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gang of four
Left to right: Bill Rodgers, David Owen, Roy Jenkins and Shirley Williams holding the Observer newspaper. Photograph: PA Archive
Left to right: Bill Rodgers, David Owen, Roy Jenkins and Shirley Williams holding the Observer newspaper. Photograph: PA Archive

5 February 1981: Support for the SDP

This article is more than 12 years old
The so-called 'gang of four' publish an advert representing their supporters

The Limehouse Declaration on 25 January, a response to the power given to trade unions in choosing a leader at a special Labour party conference, led to the formation of the Social Democratic party.

The call for social democracy was supported by many, and the Guardian readership was seen as the party's natural constituency (although not all of the paper's staff supported the split from Labour).

Columnist Polly Toynbee's name is one of the 100 used in the advert, and she stood for election as an SDP candidate in the 1983 election.

1981
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In the article above, Alan Rusbridger examines the range of influence of the supporters.

The SDP formed an alliance with the Liberal party in the 1983 general election. In 1988 the two parties merged to form the Liberal Democrats, although one of the original 'gang of four', David Owen, formed his own breakaway party as a result.

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