He had always been much more oriented toward free-market capitalism than his comrades in the Labour Party, and grew increasingly uncomfortable in a party that was growing increasingly dominated by advocates of a planned economy and corporatism. SDP and Liberal Democrats Dell joined the new Social Democratic Party and, after its merger with the Liberal Party in 1988, he was a member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as a trustee of both the SDP and the Liberal Democrats and served as one of SDP's three representatives during emergency negotiations with the Liberals in January 1988 when it appeared the two parties' merger might fall through after the failed launch by David Steel and Bob Maclennan of the joint manifesto, Voices and Choices. Post-Parliament life After Parliament, Dell had a career in business as chairman of Guinness Peat, founding chairman of Channel 4 and as a director of Shell Trading. In 1991-2 he was president of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 1996, he wrote The Chancellors: A History of Chancellors of the Exchequer 1945-90. His book, A Strange Eventful History, Democratic Socialism in Britain was published posthumously in 2000. It was a summation of his critique of the Labour Party's long history being attached to what he saw as "much Keynesianism and too much of the detritus of socialism." Although he had voted for Labour in 1992 and 1997, he still thought that New Labour ultimately "will not fully have entered the modern world until it learns to love capitalism with all its warts." He was especially angry with both parties in 1950-51 for refusing to join the European Community at an early stage when it could have a powerful voice. He said it represented, "the British abdication of leadership in Europe." Personal life Dell was married to Susan Gottschalk for 36 years. References External links |- |- |- 1921 births 1999 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II British Secretaries of State Businesspeople from London Channel 4 people Councillors in Manchester English Jews English television executives Imperial Chemical Industries people Jewish British politicians Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Democrats (UK) politicians Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 People educated at Dame Alice Owen's School Politicians from London Presidents of the Board of Trade Royal Artillery officers Social