Social Democratic Party (UK) - Aftermath

Aftermath

Most members of the SDP who joined the Liberal Democrats have remained in that party. There have been a few exceptions to this, with Roger Liddle and Polly Toynbee among those who former Labour Party members of the SDP who returned to Labour ranks subsequently. Roger Liddle went on to become Special Adviser on European matters to Tony Blair and Chairman of the international think tank Policy Network in which capacity he has had a major influence on modernising the political philosophy of the Labour Party. Some Owenites joined the Conservative Party, with one, Danny Finkelstein, becoming a close aide of both John Major and William Hague.

But most important of all, the Social Democratic Party strengthened the political credibility of the Liberals. The national status of Roy Jenkins (former Chancellor and Home Secretary) and David Owen (former Foreign Secretary who had been widely tipped as a future Labour Prime Minister) helped the Liberals become something more than a source of shock by-election results and a party for those living in rural areas such as the Scottish Highlands and the West Country. The SDP also helped the Liberals attract attention from the media for their policies after a long period when the only media interest in the party resulted from the trial of former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe.