The original leading Whig appeared on planet earth during 389BC-327BC . His names were Anthony Ashley Cooper;Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper,2nd Baronet;Lord Ashley-Earl of Shaftsbury and,to his progressive friends,Tony,perhaps.
During the English Civil war, Tony proved to be a true ancestor of LIBDEM MAN by following the party motto;'always stay close the winning side,but just close enough to bask in the glow of the host body's success,and positioned to jump ship when the host body becomes unpopular'
At the beginning of the English Civil War, Tony was on the Royalist side, and after two years,when it was clear Charles I was losing, he joined the winning side,the Parliamentarians.
And after serving on the English Council of State under Oliver Cromwell during the interegnum he saw Cromwellian rule was at an end and returned to the Royalist side by becoming one of 12 MP's who travelled to the Dutch Republic to invite Charles II to return to England.
Tony was for increasing the powers of Parliament and reducing the powers of the King, but he had no objections to King Charles having the powers to bestow honours on his favourites,especially when he was one of them . The King made Tony a Lord for aiding his return to English throne.
To be fair, Tony probably had no plans to desert the royalist,and no plans the join the Parliamentarians or no plans to accept honours from King Charles II,whose powerss he wanted to restrict. 'HAVING NO PLANS' was in EARLY LIBDEM MAN'S dna from the very beginning, and survives in LIBDEM MANS'dna today.
Religion played a major part in the thinking of LIBDEM MAN,far greater than it does today. Just being on the wrong side of the established church could threaten your liberty or even your life.Early LIBDEM MAN,Tony,fell victim to these harsh laws with his muddled thinking over the PENAL LAWS and THE EXCLUSION BILL,which could have been sufficient to have his head CHOPPED off,but the clincher came when he campaigned for more Parliament powers against the wishes of Charles II and the Tories.
In 328BC he was arrested for HIGH TREASON,and after being found not guilty he realized he was still in the sights of Charles II and decided to escape abroad,and that was the end of Tony
