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This article gives an overview of liberalism in the United Kingdom. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that scheme. For inclusion in this scheme, it is not necessary that parties labelled themselves as a liberal party. == Background == In the United Kingdom, the word ''liberalism'' can have any of several meanings. Scholars use the term to refer to ''classical liberalism''; the term also can mean ''economic liberalism'', ''social liberalism'' or ''political liberalism''; it can simply refer to the politics of the Liberal Democrat party; it can occasionally have the imported American meaning, including the derogatory usage by conservatives. However, the derogatory connotation is much weaker in the UK than in the US, and social liberals from both the left and right wing continue to use ''liberal'' and ''illiberal'' to describe themselves and their opponents, respectively. Historically, the term referred to the broad liberal political alliance of the nineteenth century, formed by Whigs, Peelites, and radicals. This alliance, which developed into the Liberal Party, dominated politics for much of the reign of Queen Victoria and during the years before World War I. British liberalism is now organised mainly in the social liberalism of the Liberal Democrats (member LI, ELDR). The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (member LI, ELDR) is their counterpart in Northern Ireland. Some members of the Conservative Party, most notably the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, regard that party as the closest major party to classical liberalism, because of its commitment to low taxation and economic deregulation. This may change with the election of David Cameron as leader. In his speech to the party conference in 2006, Cameron described the party as a "liberal conservative" party, and in a speech in Bath on Thursday 22 March 2007, he described himself as a liberal Conservative.〔http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=135823〕 Furthermore, Cameron has set up a web-site designed to appeal to Liberal Democrat members and making heavy use of traditionally liberal rhetoric.〔http://www.libdems4cameron.com〕 During the 2010 general election Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said this of Conservative claims to the word liberal: "There is a gulf in values between myself and David Cameron. They have no progressive reform agenda at all—only an unbearable sense of entitlement that it’s just their time to govern" 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liberalism in the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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