Editing Lib–Lab pact (section)

==20th century==

===1903===
{{main|Gladstone–MacDonald pact}}
In 1903, an agreement was made between [[Herbert Gladstone]] (then Chief Whip of the Liberal Party) and [[Ramsay MacDonald]] (Secretary of the [[British Labour Party#Labour Representation Committee (1900–1906)|Labour Representation Committee]]) that, in thirty constituencies, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party would not stand against each other, and thus would avoid the risk of splitting their vote. As a result of this agreement, in contests against the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], 29 Labour MPs were returned at the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906 general election]].

===1924===
At the [[1923 United Kingdom general election|1923 general election]], both parties campaigned on the issue of [[free trade]]. The Conservative Party, which had campaigned to introduce [[protective tariff]]s, lost its parliamentary majority but remained the largest party in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]. The Liberals agreed to enable the formation of the first Labour minority government in 1924, under the leadership of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. The minority government lasted a little over nine months; Conservative [[Stanley Baldwin]] succeeded MacDonald as Prime Minister.

===1929===
At the [[1929 United Kingdom general election|1929 general election]], Labour won the greatest number of seats, but did not have a parliamentary majority. The now-much-weakened Liberals allowed the formation of the second Labour government by not aligning with the Conservatives to defeat the new government.

===1977===
{{multiple image
| image1 = Prime Minister James Callaghan (cropped).jpg
| image2 = DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg
| total_width = 350px
| caption1 = Prime Minister and [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Leader of the Labour Party]], [[James Callaghan]]
| caption2 = [[Leader of the Liberal Party (UK)|Leader of the Liberal Party]], [[David Steel]]
}}
In March 1977, the Labour government – lacking a majority following a by-election defeat – faced a [[Confidence motions in the United Kingdom|motion of no confidence]]. In order to remain in office, Prime Minister [[James Callaghan]] approached the Liberal Party, at the time led by [[David Steel]]. Former Foreign Secretary Callaghan had been Prime Minister for just one year, having succeeded [[Harold Wilson]] who had led Labour to a three-seat majority at the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 general election]].

An agreement was negotiated, under the terms of which the Labour Party accepted a limited number of Liberal Party policy proposals and in exchange, the Liberal Party agreed to vote with the government in any subsequent motion of no confidence. This "pact" was the first official bi-party agreement since the [[Second World War]] (there would be [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|a Conservative–Lib Dem coalition]] following the 2010 general election), though it was far short of a coalition. The Lib–Lab Pact's end was confirmed on 7 September 1978,<ref>{{cite news |title=1978: Callaghan accused of running scared |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7/newsid_2502000/2502781.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=7 September 1978}}</ref> by which time Callaghan was expected to call a general election, but instead he decided to remain as leader of a [[minority government]]. This government fell after a vote of no confidence was passed by one vote in March 1979, whereby Callaghan was forced to hold a [[1979 United Kingdom general election|general election in May]], in which [[Margaret Thatcher]] led the Conservatives into power.

===Proposed coalition of 1997===
In the lead-up to the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], a coalition government was discussed by [[Tony Blair]] and the Lib Dems, according to [[Paddy Ashdown]]'s ''The Ashdown Diaries''. Ashdown, a strong proponent of a Lib–Lab coalition, said that from Blair's point of view, in order to get the Conservatives out of power and because he wanted to move his party towards the [[New Labour]] ideal, a coalition would strengthen his majority in the likely event of a victory. To get the Liberal Democrats into his Cabinet, he allegedly agreed on their terms of [[electoral reform]]. Blair was still considering attempting to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats on the day of the general election, until the full scale of his Labour Party's majority became clear at 03:05 on the morning of 2 May 1997; ending eighteen years of Conservative rule.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Tony Blair story |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6506365.stm |first=Brian |last=Wheeler |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-05-10 |access-date=2007-05-14}}</ref> Encouraged by former [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] leader [[Roy Jenkins]], Blair still considered bringing the Lib Dems into the Cabinet after his election victory, as he believed this would help to create a [[political realignment]] on the centre-left and usher in a period of left-wing unity, and only reneged after Deputy Prime Minister [[John Prescott]] threatened to resign over the issue in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watt |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Watt |date=23 October 2000 |title=Prescott dismisses coalition 'dreams' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/oct/23/uk.labour1 |access-date=7 February 2024 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>