| Social Liberal Forum | |
| Leader1 Title: | Chair |
| Leader1 Name: | Cllr Iain Brodie-Browne |
| Leader2 Title: | Director |
| Leader2 Name: | Dr Ian Kearns |
| Foundation: | 2009 |
| Ideology: | Social liberalism Progressivism |
| Position: | Centre-left |
| Website: | Social Liberal Forum |
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.
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.
Every July since 2011, the SLF has held a one-day annual conference; and since 2012, this includes a William Beveridge Memorial Lecture.[9]
| 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 |
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]
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:
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.