7,683 (14.6%) predecessor = John Patten successor …   Wikipedia

  • John Barrett (politician) — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = John Barrett honorific suffix = constituency MP = Edinburgh West term start = 7 June2001 term end = parliament = majority = 13,600 (30.0%) predecessor = new constituency successor = birth date = Birth date and …   Wikipedia

  • Tim Farron — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = Tim Farron honorific suffix =MP party = Liberal Democrat constituency MP = Westmorland and Lonsdale term start = 5 May2005 term end = parliament = majority = 267 (0.5%) predecessor = Tim Collins successor =… …   Wikipedia

  • Simon Hughes — Infobox MP name = Simon Hughes honorific suffix = MP constituency MP = North Southwark and Bermondsey parliament = United Kingdom majority = 5,406 (14.2%) predecessor = Bob Mellish (Bermondsey constituency) successor = term start = 24 February… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Younger-Ross — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = Richard Younger Ross honorific suffix =MP constituency MP = Teignbridge parliament = majority = 6,215 (10.2%) predecessor = Patrick Nicholls successor = Incumbent term start = 7 June 2001 term end = birth date …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Holmes (politician) — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = Paul Holmes honorific suffix =MP party = Liberal Democrat constituency MP = Chesterfield term start = 7 June2001 term end = parliament = majority = 3,045 (6.9%) predecessor = Tony Benn successor = birth date …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Rowen — Infobox MP honorific prefix = name = Paul Rowen honorific suffix =MP constituency MP = Rochdale term start = 5 May2005 term end = parliament = majority = 444 (1.1%) predecessor = Lorna Fitzsimons successor = birth date = Birth date and… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”