After completing his degrees Liddle worked in research for the Oxford School of Social and Administrative Studies and as an industrial relations Officer for The Electricity Council. In 1976 he moved into politics by becoming Special Adviser to William Rodgers, Secretary of State for Transport. From there he became Director of the Public Policy Centre, undertaking pioneering work on the regulation of privatised industries, exchange rate policy, regional policy, science and industrial policy, employee participation and wage determination, and choice in public services. Liddle then moved into the private sector for 10 years, taking the position of managing director of Prima Europe Ltd – a consultancy company advising on the impact of politics and regulation at European and national level.
Government
In 1997 he moved back into politics to become Special Adviser on European matters to Prime MinisterTony Blair. During a seven-year spell in this role he developed a new UK policy of positive engagement in the European Union, focusing on economic reform, innovation and enterprise promotion; modernisation of Welfare States and labour market reform; as well as institutional issues, the Constitutional Treaty, and European Defence. He was also responsible for liaison with business and trade unions on European issues. Advancing from Number 10, he became a Member of the Cabinet of the European UnionTrade Commissioner, where he advised on EU policy and their impact on the UK. In 2006 he moved on to become Principal Adviser to the President of the European Commission, leading a team of economists and experts in the Bureau of European Policy Advisers advising on the economic and social challenges facing Europe. Liddle is currently chairman of Policy Network – an international think tank bringing together academics, policymakers and politicians across the progressive centre left; responsible for major projects on the future of the European Social Model, public service reform, immigration and integration, flexicurity, and globalisation and social justice. He is a visiting fellow of the European Institute at the London School of Economics. He is also former chair of the UK government's New Industry, New Jobs, Universities and Skills advisory panel, which reported directly to Lord Mandelson, who was then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Liddle has also played a direct role in elected politics, as a councillor on Oxford City Council and Lambeth London Borough Council. In 2013 he was elected to Cumbria County Council for the Wigton Division. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party in 1981 and a member of the party's national committee until 1986, during which time he contested a number of parliamentary seats, including the 1986 Fulham byelection. Liddle has written four books, all focusing firmly on European issues. Most recently Global Europe, Social Europe with Anthony Giddens and Patrick Diamond. Together with Peter Mandelson he wrote The Blair Revolution: Can New Labour Deliver? in 1996. His thoughts on the future of Europe, made during his time in the Commission, were published in a Fabian Ideas pamphlet in 2005. He became a member of the Labour Party associated Progress strategy board in 2017.
Publications
Challenging the politics of evasion: the only way to renew European social democracy, Policy Network, December 2009,
After the crisis: A new socio-economic settlement for the EU, Policy Network, November 2009.
Beyond New Labour: the future of social democracy in Britain, Politicos, 2009.
