The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism

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The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism
Author	Paul Marshall and David Laws (editors)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Subject(s)	Politics, liberalism
Publisher	Profile Books
Publication date	2004
Media type	Print (paperback)
Pages	302
ISBN	ISBN 1-86197-797-2
Followed by	Britain After Blair

The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism (ISBN 1-86197-797-2) is a book written by a group of prominent British Liberal Democrat politicians and edited by David Laws and Paul Marshall in 2004. Beside Laws and Marshall, the contributors include Vincent Cable, Nick Clegg, Edward Davey, Chris Huhne, Susan Kramer, Mark Oaten and Steve Webb. The book was published in association with the liberal think-tank CentreForum.

In the book the group offers liberal solutions – often stressing the role of the free market – to several societal issues, such as health, pensions, environment, globalisation, social and agricultural policy, local government, the European Union and prisons. It is usually seen as the most economically liberal book the Liberal Democrats have produced in recent times. Such, along with its impact upon the party, it has helped cause the dividing line within the party: those who advocate a restricted market observing social democratic values and those (such as authors, contributors and supporters of the Orange Book) who advocate a free market.

The book has attracted a lot of attention and stirred debate on the policy of the Liberal Democrats.

As of April 2006 it is back in print.

[edit] External links

• Review by Jonathan Calder, originally published in Liberator 298, September 2004.
• Liberator 298 The complete September 2004 edition of Liberator, containing three contrasting reviews of the Orange Book written by leading party commentators at the time the book was first published.