The Social Liberal Forum (often abbreviated to SLF) is a pressure group and think tank which seeks to promote social liberalism within Britain.[1] The Social Liberal Forum originated as a group that represented the centre-left within the British Liberal Democrats,[2][3] but membership is now open also to people who are not members of the Liberal Democrats but who share the SLF's values and principles; since 2018 this has included liberal progressives of all parties and none. The SLF regularly organises fringe events at the twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference and, increasingly, provides speakers to events elsewhere.

Social Liberal Forum
ChairCllr Iain Brodie-Browne
DirectorDr Ian Kearns
Founded2009
IdeologySocial liberalism
Progressivism
Political positionCentre-left
Website
Social Liberal Forum

Overview edit

The SLF was launched in February 2009.[4][5] The book Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century has been said to be influential on the thinking of those who created the SLF.[6] The SLF did not take a corporate position on the suitability of the Coalition Government between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives and campaigned for many changes to Coalition policy on issues such as NHS reforms,[5] economic policy [7] and cuts to welfare spending.[8]

The SLF advances social liberal policies, theory and thought leadership within British politics, often in opposition to free market fundamentalism. It takes inspiration from the political ideas of William Beveridge, John Maynard Keynes, Thomas Hill Green, Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, David Lloyd George, Jo Grimond and Charles Kennedy amongst others. The SLF has supported a wide range of socio-economic policies including the introduction of a universal basic income, opposition to welfare reforms and support for wealth taxation, economic democracy and Keynesian economics.

Conference and Lecture edit

Every July since 2011, the SLF has held a one-day annual conference; and since 2012, this includes a William Beveridge Memorial Lecture.[9]

William Beveridge Memorial Lectures edit

Number Year Speaker Title
1st 2012 Nick Clegg MP Pollution, the sixth giant evil
2nd 2013 Steve Webb MP Something for something
3rd 2014 Tim Farron MP Ambitious government, to improve the lives of citizens
4th 2015 Baroness Claire Tyler Wellbeing - a modern take on Beveridge
5th 2016 Sir Vince Cable MP The fragmentation of the centre-left
6th 2017 Lord William Wallace Is a liberal and democratic society compatible with globalisation?
7th 2018 Layla Moran MP A new liberal approach to education - challenging the broken status quo
8th 2019 Sir Ed Davey MP Climate justice: how to decarbonise capitalism and tackle poverty
9th 2020 Clive Lewis MP Social Liberalism in the 21st Century
10th 2021 Prof David Howarth Liberal Equality

Publications edit

On 9 March 2018, the Social Liberal Forum published a book, edited by Helen Flynn, entitled "Four Go In Search of Big Ideas: Putting Progressive Ideas at the Heart of UK Politics".[10] The book included chapters from a range of social liberal, social democratic and green political thinkers and aimed to build a "progressive alliance of people, ideas and campaigns".[11] The book covered three main policy areas; the economy, welfare and climate change and included contributions from active members of the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party. The Forum regularly publishes pamphlets written by members relevant to social liberal thought and action.[12]

Books edit

Pre-SLF and non-SLF books by social liberals edit

Much of the debate and organisation of the Social Liberal Forum emerged from the following book, published in 2007, which was framed as a response and antidote to The Orange Book:

It was subsequently reprinted by Politico's in 2009, to tie in with the launch of the SLF.

Another book, published in 2012, subjected The Orange Book to further scrutiny, challenging its emphasis on economic liberalism and rejecting its preponderant support for market solutions:

A new book, published in April 2023, with a forthcoming paperback version in April 2024, envisions a new form of egalitarian liberalism that focuses on the need for a fairer and more equitable society:

SLF books edit

Pamphlets edit

General pamphlets edit

SLF 'Long Reads' series edit

SLF 'Revisiting Texts' series edit

People edit

The current Chair of the Social Liberal Forum is Cllr Iain Brodie-Browne and Deputy-Chair Louise Harris [13] Previous Chairs of the SLF have included Helen Flynn, Naomi Smith, Gareth Epps, David Hall-Matthews and Richard Grayson.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "What We Stand For". Social Liberal Forum. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  2. ^ "How Lib Dem members describe their own political identity". Lib Dem Voice. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  3. ^ "The Lib Dems are a Centre Left Party". Social Liberal Forum.
  4. ^ Sowemimo, Matthew (12 February 2009). "Social Liberal Forum launched". Liberal Democrat Voice.
  5. ^ a b Wintour, Patrick (15 June 2011). "Lib Dem pressure group celebrates NHS rethink". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Reinventing the State". Social Liberal Forum. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  7. ^ Buch, Prateek. "Economic Plan C". Social Liberal Forum.
  8. ^ Hall-Matthews, David (14 November 2011). "Osborne's attack on benefits must be moderated". The Guardian. London.
  9. ^ Lindsay, Caron (29 July 2018). "Big ideas abound at SLF Conference". Lib Dem Voice.
  10. ^ "Four Go In Search of Big Ideas". Social Liberal Forum.
  11. ^ Lishman, Gordon (2018). "Introduction" in Four Go In Search of Big Ideas. King's Lynn, Norfolk: Social Liberal Forum. p. 6.
  12. ^ "Publications". Social Liberal Forum.
  13. ^ Social Liberal Forum [@soclibforum] (27 September 2018). "We are delighted to announce that the newly elected SLF Executive for 2018-2020 are the following: Chair: Iain Brodie Browne (@onebsquared) Deputy Chair: @louiseaharris92 Treasurer: Gordon Lishman Vice-Chair, South: @georgewpotter Vice-Chair, North: @PaulHindley2210" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Twitter.

External links edit