The papers in D 709 3/11 are arranged into the following groups:

• D 709 3/11/1: Papers on Alliance electoral agreements
• D 709 3/11/2: Alliance joint policy and projects: general papers
• D 709 3/11/3: Papers on Alliance publicity
• D 709 3/11/4: Papers on Alliance fund-raising
• D 709 3/11/5: General papers on SDP/Liberal relations

At the time of the launch of the SDP discussions had already begun with the Liberal Party over the forming of an agreement between the two parties. The SDP Steering Committee minutes of 6 Apr 1981 record the results of discussions held in Holme, Bonn, between William Rodgers, Shirley Williams, and Liberals David Steel and Richard Holme, by which it was agreed to produce a statement on the formation of a Joint Negotiating Committee to work on producing a common statement of principles; to set up two Joint Commissions on Industry and the Constitution; and to begin an `informal exchange of information' on parliamentary seat priorities for the next General Election. (Copy of these minutes in D 709 3/11/5/1). In a paper of the same date Mike Thomas outlined three outstanding reasons for reaching an agreement of some kind: that the two parties could work together to achieve common aims, that as they would be likely to govern in coalition they must agree on basic policy; and that with the British `first past the post' electoral system it might prove `electorally fatal ` for the two parties to oppose each other in elections. (copy of this paper at D 709 3/11/5/1). He goes on to detail possible advantages and disadvantages for the SDP in forming such an agreement, noting that while it might help the SDP win more seats and thus enhance the party's credibility, as well as promoting their image as an `anti-adversary politics' party, there would be the danger of the party losing their popularity and identity as a new, bold, experienced and classless party capable of effecting real change; with the added difficulties involved in coming to a national agreement in view of the fluctuating levels of local support for the Liberals.

By September 1981 the text of an agreement for fighting the next General Election in Alliance had been drafted and seat negotiations had begun, ending in a settlement reached by September 1982 which allocated 312 parliamentary seats to the SDP and 318 to the Liberal Party. The efficacy of electoral agreements seemed proven in the Warrington by-election, fought and won just two months after the launch of the SDP in alliance with the Liberals by SDP candidate Roy Jenkins. At the Liberal Party Llandudno Assembly on 16 September 1981 the Alliance was accepted with an overwhelming majority of 16-1. However, David Owen became increasingly uneasy about the development of the relationship between the two parties, fearing that the SDP would gradually lose its individual identity: he notes that by the time of the Liberal Party conference he felt that he was 'being sucked into an Alliance with a big `A' rather than a small `a' over which I had the profoundest doubts' (Owen, Time to Declare p.525)

By the beginning of 1983 opinion polls indicated that the popularity of the Alliance was waning, and despite a rally on 20 Jan, an event represented in the media as a `relaunch', the Alliance fared poorly in the 1983 General Election, with the SDP reduced to 6 seats. The possibility of a merger between the two parties was discussed, but David Owen, on taking over the SDP leadership from Roy Jenkins who had resigned in June, immediately made it clear in talks with Liberal leader David Steel that he would `oppose it tooth and nail' (Owen, Time to Declare p.593). He aimed to guide the relationship between the two parties 'back to the original concept of the Alliance, with each party complementing the others appeal, and counter-balancing strengths and weaknesses' (Owen, Time to Declare p.593).

Serious rifts in the Alliance became evident with the publication of a report produced by the Alliance Joint Commission on Defence and Disarmament on 10 Jun 1986, which did not make allowance for the replacement of the British Polaris nuclear weapon system. David Owen and many SDP members opposed the wording of the report on this issue and Owen publicly made clear his commitment to a replacement of Polaris with an alternative nuclear defence system, believing that while 'it was better for us to agree policy in the Alliance, it could not be at any price, certainly not at the price of our country's security' (Owen, Time to Declare p.651). The Alliance continued to combine forces in fighting by-elections, including the successful Greenwich by-election 1987 at which the SDP candidate Rosie Barnes won the formerly safe Labour seat with a convincing majority. The beginning of 1987 saw the publication of the Alliance's joint policy document The time has come , the unveiling of a new Alliance colour, gold, a new theme tune, Purcell's Trumpet Tune in D, and a rally at the Barbican, London; but the Alliance still suffered significant losses in the June General Election- with the SDP dropping from 8 to 5 seats and the Liberals from 19 to 17 seats - following which negotiations over the possibility of a merger between the two parties began in earnest. (See D 709 3/12: Papers on the SDP and Liberal Party merger and the continuing SDP)