A New Party Hits the Hustings

The Social Democrats launch a media blitz

Even though it began at an unusually early hour for late-rising Britons--8:45 a.m.--the press conference was so packed that several TV camera crews had to be turned away. But then the occasion was special: the official birth last Thursday of Britain's first new national political party in 49 years, the Social Democratic Party (S.D.P.). Fielding questions from some 500 reporters, the S.D.P.'s four founding leaders--all onetime Labor Cabinet members--pledged to occupy the middle ground that, in their view, has been abandoned by both the Labor Party and the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Said Shirley Williams, 50, the former Education Minister, now touted as the S.D.P.'s eventual head: "We will be a party that heals divisions in this country."

By some assessments, last week's launch was a pivotal event in British politics, if only because of the S.D.P.'s surprising early strength. Since breaking openly with the increasingly leftist Labor Party in January, the new left-of-center grouping has recruited 13 Labor Members of Parliament, 21 Labor peers, and even one dissident Tory backbencher.

If an election were held now, the latest poll suggests, astonishingly, that the new party could win 35% of the popular vote vs. 29% for Labor and 27% for the Tories. An alliance with the centrist Liberal Party would give the S.D.P. 46% support, enough to guarantee a sizable majority in the 635-seat House of Commons. Thatcher does not want an early election, since both she and Labor Party Leader Michael Foot are showing the lowest personal standings for any Prime Minister and party leader since the war. "Every day I pray that Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot will be the leaders at the next election," says former Labor Foreign Secretary turned S.D.P. Leader David Owen, 42. "What could be better than to run against those two?"

The S.D.P. has no single leader; instead it has a quartet consisting of Williams, Owen, and former senior Laborites William Rodgers, 52, and Roy Jenkins, 60. Unlike Labor and the Tories, the S.D.P. has no established grass-roots organization or detailed policies. Last week it announced a vague list of "twelve tasks," including a commitment to flexible wage and price controls, a mixed economy and nuclear defense. The S.D.P. leaders hope to capitalize on their early momentum and have budgeted $385,000 for a major media blitz. Their immediate aim is to swell the party's rolls--and coffers--by selling $20 annual memberships. Even before the launch, some 20,000 people contributed to the cause and another 10,000 signed up last Thursday.

The biggest challenge may be to hold on to its converts beyond the next general election, which is expected in late 1983 or early '84. The major parties are already moving to head off the S.D.P. challenge. So last week, the new party hit the ground running. In one day, Shirley Williams covered 700 miles, visiting two major cities, holding three full-scale press conferences and giving 20 TV and radio interviews. Simultaneously, the four leaders began spelling out the terms of a working alliance with the Liberals. "We shall work together," says Rodgers, "but we shall be separate." Given the S.D.P.'s flying start, there was little doubt about which of the two parties would be the senior partner. qed

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