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''The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism'' is a book written by a group of prominent British
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
politicians and edited by
David Laws David Anthony Laws (born 30 November 1965) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency), Yeovil from 2001 United Kingdom general election, 200 ...
and Paul Marshall in 2004. Three contributors later became leaders of the Liberal Democrats:
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...
,
Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet as ...
and
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
. Other contributors include Chris Huhne, Susan Kramer,
Mark Oaten Mark Oaten (born 8 March 1964) is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010. Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Oaten became a councillor in ...
and
Steve Webb Sir Steven John Webb (born 18 July 1965) is a British pensions commentator who was previously Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Northavon from 1997 to 2010 and for Thornbury and Yate from 2010 to 2015. He was the Minister of St ...
. The book's central philosophy, and some of its ideas, are supported by Liberal Reform, an internal group of the Liberal Democrats. The term Orange Bookers refers to those in the party who subscribe to the book's emphasis on greater personal choice and possible market solutions. In the book, the group offers
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
solutions—often stressing the role of choice and competition—to several societal issues such as
public healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are ...
, pensions,
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
, globalisation,
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
and agricultural policy,
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
and
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
s. It is usually seen as the most
economically liberal Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalis ...
publication that the Liberal Democrats have produced in recent times.


Chapters and contributors

* "Reclaiming Liberalism: a liberal agenda for the Liberal Democrats" –
David Laws David Anthony Laws (born 30 November 1965) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency), Yeovil from 2001 United Kingdom general election, 200 ...
* "Liberalism and localism" – Sir Ed Davey * "Europe: a Liberal future" – Sir Nick Clegg * "Global governance, legitimacy and renewal" – Chris Huhne * "Liberal economics and social justice" –
Sir Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twic ...
* "Harnessing the market to achieve environmental goals" – Susan Kramer * "UK health services: a liberal agenda for reform" –
David Laws David Anthony Laws (born 30 November 1965) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency), Yeovil from 2001 United Kingdom general election, 200 ...
* "Tough Liberalism: a liberal approach to cutting crime" –
Mark Oaten Mark Oaten (born 8 March 1964) is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010. Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Oaten became a councillor in ...
* "Children, the family and the state: a liberal agenda" –
Steve Webb Sir Steven John Webb (born 18 July 1965) is a British pensions commentator who was previously Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Northavon from 1997 to 2010 and for Thornbury and Yate from 2010 to 2015. He was the Minister of St ...
and Jo Holland * "Pension reform: a settlement for a new century" – Paul Marshall


Ideology

Orange Book liberalism is a Whiggish liberal ideology, mostly within the Liberal Democrats, which seeks to balance the four main strands of liberal thought—
social liberalism Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
,
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberali ...
,
cultural liberalism Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
and
political liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
. Orange Book liberalism is represented within the Liberal Democrats by the pressure group Liberal Reform. "Orange Booker" is now a well-used term for identifying Liberal Democrats who adhere more strongly to economic and personal liberal principles, compared to those who more strongly identify with
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
beliefs such as members of the
Social Liberal Forum The Social Liberal Forum (often abbreviated to SLF) is a pressure group and think tank which seeks to promote social liberalism within Britain. The Social Liberal Forum originated as a group that represented the centre-left within the British L ...
or the Beveridge Group. Many Orange Bookers were prominent figures in the 2010–2015 Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government, such as former Deputy Prime Minister Sir
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...
and Chris Huhne, former Energy Secretary.


Reception

Six years after the book's publication, the Liberal Democrats joined with the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
to form a coalition government. Of the nine authors of the book who were elected MPs, one (
Mark Oaten Mark Oaten (born 8 March 1964) is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010. Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Oaten became a councillor in ...
) resigned before the 2010 election, one ( Chris Huhne) resigned in 2013 having been in the cabinet, and the remaining seven were all members of the government in 2015. Edward Stourton from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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radio show ''
Analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...
'' argued that the Orange Book movement within the Liberal Democrats was important in the founding of the coalition government with the Conservatives. Conservative MP David Davis found a number of "areas of overlap" between Conservative policies and the views of the book authors. Historian and Labour politician
Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...
said that the ''Orange Book'' debate was a revival of the debates in liberal circles between the classical liberalism of William Gladstone and politicians like
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
. Richard Grayson, a member of the Social Liberal Forum, said that such Gladstonian liberalism was replaced in the early 20th century with a commitment to the welfare state because of the work of
Thomas Hill Green Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influen ...
, Leonard Hobhouse and the economist John A. Hobson; therefore, ''The Orange Book'' writers were seeking to overturn nearly a century of Liberal party history.


See also

*
Blue Labour Blue Labour is a British campaign group and political faction that seeks to promote blue-collar and culturally conservative values within the British Labour Party — particularly on immigration, crime, community spirit, and the European Unio ...
* '' Britannia Unchained''


References


External links


Liberator 298
The complete September 2004 edition of ''Liberator'', containing three contrasting reviews of the ''Orange Book'' written by leading party commentators at the time the book was first published.
BBC (2008): Clegg's orange revolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange Book, The 2004 non-fiction books 2004 in the United Kingdom Books about liberalism Books about politics of the United Kingdom Economic liberalism Liberal Democrats (UK) publications Political party factions in the United Kingdom