Liberalism in Britain

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Practicing Liberalism

This section is to offer up some evidence of how liberal democracy plays itself out in the real world in regards to some of the core values of liberalism.

Liberal democrats, unlike classical liberals, do not believe in negative freedom, but rather positive freedom. They want to provide the means for social and economic intervention that leads to the personal development of people.

Liberalism and Reason:

Liberal democrats conflict with the conservative ideas of paternalism (limiting a person or group's liberty or autonomy which is intended to promote their own good) and tradition (the passing on of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this manner)

Liberal democrats believe that reason and knowledge are the product of true freedom and this leads to progress in society

Nick Clegg, for example, called for more transparency in the government

This occurred after the United kingdom parliamentary scandal in 2009

A major political scandal which demonstrated the major abuse of allowances and expenses by Members of Parliament

This scandal caused widespread anger amongst the public and many MPs responded by announcing retirement or resigning. There was also sackings and several members of the House of Commons were sentenced to terms of imprisonment

Liberal democrats generally take an anti-war stance too; there needs to more discussion and more views taken into account before going to war

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Practicing Liberalism

Liberalism and the Individual:

This is where liberal democrats differ somewhat from classical liberals

Liberal democrats do not adhere to the belief that society is a collection of individuals who are purely set on furthering their own interests and needs

They develop a more optimistic view that we need to care for the worst off in society

Examples of this come from arguments in the past of giving doctors more power

This is linked to privatisation and drawing power away from the National Health Service

Liberals set up the National Health Service as part of a nationalisation project to benefit all members of society

Liberals want to ultimately promote individual freedom, but this must line up with principles of fairness and equality

Liberals and Justice:

Each individual is born equal and should have the same opportunity to make something out of life; this is why justice is a necessity

An example of this is the Pupils Premium: it is additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities and to close the gaps between them and their peers

This policy costs roughly £7 billion pounds and helps children from 2-20 years of age

Ultimately seeks to reduce inequality

Liberal democrats want a just constitution e.g. reforming of the House of Lords as it is currently not representative, change the system so 80% are voted through on proportional representation

Liberal democrats have been successful in raising the level of when tax starts to be paid

Development of Regional Growth Fund; statistics from July, 2017 claim the fund has given £1.6 billion to 20,400 small and medium-sized businesses

University fees are an area lately that Liberal democrats are seen to have lost their credibility

Those from poorer backgrounds are finding it harder to access higher education

Liberalism and Tolerance:

Evidence of the multicultural and tolerant society is widespread in the UK

The government has sought to improve the freedoms of immigrants

Acceptance of the LGBT community demonstrate the liberals as champions of tolerance and diversity