Journal of Liberal History

Politics rest on beliefs. Political parties that operate without a philosophical framework stand for little more than personality and populism. But equally, beliefs must rest on thought – they must be continually defined, tested and debated rather than simply inherited unquestioningly.

Liberalism, the tradition of political thought on which Liberal Democrats’ philosophy rests, possesses an immensely rich history, stretching back over three hundred years. Discuss the historical roots of the Liberal belief in liberty, equality, community, democracy, internationalism and environmentalism with Professor Jonathan Parry (author of Liberalism (Agenda Publishing, 2025)) and Professor David Howarth.

The meeting also marks the launch of the new and completely revised edition of the Liberal Democrat History Group’s popular booklet, Liberalism: the ideas that built the Liberal Democrats.

This is a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference. You must be registered for the conference to be able to attend. We are not offering online participation, but a recording of the meeting will be available on our website soon after.