Radical rainbow
The question of whether the SDP and Liberals should merge is at present of very little public interest, but might be- me extremely important during the next
general election. If the two parties threaten to approach the point, 36 per cent, at which they suddenly start to win a large number of seats, the other parties will turn their fire on them. The strength and nature of their alliance would then be sorely tested, and every difference of policy examined. The Social Democrats rightly decided not to debate the subject in full session at their Conference. They did, however, hold a fringe meeting on Tues- day, addressed by the Liberal MP Mr Michael Meadowcroft and the Social Democrat MP Mr Ian Wrigglesworth. Mr Meadowcroft, who appears to see himself as the Gandhi of Leeds, but lacks the intellect for this role, said a merger would be 'philosophically unhelpful'. The philo- sophies of the two parties were too far apart. He failed, however, to clarify the philosophical distinction between the par- ties. Mr Wrigglesworth said differences between the two parties were 'tissue thin' compared to those within the Labour party, and lamented that very little prog- ress had been made in joint policy discus- sions, often because of clashes between personalities. Dr Owen wants the two parties to show that 'two independent political parties can actually work together in opposition and government without necessarily having to merge.' He wants a 'radical rainbow' to embrace the two par- ties: an unhappy phrase, describing a state of affairs which does not yet exist.
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