turbulence for the national party meant turbulence for the society itself, however, and the party's catastrophic collapse in the 1960s, combined with mergers throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, led to a smaller membership and a series of renamings and mergers for the society at large. after merging the oxford university liberal club and the oxford university social democrats in 1987, however, the society in its present structure was formed, with a smaller membership focussed more heavily on campaigning, but maintaining the social functions from its post-war heyday.