D 709 3/9 - SDD P . Parliamentary business - Mar 1981-Mar 1992
The group D 709 3/9 contains papers relating to the operation of the SDP in Parliament, including series of whips and voting records; and some Whip's correspondence and general correspondence of David Owen.
| Archive level description: | Sub-series |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | - |
| Summary: | The group D 709 3/9 contains papers relating to the operation of the SDP in Parliament, including series of whips and voting records; and some Whip's correspondence and general correspondence of David Owen. |
|---|---|
| Date: | Mar 1981-Mar 1992 |
| Reference Number: | D 709 3/9 |
| Arrangement: | The papers in D 709 3/9 are arranged into the following groups:
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| Biographical/Administrative Information: | The number of SDP Members of Parliament reached its peak within the first two years of the Party's existence, rising from 14 MPs on the day of its launch, 26 Mar 1981, to 27 MPs by the end of that year, with 4 more joining the Party in 1982. However this number dropped to only 6 following the General Election of Jun 1983 and from that time the SDP MPs remained a very small group in Parliament. John Roper acted as SDP Chief Whip from the launch of the party until May 1983; his role was taken over by John Cartwright in June 1983, who continued as SDP Whip until 1992. As a new party the SDP faced initial problems in making its presence known in Parliament; David Owen writes of his frequent correspondence with the House of Commons Speaker, George Thomas, arguing for the need to call SDP MPs to debate more regularly and to clearly recognise the SDP and the Liberal Party as two separate parties which should be recognised equally in Parliamentary debate (Owen, Time to Declare pp 511-513). |