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, contributors include Vincent Cable, Nick Clegg, Edward Davey, Chris Huhne, Susan Kramer, Mark Oaten, and Steve Webb.
In the book the group offers liberal solutions—often stressing the role of choice and competition—to several societal issues, such as public healthcare, pensions, environment, globalisation, social and agricultural policy, local government, the European Union and prisons. It is usually seen as the most economically liberal publication that the Liberal Democrats have produced in recent times.
Six years after the book's publication, the Liberal Democrats joined with the Conservatives to form a coalition government. Three of the five Liberal Democrat members of the current Cabinet were contributors to this book: Vince Cable, Nick Clegg, and Edward Davey.
David Laws was involved in the negotiations to form the coalition, and was in the initial line up of the coalition Cabinet from 12 to 29 May 2010.
Read more about The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism: Chapters and Contributors, Ideology
Famous quotes containing the words orange, reclaiming and/or liberalism:
“I’d take the bus downtown with my mother, and the big thing was to sit at the counter and get an orange drink and a tuna sandwich on toast. I thought I was living large!... When I was at the Ritz with the publisher a few months ago, I did think, “Oh my God, I’m in the Ritz tearoom.” ... The person who was so happy to sit at the Woolworths counter is now sitting at the Ritz, listening to the harp, and wondering what tea to order.... [ellipsis in source] Am I awake?”
—Connie Porter (b. 1959)
“We have needed to define ourselves by reclaiming the words that define us. They have used language as weapons. When we open ourselves to what they say and how they say it, our narrow prejudices evaporate and we are nourished and armed.”
—Selma James (b. 1930)
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)