![]() ![]() These ideas resonated strongly in the two 1974 general elections, but the Liberals’ new-found support was relatively shallow, and Thorpe’s appeal was waning even before the Norman Scott affair forced his 1976 resignation. Thorpe’s populist critique of the two-party system was backed up by a distinctive plan for economic and political renewal, in which social, industrial, and constitutional reforms would give governments the legitimacy to make incomes policies work. As long-standing critics of class politics, Liberals were well placed to exploit voters’ frustrations with Edward Heath and Harold Wilson and to articulate demands for a more collaborative and participatory style of government. ![]() ![]() This article explores the evolution of Liberal policy, strategy, and support between 19, and argues that Thorpe and his colleagues were agents as well as beneficiaries of electoral dealignment. The Liberal Party’s 1972–4 revival under Jeremy Thorpe placed it at the heart of political debate in 1970s Britain-a period marked by inflation, strikes, and recurrent talk of political ‘crisis’. ![]()
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