Title: Being Liberal
Subtitle: The Liberal Disposition in Contemporary British Politics
Subject Classification:  Politics and Government  
BIC Classification: JP
BISAC Classification:
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Publication date: 24 Apr 2026
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-832-8
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-833-5

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Description

Being Liberal is about the instincts of British Liberals – about what those instincts are, and why they still matter. It argues that a Liberal disposition in politics consists of seven traits: openness, hating the abuse of power, being non-judgmental, treating people as individuals not as members of categories or classifications, disliking bombast and hierarchy, trying to be cool and rational, and looking for compromise and moderation. It builds its case not from theories of liberalism but from the lives, writing and experiences of real Liberal people, including Liberal and Liberal Democrat party leaders and prominent supporters, many of whom the author has known and worked with, including all the party leaders of the past 50 years. It acknowledges that Liberals have characteristic weaknesses as well as strengths but argues that anti-liberalism, now fashionable and even intellectually dominant, not only misunderstands Liberals but also poses dangers that only Liberals and Liberalism can counteract.

Biography

Author(s):  David Howarth is Professor of Law and Public Policy at Cambridge, Fellow of Clare College, former Liberal Democrat MP and Shadow Justice Secretary, former UK Electoral Commissioner, and erstwhile long time member of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee.

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