INTERNAL BULLETIN
((Private - NLP))
Fine gentlemen, I write this bulletin out of a specific need that has presented itself not only to my own person, but, as I am most certain, to our entire party, both within and outside of Westminster- of course, I refer to our poor showing in this past election, where, despite garnering an expanded percentage of the popular vote, we have succumbed to the severe issue that, with fierce competition emerging from the other Liberal Party, the Labourites, and the Populists, we have, almost certainly, split the vote within a great many of our constituencies, rendering for us a position within the Commons that is exactly one tenth of our prior situation. As I am certain that we agree, this is, undeniably, an unsustainable position. At this rate, there will be no National Liberal Party with elected representation within ten years. I do not mean to present this as an insurmountable obstacle, but certainly, we must consider a revised position.
A great number of fine, notables have, in recent years, advocated in favor of a merger with the Conservatives in the vague hope that, by combining our forces with one of the nation's two largest political parties, we may be able to advance our cause from a position of mildly increased influence while helping to block the Labour Party and their ilk from further gains. If this does prove to be the desire of this association, so be it, and I am certain that many of our most skilled negotiators would be all too willing to hammer out such a deal- a task made easy by the Conservatives' staggering loss of eighty-six seats in this election.
However, I have not sent out this missal with the intent to advocate for a merger with the Conservatives- rather, I believe this course of action to, ultimately, be the lesser of two possible courses. The alternative, of course, is the reunion of a united Liberal Party, composed of our own, our former associates, and, very possibly, the Populists, should they be keen to explore the possibility. Certainly, if we were to unite and form a moderately sized bloc running under a singular ballot, we would be able to secure a large enough fraction of the Commons to act, in a sense, as a vital pivot for our nation's policy- what I mean to emphasize in this is that it is almost assured that we would be able to exert more strength as the third largest party than as the second largest, with the capability to - as long we remain large enough to prevent an outright majority by either the Conservatives or the Labourites - sway either major party's policy into step with our own. Whether that means attempting to bolster and redirect a Conservative platform to be more in line with our beliefs or to de-claw the red tiger, we would be in a far more powerful position if we were to reunite with our lost brethren.
Sincerely yours,
Lord Scarsdale