Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present)

The second incarnation of the Social Democratic Party, often referred to as "the continuing SDP", decided to dissolve itself after a disastrous result in the May 1990 Bootle by-election. However, a number of SDP activists met and voted to continue the party in defiance of the National Executive. The continuing group was led by Jack Holmes, who by polling fewer votes than the Official Monster Raving Loony Party at the Bootle by-election had caused the party's end. The much-reduced SDP decided to fight the 1991 Neath by-election. With Holmes serving as the party's election agent, the SDP candidate finished fifth with 5.3% of the vote—only 174 votes behind the fourth-placed Liberal Democrats, although the SDP candidate joined the Lib Dems shortly thereafter.[6] The party subsequently won a number of seats on the Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

Since 1992, the SDP has concentrated on campaigning at local level, holding a few council seats in Yorkshire and South Wales. Bridlington Central and Old Town ward on East Riding of Yorkshire Council remained a hotspot of SDP activity, with Ray Allerston holding a council seat there from 1987. From 2003 to 2007, he was joined by his wife Christine Allerston.[7] Meanwhile, Tony Pelton and Brian Smith were elected in 1999 in Tunstall Ward in Richmondshire. A third hotspot consisted of SDP councillors Jeff Dinham, John Sullivan and Anthony Taylor in Aberavon Ward, Neath Port Talbot.

In the 2003 elections, Tony Pelton was re-elected, but Brian Smith was not. In 2005, Christine Allerston became Mayor of Bridlington for a year; however, she stood down before the 2007 local elections in which her husband Ray Allerston was re-elected and made Mayor and David Metcalf picked up the vacant seat. All three Aberavon councillors remained in place, with Anthony Taylor becoming local mayor. However, Tony Pelton in Tunstall stood down before the 2007 locals, ending SDP representation there. Jackie Foster was elected to Bridlington town council in 2008.

In 2012, Councillors Dinham and Sullivan lost their seats in Aberavon, leaving only Anthony Taylor in position. David Metcalf stepped down in early 2014, owing to ill-health. He died soon afterward. This left just Allerston, Foster and Taylor in post. Ray Allerston died on 16 September 2014.[8][9] A by-election was held in his ward on 27 November which was won by the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[10]

The SDP fielded two candidates in the 2015 general election. Jackie Foster remained an SDP councillor on Bridlington Town Council after the 2015 local elections,[11] but as of 2016 was listed as a Labour councillor.[11] Until May 2017, Anthony Taylor sat on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council as an independent democrat,[12] but remained listed on the party website as an SDP councillor.[13]

Solihull's Green councillor Mike Sheriden defected to the SDP in August 2015.[14] However, Sheriden lost his seat when he stood for re-election in May 2016.

Six SDP candidates stood in the 2017 general election: one in Glasgow East and five in Sheffield constituencies.[15] The SDP candidates received a total of 469 votes.[16] According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission, in 2017 the party—before its present growth—had a total income of £2,095.[17].

In January 2018, Kevin Hickson, former leader of Crewe Town Council, joined the SDP.[18] In an article published in the Crewe Chronicle, Hickson, who represented Crewe East on the town council, stated that he left Labour because of growing unease with that party's "almost daily changes" on Brexit policy. He went on to say that the SDP "combines centre left policies on the economy and the welfare state with a firm commitment to implement the will of the people on Brexit, reclaiming sovereignty over money, laws, borders and trade". Hickson is a senior lecturer in Politics at the University of Liverpool[19] and a former Labour parliamentary candidate. Hickson became the party chairman, until being replaced by Paula Watson in January 2020.

William Clouston became leader of the SDP in 2018, and was re-elected by 89% of ballots returned by members in March 2020.[1] He was a member of the original party in the 1980s and remained with the continuing SDP after the merger with the Liberal Party.

In October 2018, the party published a New Declaration of aims and values, whose name recalls the original Limehouse Declaration of 1981 and which the party describes as putting the principles of social democracy in a modern setting. The declaration calls for a "communitarian, social democratic nation-state".

Patrick O'Flynn, Member of the European Parliament for East of England, defected from the UK Independence Party (UKIP) to join the SDP in November 2018.[3] He cited UKIP leader Gerard Batten's appointment of Tommy Robinson as an adviser as a key reason for his departure from the party.[16] O'Flynn became the first MEP affiliated to the current-day SDP. In April 2019, O'Flynn stated that the SDP would not be standing in the upcoming European Parliamentary elections.[20]

In March 2019, prominent political journalists Rod Liddle and Giles Fraser announced that they were joining the party.[4][5]

In the 2019 local elections, the SDP lost their councillors in Crewe East and Heath, East Staffordshire and no longer have any elected representation.

Former MEP Patrick O'Flynn stood for the 2019 Peterborough by-election on 6 June: he finished ninth out of fifteen by gaining 135 of the 33,920 votes and narrowly avoided a repeat of the May 1990 Bootle by-election by beating the Monster Raving Loony Party candidate who polled 112.[21]

In September 2019 former UKIP leadership candidate Lisa Renfree was announced as the SDP Operations Director.

The party stood 20 candidates across England, Wales and Scotland at the 2019 general election.[22] None were elected.

The SDP's orientation is Eurosceptic. Whilst a majority of the founders of the original SDP in 1981 were pro-EC, the continuing SDP voted against the concept of a United States of Europe at its conference at Scarborough in 1989 and the 1990 party's Eurosceptic position developed from there. In March 2019, the party advocated the UK leaving the European Union on WTO terms in the absence of a better deal on offer.[24] As of November 2019 the party supports the latest iteration of the withdrawal agreement.[25]

The SDP is a centre/centre-left movement advocating a social market economy. It balances a commitment to enterprise and the market with support for greater progressivity in the tax code, substantial increases in the council housing stock, protection of legal aid, changes to the roll out of Universal Credit and renationalising the railways as existing contracts expire.[26]

The SDP supports marginal reductions in aid spending, in its view made possible by more effective use of the aid budget. It proposes that the Department for International Development be absorbed into a new Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which would ensure a greater alignment of aid and UK foreign policy interests. The SDP has criticised past UK efforts to "impose liberal democracy on complex societies in the Middle East".[26]

The SDP supports NATO and maintaining a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence. It would maintain and update Britain's nuclear deterrent and increase the size of the UK armed forces. It would complete the aircraft carrier programme and related air and naval investment to make and keep HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales fully operational. It supports increased spending on Intelligence to combat terrorism and cyber-warfare as a proportion of the overall defence budget. For veterans, it would increase their housing priority and create tax incentives for business to employ veterans.[26]

The SDP believes the tax and benefits system should offer "greater protection and support for family life". Couples raising children together (comprising a basic rate tax payer and a non tax payer) would benefit from full sharing of tax allowances under the party's proposals. Moreover, government policy in all domains would be subject to a basic test as to "whether it is supportive of the family as the fundamental foundation of society".[26]

The party advocates a points based immigration system and wants to contain net immigration to fewer than 100,000 per year. In addition, it wants to introduce an annual cap on gross immigration.[26]