The Orange Book

Chapters and contributors

• "Reclaiming Liberalism: a liberal agenda for the Liberal Democrats" – David Laws
• "Liberalism and localism" – Ed Davey
• "Europe: a Liberal future" – Nick Clegg
• "Global governance, legitimacy and renewal" – Chris Huhne
• "Liberal economics and social justice" – Vince Cable
• "Harnessing the market to achieve environmental goals" – Susan Kramer
• "UK health services: a liberal agenda for reform" – David Laws
• "Tough Liberalism: a liberal approach to cutting crime" – Mark Oaten
• "Children, the family and the state: a liberal agenda" – Steve Webb and Jo Holland
• "Pension reform: a settlement for a new century" – Paul Marshall

Ideology

Orange Book liberalism is a classical liberal ideology, mostly within the Liberal Democrats, which seeks to balance the four main strands of liberal thought—social liberalism, economic liberalism, cultural liberalism and political liberalism. 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 beliefs such as members of the Social Liberal Forum 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 and Chris Huhne, former Energy Secretary, and current leader Sir Ed Davey. While the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the 2000s, Charles Kennedy is less associated with the Orange Book, and in turn the 2010–2015 Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government.

Reception

Six years following the book's publication, the Liberal Democrats joined with the Conservatives to form a coalition government. Of the nine authors of the book who were elected MPs, one (Mark Oaten) 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 radio show Analysis 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 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.

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, Leonard Hobhouse and the economist John A. Hobson; therefore, The Orange Book writers were seeking to overturn nearly a century of Liberal party history.

References

References

1. Chris Keating. (11 October 2006). "Review: Britain After Blair - A Liberal Agenda". [[Liberal Democrat Voice]].
2. Alan Muhammed. (21 May 2015). "Introducing Liberal Reform". Liberal Democrat Voice.
3. Robert Philpot. (15 September 2011). "The Purple Book and the future of New Labour". The New Statesman.
4. [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/21/libdems2006.liberaldemocrats8 ''Guardian'' (2006): The future's bright, but is it orange?]
5. Stourton, Edward. (23 February 2011). "Did Lib Dem Orange Book lead to coalition with Tories?". BBC News.
6. Lammy, David. (20 January 2012). "Cameron and Clegg's dilemma". [[New Statesman]].
7. Grayson, Richard. (12 July 2010). "Yellows in peril: the struggle for the soul of liberalism". New Statesman.