The Liberal Democrats after Blair

Abstract

Tony Blair was good for the Liberal Democrats. Throughout his leadership of the Labour Party the fortunes of the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third party, were boosted. At the start of the Blair era the Liberal Democrats profited from anti-Conservative sentiment in constituencies where Labour could not defeat the Tories. By the end they benefited disproportionately from unpopular New Labour policies. In parliament, the Liberal Democrats tripled their numbers across Blair’s three election victories and in Scotland and Wales they were able to share power in the new devolved institutions.