The Rise and Possibilities of Britain’s Social Democrats

The Social Democratic party (SDP) was launched in March 1981. It appeared at once as the most serious challenge to the British party system since Labour began to contend for national office in the 1920s, and as the biggest split in a potential government party since 1886. But its stability remains precarious, for while strong at the top and bottom, it has not yet acquired a solid structure. At the top, the Labour party has lost 30 former ministers (half of them ex-cabinet) in recent years. Ne...