Friedrich August von Hayek, “Liberal Pact with Labour”

Hayek’s letter to the editor, published in The Times on March 31, 1977, and republished in the supplied 2022 version, challenges the Liberal Party’s claim to its name after its agreement to sustain a Labour government. The editorial note identifies the occasion as the Lib–Lab Pact: Liberal MPs supported James Callaghan’s minority government in parliamentary votes in exchange for influence over policy.

The letter’s argument turns on the distinction between a party label and a political principle. Invoking his lifelong study of liberalism’s history and principles, Hayek claims authority to judge whether the party’s conduct warrants its designation. For him, keeping a socialist government in power forfeits the title “Liberal.” His criterion is consequential: supporting such a government matters more than retaining a name or securing influence within the arrangement.

Certainly, no liberal can in future vote ‘Liberal’.

This closing sentence translates the judgment about the party into a prescription for its voters. Its contrast between the unquoted political identity and the quoted electoral label condenses the whole argument: fidelity to liberalism now requires refusing the Liberal Party. The categorical “Certainly” leaves no room for a tactical defence of the pact. Hayek offers no assessment of particular policies or concessions; the letter’s force lies in treating parliamentary support for socialism as sufficient grounds for withdrawing both ideological recognition and electoral allegiance.