Everyone remembers examples of political
defections, the most prominent being Winston Churchill’s ‘ratting’ and
‘re-ratting’ between the Conservative Party and the Liberals. But, Churchill
was by no means alone; nor was he the most prolific defector. Over 100 MPs and former MPs defected to or
from the Liberal Party in the century since 1910.
With so many individuals leaving their
party for another, it raises the question whether defections are all one-off
storms of protest, or whether collectively they are indicators of significant
change in the political climate.
Defectors and the Liberal Party 1910 to 2010 – a study of interparty relations concludes that
there are indeed patterns to defections. This new book by Dr Alun Wyburn-Powell
is the first comprehensive study of political defections, covering a whole
century and investigating 122 defections. There are common threads behind the
reasons for defection and indicators suggesting who was likely to defect and
who would remain loyal when faced with the same set of circumstances.
The first part of the book identifies the characteristics
which distinguish defectors from loyalists – defectors were disproportionately
male, wealthier, more militaristic, began their careers at a younger age and
were likely to come from a minority religion. Paddy Ashdown proposed a theory
for international spying, that it was the ‘toffs’ who defected. His theory is
tested and found to hold true in politics too.
Overall, defection was found to be a career-enhancing move,
resulting in a higher chance of ministerial office and a peerage. Defectors
from the Liberal Party went fairly equally to the right and to the left, but
those who went to the Conservatives were much happier than those who went to
Labour. This reveals an underlying compatibility between the partners in the
2010 coalition, which took many commentators and even the parties themselves by
surprise.
The second part of the book investigates all the individual
defections, considering the personal and party implications. The reasons for
all the defections are analysed. Conclusions are reached about the
responsibility of individual leaders for the defections. The timing of the
Liberal Party’s decline and revival is investigated, challenging the views of
other historians.
The most prolific defector was not
Churchill, but Edgar Granville, who lived to the age of 100 and had five
defections to his name. Lloyd George was the leader who presided over the worst
attrition rate of defectors. Each individual defection was the conclusion of an
expert witness, the defector, on their party at a specific moment in time.
Defection was rarely a comfortable experience, as is revealed in detail from
the tales of each defector.
The foreword to the book is by Lord Andrew Adonis, former
cabinet minister, author of Education, Education, Education and himself a
defector from the Liberal Democrats to the Labour Party.
