You know how you can sometimes get lost in Wikipedia? Well, all I really wanted to do was satisfy my curiosity about who on earth the Whigs were, and it really just snowballed from there.
I present for your delectation the no doubt Slightly Inaccurate and Inclined Toward Hyperbole history of the British Government. Witness the interchangeability of early party loyalties, the bitter schisms, the fist-fights, the gradual drift to the centre, then the surprise left hook as Labour comes out of nearly nowhere.
Exciting stuff!
That’s rather nice. I’d suggest that between 1997 and 2010, the LDs were probably well to the left of Labour… and got knows what the last two years should show… but I guess that on the scale of this graphic that’s short-term detail.
Thank you :-)
Aside from what Simon says, I think it’s missing the key “liberal party tearing itself to bits” part of the 20th century, with the National Liberals being subsumed into the Conservatives (about 6 times in the early to mid 20thC-Nat Libs, Lib Nats, more Nat Libs, Coalitionists, Constitutionalists and others).
@Simon, we’re still “to the left” depending on what you measure/define as left wing, but liberalism believes in compromise, the Govt is to the right, but the party is to the left of the Govt.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of knowing the right names to look up :)
Have added National Liberals, and the Wall Street Crash, as the latter was formative to the former!