The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is a minor

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

established in 1990. Ideologically, the SDP combines social conservatism 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 ...

economic policy and support for a

social market economy The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...

alongside Euroscepticism. Founded by Jack Holmes, it has been led by William Clouston since 2018. The current party traces its origin to the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

which was formed in 1981 by a group of dissident Labour Party

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MPs) and former Cabinet members Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and

Shirley Williams Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...

, who became known as the Gang of Four. The original SDP merged with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats, but Owen, two other MPs and a minority of party activists formed a breakaway group also called the

(1988–1990) immediately afterwards. That continuing party dissolved itself in 1990 after finishing behind the

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Lord Sutch". It is notable for its ...

in a by-election, but activists met and voted to continue the party in defiance of its National Executive, leading to the creation of the current Social Democratic Party under the leadership of the candidate who lost the by-election. In November 2018 the SDP gained its first and only European parliamentarian when

Patrick O'Flynn Patrick James O'Flynn (born 29 August 1965) is an English journalist and Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present), Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England (Europ ...

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for East of England, defected from the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

. He served in the European Parliament until 1 July 2019. Prominent members include journalists

Rod Liddle Roderick E. Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme. His published works include ''Too Beautiful for You'' (2003), ''Love Will Destr ...

and

Giles Fraser Giles Anthony Fraser (born 27 November 1964) At the 2022 local elections, the SDP gained a seat on

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

from Labour and later that year a

Conservative 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 ...

Derbyshire Dales District Councillor defected to the party, giving it a total of two council seats. In October 2022, the SDP announced a general election pact with the

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...

and Eurosceptic party,

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant p ...

History

Formation

The second incarnation of the

, often referred to as "the continuing SDP", decided to dissolve itself after a disastrous result in the May 1990 Bootle by-election. However, a number of SDP activists met and voted to continue the party in defiance of the National Executive. The continuing group was led by Jack Holmes, who by polling fewer votes than the

at the Bootle by-election had caused the party's end. The much-reduced SDP decided to fight the

1991 Neath by-election The 1991 Neath by-election was a by-election held on 4 April 1991 for the British House of Commons constituency of Neath in Wales. It was won by the Labour Party candidate Peter Hain. Vacancy The seat had become vacant when the sitting ...

. With Holmes serving as the party's election agent, the SDP candidate received 5.3% of the vote—only 174 votes behind the fourth-placed Liberal Democrats, although the SDP candidate joined the Lib Dems shortly after. The party subsequently won just 3 seats on the

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid ...

within the next 8 years after.

Early years (1992–2008)

In 1992, the SDP had concentrated on campaigning at local level, holding a few council seats in Yorkshire and South Wales.

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...

Central and Old Town ward on

East Riding of Yorkshire Council East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the local authority of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government serv ...

remained a hotspot of SDP activity, with Ray Allerston holding a council seat there from 1987. From 2003 to 2007, he was joined by his wife Christine Allerston. Meanwhile, Tony Pelton and Brian Smith were elected in 1999 in Tunstall Ward in

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

. A third hotspot consisted of SDP councillors Jeff Dinham, John Sullivan and Anthony Taylor in Aberavon Ward, Neath Port Talbot. In the 2003 elections, Tony Pelton was re-elected, but Brian Smith was not. In 2005, Christine Allerston became Mayor of Bridlington for a year; however, she stood down before the 2007 local elections in which her husband Ray Allerston was re-elected and made Mayor and David Metcalf picked up the vacant seat. All three Aberavon councillors remained in place, with Anthony Taylor becoming local mayor. However, Tony Pelton in Tunstall stood down before the 2007 locals, ending SDP representation there. Jackie Foster was elected to Bridlington

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...

in 2008.

Subsequent years (2009–2017)

In 2012, Councillors Dinham and Sullivan lost their seats in Aberavon, leaving only Anthony Taylor in position. David Metcalf stepped down in early 2014, owing to ill-health. He died soon afterward. This left just Allerston, Foster and Taylor in post. Ray Allerston died on 16 September 2014. A by-election was held in his ward on 27 November which was won by the

(UKIP). The SDP fielded two candidates in the 2015 general election. Jackie Foster remained an SDP councillor on Bridlington Town Council after the 2015 local elections, but as of 2016 was listed as a Labour councillor. Until May 2017, Anthony Taylor sat on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council as an independent democrat, but remained listed on the party website as an SDP councillor.

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

councillor Mike Sheriden defected to the SDP in August 2015. However, when Sheriden stood for re-election as an SDP candidate in May 2016, he lost, receiving only 17 votes. Six SDP candidates stood in the 2017 general election: one in Glasgow East and five in Sheffield constituencies. The SDP candidates received a total of 469 votes and came last in every constituency. According to accounts filed with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, in 2017 the party—before its present financial growth—had a total income of £2,095.

Growth, new leadership and new declaration (2018–present)

In January 2018, Kevin Hickson, former leader of Crewe Town Council, joined the SDP. In an article published in the ''

Crewe Chronicle The ''Crewe Chronicle'', originally known as the ''Crewe and Nantwich Chronicle'', is a UK weekly newspaper first published on 21 March 1874. It was founded by the editor of the '' Chester Chronicle'' as a Radical alternative to the Tory A ...

'', Hickson, who represented Crewe East on the town council, stated that he left Labour because of growing unease with that party's "almost daily changes" on

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

policy. He went on to say that the SDP "combines centre left policies on the economy and the welfare state with a firm commitment to implement the will of the people on Brexit, reclaiming sovereignty over money, laws, borders and trade". Hickson is a senior lecturer in Politics at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and a former Labour parliamentary candidate. Hickson became the party chairman, until being replaced by Paula Watson in January 2020. William Clouston became leader of the SDP in 2018, and was re-elected by 89% of ballots returned by members in March 2020.SDP Leadership Election Result (13 March 2020) SDP Party Secretary He was a member of the original party in the 1980s and remained with the continuing SDP after the merger with the Liberal Party. He was a Conservative councillor on

Tynedale __NOTOC__ Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Th ...

District Council from

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

to 2003 and is chairman of Corbridge Parish Council. In October 2018, the party published a New Declaration of aims and values, whose name recalls the original

Limehouse Declaration The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior British Labour politicians, all MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams. It became known as the Lim ...

of 1981 and which the party describes as putting the principles of

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

in a modern setting. The declaration calls for a " communitarian, social democratic nation-state".

for East of England, defected from the

(UKIP) to join the SDP in November 2018. He cited UKIP leader

Gerard Batten Gerard Joseph Batten (born 27 March 1954) is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament ( ...

's appointment of Tommy Robinson as an adviser as a key reason for his departure from the party. In April 2019, O'Flynn stated that the SDP would not be standing in the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...

."09/04/2019"
''Newsnight''. BBC2. 9 April 2019. "As a representative of the SDP, a party that's not contesting the European elections ... In March 2019, prominent political journalists

and

Giles Fraser Giles Anthony Fraser (born 27 November 1964) The SDP won a non-parish council seat at election for the first time since 2003 when Wayne Dixon was elected in the 2022 Leeds City Council election. Dixon was elected to

for Middleton Park and has a majority of 14% The party gained a second council seat later that year in October 2022, when Richard Bright, a Conservative Party councillor for Derbyshire Dales District Council, defected to the party. On 22 October 2022, the Social Democratic Party announced a general election pact with the right-wing

for the

next United Kingdom general election The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than January 2025. It will determine the 59th House of Commons. Background The next election is scheduled to be held no later than January 2025, after the Dissolution a ...

Policies

The SDP is a

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

political party which combines

economics with

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

stances on social and cultural values. The party formally declared its principles in its "New Declaration" of October 2018.

Europe

The SDP's orientation is Eurosceptic. While the founders of the original SDP in 1981 were pro- EEC, the continuing SDP voted against the concept of a

United States of Europe The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Ameri ...

at its conference at Scarborough in 1989 and the 1990 party's Eurosceptic position developed from there. In March 2019, the party advocated the UK leaving 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 ...

on WTO terms in the absence of a better deal on offer. As of November 2019 the party supports the latest iteration of the withdrawal agreement.

Economy and welfare

The SDP's stance on the economy is centre-left, advocating a

. It balances a commitment to enterprise and the market with support for greater progressivity in the tax code, substantial increases in the council housing stock, protection of legal aid, changes to the roll out of Universal Credit and renationalising utilities and the railways. On housing, the SDP wants to build 100,000 social homes per year under a "British Housing Corporation", with subsidiary "County Housing Corporations". These "CHCs" would have substantial powers, being able to issue Compulsory Purchase Orders and having the ability to grant themselves planning permission. They would also take on all existing social housing from their respective local authorities. The party would also introduce "a moratorium on buy-to-let mortgages" in order to re-balance the housing market in favour of young first-time buyers. To combat negligence in the rented sector, the SDP would introduce a "Conditions Certificate", likened to a "housing MOT", without which rent collection on the uncertified property would be illegal.

Foreign affairs and defence

The SDP supports marginal reductions in aid spending, in its view made possible by more effective use of the aid budget. It proposes that the Department for International Development be absorbed into a new Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which would ensure a greater alignment of aid and UK foreign policy interests. The SDP has criticised past UK efforts to "impose liberal democracy on complex societies in the Middle East". The SDP supports

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and maintaining a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence. It would maintain and update Britain's nuclear deterrent and increase the size of the UK armed forces. It would complete the aircraft carrier programme and related air and naval investment to make and keep HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' and HMS ''Prince of Wales'' fully operational. It supports increased spending on Intelligence to combat terrorism and cyber-warfare as a proportion of the overall defence budget. For veterans, it would increase their housing priority and create tax incentives for business to employ veterans.

Social issues and immigration

The SDP believes the tax and benefits system should offer "greater protection and support for family life". Couples raising children together (comprising a basic rate tax payer and a non tax payer) would benefit from full sharing of tax allowances under the party's proposals. Moreover, government policy in all domains would be subject to a basic test as to "whether it is supportive of the family as the fundamental foundation of society". The party has a strong stance on reducing immigration, stating that "A return to moderate, controlled migration for a sustained period ..would be beneficial. It would result in a less divided, more socially harmonious and more prosperous Britain." In a short documentary, party leader William Coulston says "Put simply, billions of people would probably qualify for asylum in the UK if you could get them here. This is not sustainable". The party advocates a

points-based immigration system A points-based immigration system is an immigration system where a noncitizen's eligibility to immigrate is (partly or wholly) determined by whether that noncitizen is able to score above a threshold number of points in a scoring system that might ...

which is "skills-based, needs-based, legal and subject to democratic control" and wants to contain net immigration to fewer than 50,000 per year. They outline a zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration, with asylum seekers who use illegal routes being repatriated immediately, or detained offshore for later repatriation. On "genuine refugees", their policy is to allow 20,000 visas per year for "carefully vetted families with children in UN refugee camps or near major conflict zones".

Transgender rights

The SDP's policy on transgender rights allows for a person to change their legal sex, subject to "medical gatekeeping". They oppose changes of legal sex by self-identification alone. The party supports "biological sex"-based segregation in sport, women's refuges and prisons. The SDP supports healthcare spending for treatment of gender dysphoria, in both psychological and physiological forms, but stipulates that no physical treatments, including hormones, should be allowed for under-18s. The party supports "gender-critical" viewpoints, having offered their support for

Kathleen Stock Kathleen Mary Linn Stock is a British philosopher and writer. She was a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021. She has published academic work on aesthetics, fiction, imagination, sexual objectification, and sexual ori ...

, and stating "Woman = adult human female".

Leaders

* Jack Holmes (1990–1991) * John Bates (1991–2008) * Peter Johnson (2008–2018) * William Clouston (2018–present)

Electoral performance

Westminster general elections

Scottish Parliament elections

London Assembly elections

References

External links

*
SDP Constitution and Party Rulebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Social Democratic Party (UK) Centrist political parties in the United Kingdom Conservative parties in the United Kingdom Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 1990 Social democratic parties in the United Kingdom Social conservative parties Social Democratic Party (UK) Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present) MEPs 1990 establishments in the United Kingdom Organisations that oppose transgender rights in the United Kingdom