Serpents, Goats and Turkeys

A Century of Liberal-Labour Relations
In these pages, former coalition Cabinet minister David Laws explores periods in British history when one party needed the other to secure electoral support or the ability to govern.

Thedefinitive, insider history of the often turbulent political relationshipbetween the Liberals and Labour.

Naturalallies or fierce competitors? For the past century, Britain’s two majorcentre-left parties have co-existed in sometimes harmonious but more oftenfraught duopoly, from the 1903 agreement that a prominent Liberal complainedwas ‘nursing into life a serpent which would sting their party to death’ to the1976–77 pact that gave us the phrase ‘turkeys voting for Christmas’ and beyond,to the failed negotiations that led to the controversial 2010–15 LibDem–Conservative coalition.

Charting100 years of British political history, Serpents, Goats and Turkeys exploresthe formal and informal arrangements that have existed between the parties,covering electoral deals, support for minority governments, formal pacts andfull coalitions. What have been the overlaps of policy and ideology, and wherehave the parties been most divided? What explains the periods of co-operationbut also the unwillingness or inability to work together for any significanttime?

Inthe wake of the 2024 ‘Loveless Landslide’, former coalition Cabinet ministerDavid Laws also draws on unpublished records and private diaries from the pastthirty years of Lib–Lab wrangling to consider the likely options in the eventof a future hung parliament. Should the parties work together? Would they beable to? And what are the prospects for voting reform? The answers to suchquestions will have major implications for British democracy and the future ofour politics.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.