On this day · 6 August

1987

On This Day in 1987: David Owen Resigns as SDP Leader Over Liberal Merger

Political event

On 6 August 1987, David Owen resigned as SDP leader after party members voted to pursue a merger with the Liberals, paving the way for today’s Liberal Democrats.

On 6 August 1987, David Owen resigned as leader of the Social Democratic Party after its members voted to pursue a merger with the Liberal Party.

Owen had campaigned against combining the two parties, arguing that the SDP should retain its independent social democratic identity.

When 57.4% of participating SDP members backed merger, Owen accepted that he had lost the argument and stepped down.

The decision opened the way for the creation of the party now known as the Liberal Democrats—but it also produced a bitter split among Britain’s social democrats.

Why was the SDP created?

The Social Democratic Party was established in 1981 by senior Labour figures who believed their party had moved too far to the left.

Four former Labour Cabinet ministers—Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams—became known as the “Gang of Four.”

They issued the Limehouse Declaration in January 1981, warning that British politics was becoming dangerously polarised and calling for a new political movement.

The SDP attracted Labour MPs, councillors, activists and voters who supported social reform but rejected policies including widespread nationalisation and unilateral nuclear disarmament.

Owen, a doctor before entering Parliament, had served as Foreign Secretary under Labour prime minister James Callaghan between 1977 and 1979.

He brought considerable political experience to the new party and became its leader following the 1983 general election.

The SDP–Liberal Alliance

Rather than competing directly against the established Liberal Party, the SDP formed an electoral alliance with it.

The two parties agreed not to stand candidates against one another and fought elections under the SDP–Liberal Alliance banner.

In the 1983 general election, the Alliance received almost 7.8 million votes—25.4% of the national total. Labour won 27.6%.

However, Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system translated the Alliance’s support into only 23 seats, compared with Labour’s 209.

The result demonstrated both the potential and the limitations of the new political force. The Alliance could attract millions of voters but struggled to convert evenly distributed national support into parliamentary constituencies.

Owen succeeded Roy Jenkins as SDP leader shortly after that election and jointly led the Alliance alongside Liberal leader David Steel.

An increasingly difficult partnership

The relationship between the two Alliance parties was not always comfortable.

Owen wanted the SDP to retain a distinctive identity based on European-style social democracy, a mixed economy and a strong approach to defence.

The Liberals brought their own traditions, organisation and political priorities. Differences between Owen and Steel became increasingly visible, particularly over defence and the future structure of the Alliance.

Some supporters believed a formal merger was necessary to end internal competition, simplify the movement’s leadership and present voters with a single party.

Owen feared that merger would dissolve the SDP inside a larger Liberal organisation and sacrifice the political purpose for which it had been founded.

Disappointment at the 1987 election

The Alliance entered the general election of 11 June 1987 hoping to challenge Labour as the principal alternative to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government.

Instead, its vote fell to approximately 22.6%.

The Alliance still received more than 7.3 million votes but won only 22 parliamentary seats. Labour increased its support to 30.8% and consolidated its position as the official opposition.

Following the result, Steel called for the SDP and Liberals to merge into a single party.

Prominent SDP founders Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers supported the proposal. Owen remained firmly opposed.

The disagreement was placed before SDP members.

SDP members vote for merger

The result was announced on 6 August 1987.

A total of 57.4% voted in favour of merger, while 42.6% opposed it. Turnout among party members was 77.7%.

The result provided a majority for merger but also revealed a deeply divided party, with more than two in five participants supporting Owen’s position.

Owen described the decision as a “folly” and a “great tragedy.”

Unable to lead the SDP towards a merger he fundamentally opposed, he resigned that day.

His departure was not simply a change of personnel. It marked the moment at which the internal argument over whether the SDP should remain independent became an open split.

Bob Maclennan takes over

Bob Maclennan, the SDP MP for Caithness and Sutherland, succeeded Owen as party leader on 29 August.

Maclennan supported merger and oversaw negotiations with the Liberals.

The process proved difficult, with disagreements over the new party’s name, constitution, leadership and policy programme.

The two parties formally combined in March 1988 as the Social and Liberal Democrats. The name was shortened to Liberal Democrats in 1989.

David Steel and Bob Maclennan became the party’s joint interim leaders before Paddy Ashdown was elected as its first permanent leader.

Owen’s continuing SDP

Owen refused to join the merged party.

In March 1988, he launched a continuing Social Democratic Party with the support of fellow MPs Rosie Barnes and John Cartwright.

The group sought to preserve the original SDP as an independent political force. Owen argued that there remained room for a social democratic party positioned between Labour and the Conservatives without adopting the Liberal tradition.

The continuing SDP contested parliamentary and local elections but failed to establish a sustainable national base.

Owen announced its dissolution in 1990, although some activists maintained local organisations under the SDP name.

He continued serving as MP for Plymouth Devonport until standing down at the 1992 general election. He was subsequently appointed to the House of Lords.

The legacy of Owen’s resignation

The political consequences of the 6 August vote remain visible today.

The majority who supported merger helped create the Liberal Democrats, which became an established third force in British politics and served in coalition government between 2010 and 2015.

Owen’s resistance also reflected a genuine disagreement about political identity. He did not oppose cooperation with the Liberals, but believed that permanent merger would eliminate a distinct social democratic alternative.

The episode demonstrated how difficult it can be to transform an electoral alliance into a unified political party. Shared opponents and overlapping policies do not necessarily erase differences in history, culture or ambition.

On 6 August 1987, David Owen lost the vote over his party’s future and resigned as its leader.

The SDP he had led moved towards merger, while Owen attempted to continue without it. From that division emerged both the modern Liberal Democrats and one of the most intriguing political “what ifs” of recent British history.