Michael Meadowcroft
Political philosophy and views
Political philosophy and views
------------------------------

A biography by [Mark Smulian](/wiki/Mark_Smulian "Mark Smulian") described Meadowcroft as "the main, indeed very nearly the only, philosopher of applied Liberalism within the old Liberal Party from the late 1960s onwards". He has published a large number of books and pamphlets on his views. He has regularly argued for the importance of political philosophy and that the members of the Liberal Democrats require more conviction in their beliefs.

In a 1984 interview with the newspaper *Leeds Student*, Meadowcroft described himself as "an anarchist at heart, but constitutionalist by conviction". His views on foreign policy at the time were described as "exceedingly radical" for a Liberal, as he opposed [the deployment of troops to Northern Ireland](/wiki/Operation_Banner "Operation Banner"), the [Falklands War](/wiki/Falklands_War "Falklands War") and membership of [NATO](/wiki/NATO "NATO"). In an earlier (1979\) interview with a Christian magazine, Meadowcroft advocated a [United Ireland](/wiki/United_Ireland "United Ireland"). Meadowcroft is a member of the [world citizenship](/wiki/World_citizenship "World citizenship") movement and supports a democratically constituted [world government](/wiki/World_government "World government"). He supports [open borders](/wiki/Open_borders "Open borders") in principle, but wrote of border controls in 2001, "their removal overnight in a single operation would provoke immigration to Britain at an artificially high level".

Whilst a member of the post\-1988 Liberal Party, he authored two editions of *Focus on Freedom: the case for the Liberal Party*, which explained the philosophy behind the party's manifesto. Political positions outlined in the book include support for the following:
* The [Single Transferable Vote](/wiki/Single_Transferable_Vote "Single Transferable Vote") electoral system but opposition to the [party list](/wiki/Party_list "Party list") system.
* The UK's withdrawal from [NATO](/wiki/NATO "NATO") and the establishment in turn of a [European Security Force](/wiki/European_army "European army") to contribute to missions of the United Nations. Meadowcroft stated that Liberals opposed both the [Gulf War](/wiki/Gulf_War "Gulf War") and the [Kosovo War](/wiki/Kosovo_War "Kosovo War").
* Support for an independent [State of Palestine](/wiki/State_of_Palestine "State of Palestine") and an independent [Kurdistan](/wiki/Kurdistan "Kurdistan")
* Membership of the European Union, including membership of Schengen, but with reform of the [democratic deficit](/wiki/Democratic_deficit "Democratic deficit")
* Opposition to [CCTV](/wiki/CCTV "CCTV")
* [Preventive healthcare](/wiki/Preventive_healthcare "Preventive healthcare")
* [Legalisation of all drugs](/wiki/Drug_liberalization%23Drug_legalization "Drug liberalization#Drug legalization")
* A ban on private education
* [Nationalisation](/wiki/Nationalisation "Nationalisation") of the [water industry](/wiki/Water_industry "Water industry")
* Opposition to identity cards, including refusal to carry any cards that are introduced


How does Meadowcroft view the importance of political philosophy in the Liberal Democrats?