type,startTime,endTime,query,links_found,url,content_length,content,link_idx
tavily_search,0.0,3.2396280765533447,"What day, month, and year was the largest donor of the Liberal Democrats party in the UK as of 2005 born?",5.0,,,,
page_scrape,3.4275095462799072,3.952303171157837,,,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Brown_(fraudster),3163.0,"**Michael Robert Alexander Brown**(born 19 April 1966 inGlasgow) is a Scottish businessman and fugitive convicted in absentia of theft, perjury and perverting the course of justice. Between 10 February and 30 March 2005 he donated £2.4 million to theLiberal Democrats. He was the largest donor thepartyhad ever had, giving ten times more than anything it had received before.[1]
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Michael Brown claimed to have been the son of a lord and to have attendedGordonstounandSt Andrews University. In fact, he had failed his mathsO Gradeat his local school, and did aCity and Guildsin catering atGlasgow College of Food Technology.[2]
TheCity of London policeconducted an extensive search both in the UK and abroad, including the home ofPaul Strasburger, a fellow Liberal Democrat donor who had put up bail for Brown prior to his disappearance.
On 28 November 2008, the jury took nine-and-a-half hours to convict him on four counts – two thefts, one of furnishing false information and one of perverting the course of justice between 9 February 2005 and 17 April 2006. He was convicted in his absence and sentenced to seven years in prison.[8][9]
## Electoral Commission on donation to Liberal Democrat party
The Electoral Commission has previously made clear its view that it was reasonable for the Liberal Democrats—based on the information available to them at the time—to regard the donations they received from 5th Avenue Partners Ltd in 2005, totaling just over £2.4m, as permissible. It remains the Commission[']s view that the Liberal Democrats acted in good faith at that time, and the Commission is not re-opening the question of whether the party or its officers failed to carry out sufficient checks into the permissibility of the donations. Nevertheless, we have always said that if any additional information that has a bearing on the permissibility of the donations comes to light, we would consider the matter further. It is not clear to the Commission that 5th Avenue Partners Ltd was carrying on business in the UK at the time the donations were made. If not, then the donations were impermissible. Under Section 58 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Commission has the power to apply to a court for an order that the party must forfeit to the Consolidated Fund an amount equal to the value of any impermissible donation. We are considering the available evidence and expect to reach a decision on whether to apply for such an order in the next few weeks
* ""The man who came from nowhere to bankroll the Liberal Democrats"",_The Times_ , 23 September 2005
* Kennedy, Dominic; Editor, Investigations; Goddard, Jacqui (29 November 2008).""Lib Dems face repaying £2.4m after Michael Brown, party's biggest donor, convicted""._The Times_. London. Retrieved29 November2008.`{{cite news}}`:`|last2=`has generic name (help)[‍]
* Syal, Rajeev (6 January 2012).""Liberal Democrats' biggest donor arrested in the Caribbean""._The Guardian_. Retrieved7 January2012.
* The Times – 29 Nov 2008 – Lib Dems face repaying £2.4m after Michael Brown, party's biggest donor, convicted[‍]
* Liberal Democrats (UK) people
",1.0
page_scrape,3.429903030395508,4.635035514831543,,,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8370284.stm,1135.0,"**The elections watchdog has ruled that the Liberal Democrats can keep £2.4m in donations which it had been suggested came from a fraudster.**
The money was donated to the Lib Dems - the UK's third largest political party - by 5th Avenue Partners Ltd in 2005, ahead of its general election campaign.
**At all times the party acted in good faith in releation to the receipt and the expenditure of these donations in the 2005 general election campaign**
Liberal Democrats
In a statement, a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: ""We welcome the Electoral Commission's ruling on this matter.
""At all times the party acted in good faith in relation to the receipt and the expenditure of these donations in the 2005 general election campaign. All our donations and loans were properly declared to the Electoral Commission.""
In a separate ruling earlier this year, the Commission said that the UK Independence Party should forfeit £363, 697 in donations made by a man who was not registered to vote.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage warned having to repay so much may put his party ""out of business"" and accused the watchdog of double standards.
",2.0
page_scrape,3.431863784790039,5.210172653198242,,,https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lib-dems-biggest-donor-stole-money-1040242.html,1144.0,"The Liberal Democrats may be forced to pay back a record donation of £2.4m after a jury decided the party's biggest donor was a con man.
The Electoral Commission is to reopen its investigation into 5th Avenue Partners Ltd, the firm Brown founded. Anti-sleaze laws forbid the receipt of donations from companies who are not ""carrying on business"", so it is possible the party will be required to return the money, which could badly damage its budget to fight a general election. The Los Angeles-based lawyer Robert Mann, who gave Brown $5m (£3m), is now suing the Liberal Democrats for the return of £632,000 Brown gave to the party.
Nick Clegg, the party leader, said: ""We took that money in good faith. We did all the due diligence checks we could have done, totally unaware of the crimes of which Michael Brown has now been indicted. Beyond that, I can't comment.""
Edwards was among an international array of victims who gave Brown a total of $57.7m (£36m), of which a record £2.4m was given to the Liberal Democrats. Former leader Charles Kennedy flew around Britain in Brown's private jet during the campaign for the 2005 General Election.
",3.0
page_scrape,3.433683156967163,7.006755352020264,,,https://londonlovesbusiness.com/who-are-the-biggest-donors-for-the-lib-dems/,1070.0,"The latest records from the Electoral Commission show that that the Liberal Democrats raised £335,000 in donations in the second week of the campaign.
Another longstanding Lib Dem supporter was John Faulkner, the wealthy solicitor and property owner who left the party £1m in his will in 2023.
Looking at the responses of those who intend tovote Liberal Democrat at the next election, the majority (59%) are able to identify Davey, and a further 5% are able to identify him as ‘the Lib Dem leader’. Nevertheless, this leaves 35% who are planning on backing the party without knowing who he is at all.
However, Davey has received support for his role in caring for his disabled son. He broke down in tears as he opened up on the struggles of parenting John, his 16-year-old who was born severely disabled.
Davey has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020, having acted in the position from 2019 to 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State forEnergyand Climate Change from 2012 to 2015 and as Deputy Leader to Jo Swinson in 2019.
",4.0
page_scrape,3.4354448318481445,6.540842533111572,,,https://theweek.com/politics/uk-biggest-political-donors,2600.0,"More than £90 million was donated to political parties in the UK last year
The Conservative Party is facing growing calls to hand back £10 million donated by a businessman accused of making racist remarks about former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott.
The alleged remarks ""raise questions"" about the ""workplace behaviour and professionalism of a man whose money will be helping to bankroll the Conservative Party's general election campaign"", said the paper. Rishi Sunak said the reported comments were ""racist and wrong"".
He donated £5 million to the Conservatives last May, followed by a similar amount from his company in November shortly after he attended the PM's landmark international AI summit. A Tory party spokesperson said this made Hester its ""biggest ever donor"". However, he has now come under fire for racist comments about Abbott, which she has described as ""frightening"".
TheSouth African car-glass repair tycoonGary Lubner was the highest single donor to the Labour Party last year, giving £4,577,500 according to theElectoral Commission.
His cousin, Lord David Sainsbury of Turville, who served as science minister under Tony Blair, was consistently one of the largest donors under New Labour. An ""ardent Europhile"", reported theFinancial Times(FT), in 2016 he gave money to Labour and the Liberal Democrats, ""ringfencing the sums for the Remain side in the EU referendum as well as £4m to Britain Stronger in Europe, an anti-Brexit campaign"". His donations to Labour dried up after the party moved to the left under Jeremy Corbyn but he has stepped up his funding to the party since the arrival of Keir Starmer, donating over £3 million last year. His daughter Francesca Perrin became the highest-donating woman in the party's history last year, giving over £1 million.
The Egyptian-born Mohamed Mansour gave more than £5 million to the Conservatives last year, making him one of the party's biggest-ever individual donors. A naturalised UK citizen, theself-made billionaireserved as transport minister under Egypt's late President Hosni Mubarak and now heads the Mansour Group, a huge conglomerate that covers real estate and banking as well as holding Egypt's McDonald's franchise and a large supermarket chain.
Another Tory donor who donated large sums last year was Amit Lohia of the manufacturer Indorama Corporation. The tycoon is ""nicknamed the 'Prince of Polyester'"", said theDaily Mirror. He gave the party £2 million in March 2023.
The ExplainerFrom the soft left to his unruly new MPs, Keir Starmer is already facing challenges from some sections of the Labour Party
",5.0
page_scrape,6.8275697231292725,8.363492012023926,,,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK),73755.0,"British political party
""Lib Dems"" redirects here. For other uses, seeLiberal Democrats (disambiguation).
Liberal Democrats
* Social Democratic Party
Liberal Democrat Headquarters1Vincent Square,London.SW1P 2PN[1] | Liberal Democrat Women | LGBT+ Liberal Democrats | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Liberal Democrat Conference
* Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Welsh Liberal Democrats
* Northern IrelandLiberal Democrats
The**Liberal Democrats** , colloquially known as the**Lib Dems** , are aliberalpolitical party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based atLiberal Democrat Headquarters, inWestminster, and the current leader of the party isEd Davey. They are the third-largestparty in the United Kingdom, with 72members of Parliament(MPs) in theHouse of Commons. They have 77 members of theHouse of Lords,[5]five members of theScottish Parliament, one member in the WelshSenedd, and more than 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice-per-yearLiberal Democrat Conference, at which party policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents' rules,[6][7][8]the Liberal Democratsgrant all members attending its Conferencethe right to vote on party policy, under aone member, one votesystem.[9][10]The party also allows its members to vote online for its policies and in the election of a new leader.[11] In 1981,an electoral alliancewas established between theLiberal Party, a group which descended from the 18th-centuryWhigs, and theSocial Democratic Party(SDP), a splinter group from theLabour Party. In 1988, the parties merged as the**Social and Liberal Democrats** , adopting their present name just over a year later. Under the leadership ofPaddy Ashdownand laterCharles Kennedy, the party grew during the 1990s and 2000s, focusing its campaigns on specific seats and becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons. In 2010, underNick Clegg's leadership, the Liberal Democrats were junior partners inDavid Cameron'sConservative-led coalition government, in which Clegg served asdeputy prime minister. Although it allowed them to implement some of their policies, the coalition badly damaged the party's electoral standing, and they lost 48 of their 56 MPs at the2015 general election, which relegated them to fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. Under the leaderships ofTim Farron,Vince CableandJo Swinson, the party was refocused as apro-Europeanistparty opposingBrexit. In the2019 general election, the party garnered 11.5 per cent of the vote on an anti-Brexit platform, but this did not translate into seat gains, with Swinson losing her own seat.[12]However, the party gained hundreds of seats on local councils under the leadership ofEd Davey, being especially successful in the2022,2023, and2024 local elections. Davey is the party's first leader since Ashdown in the 1990s to win four by-elections in the space of one Parliament. This success continued at the2024 general election, where despite only a small vote share increase to 12.2 per cent, the party won 72 seats, their highest total ever, and returned to being the third largest party in the House of Commons for the first time since 2015. Acentrist[13]tocentre-left[14]political party, the Liberal Democrats ideologically draw upon both liberalism andsocial democracy. Different factions have dominated the party at different times, each with its own ideological bent, some leaning towards the centre-left and others the centre. The party is a member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party(ALDE), andLiberal International. It calls for constitutional reform, including a change from thefirst-past-the-post votingsystem toproportional representation. Emphasising stronger protections forcivil liberties, the party promotessocial-liberalapproaches[15]to issues likeLGBT rights,drug liberalisation,education policyandcriminal justice. It favours amarket-based economysupplemented withsocial welfarespending. The party has been described asprogressive,[16][17][18]and isinternationalistandpro-European,[19]and supported thePeople's Votefor the continued UK membership of theEuropean Unionand greaterEuropean integration, having previously called for adoption of theeuro. The Liberal Democrats have promoted further environmental protections and opposed British military ventures such as theIraq War. The Liberal Democrats are historically strongest innorthern Scotland, south-west London,South West England, andmid Wales. Membership is primarily made up ofmiddle-classprofessionals and the party's composition has a higher proportion ofuniversityeducated members than the other major political parties of the United Kingdom.[]The party is a federation of theEnglish,Scottish, andWelsh Liberal Democrats. The party is in a partnership with theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland, while still organising there. Internationally, the party is a member of theLiberal Internationaland theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, with its MEPs formerly affiliated to theRenew Europegroup in the European Parliament. TheLiberal Partyhad existed in different forms for over 300 years.[20]During the 19th and early 20th century, it had been one of the United Kingdom's two dominant political parties, along with theConservative Party. FollowingWorld War I, it was pushed into third place by theLabour Partyand underwent a gradual decline throughout the rest of the 20th century.[21]In the 1970s, the Liberal leaderDavid Steelbegan contemplating how an alliance with other parties could return it to political power.[22]In 1977, he formed a pact with Labour Prime MinisterJames Callaghanto back Callaghan's government in amotion of no confidence. This angered many Liberals and damaged them electorally.[23]In the1979 general election, the Liberals lost three seats in theHouse of Commons; the Conservatives, led byMargaret Thatcher, won the election.[24] Within the Labour Party, many centrists were uncomfortable with the growing influence of thehard left, who were calling for the UK to leave theEuropean Economic Communityand unilaterally disarm as anuclear power. In January 1981, four senior Labour MPs—Bill Rodgers,Shirley Williams,Roy Jenkins, andDavid Owen, known as the ""Gang of Four""—issued theLimehouse Declarationin which they announced their split from Labour. This led to the formal launch of theSocial Democratic Party(SDP) in March.[25]One of its first decisions was to negotiate an electoral arrangement with the Liberals, facilitated between Jenkins, who was the first SDP leader, and Steel.[26] The initial logo used by the Social and Liberal Democrats after their 1988 foundation Both parties lost seats in the1987 general election.[32]In the wake of this, Steel called for the SDP and Liberals to merge into a single party.[33]At the grassroots, various local constituency groups had already _de facto_ merged.[34]In the SDP, Jenkins, Rodgers, Williams, and the MPCharles Kennedysupported the idea; Owen and the MPsRosie BarnesandJohn Cartwrightopposed it.[35]The SDP's membership was balloted on the idea: after it produced 57.4% in favour of the merger, Owen resigned as leader, to be replaced byBob Maclennan.[36]A Liberal conference in September found delegates providing a landslide majority for the merger.[37]Formal negotiations launched that month and in December it produced a draft constitution for the new party.[38]In 1988, Liberal and SDP meetings both produced majorities for the merger;[39]finally, the memberships of both parties were balloted and both produced support for unification.[40]Those in both parties opposed to unification split to form their own breakaway groups, in the form of theLiberal Partyand theContinuing SDP.[41] The Social and Liberal Democrats were formally launched on 3 March 1988.[42]Steel and Maclennan initially became joint interim leaders.[43]At the start, it claimed 19 MPs, 3,500 local councillors, and 100,000 members.[42]In its first leadership election,Paddy AshdowndefeatedAlan Beith.[44]Ashdown saw the Liberal Democrats as a radical, reforming force, putting forward policies for introducing home rule for Scotland and Wales, proportional representation, transforming the House of Lords into an elected Senate, and advancing environmental protections.[45]At the September 1988 conference it adopted the short form name ""the Democrats"" and in October 1989 changed its name to ""Liberal Democrats"".[46][47]The bird of liberty was adopted as its logo.[48]In 1989, its election results were poor: it lost 190 seats in theMay 1989 local electionsand secured only 6.4% of the vote in the1989 European Parliament elections, beaten to third position by theGreen Party.[49]This was the worst election result for an established third party since the 1950s.[50]Its prospects were buoyed after it won the1990 Eastbourne by-election, followed by-election victories inRibble ValleyandKincardine and Deeside.[51]In the1991 local electionsit secured a net gain of 520 seats.[52]In the1992 general election, it secured 17.8% of the vote and 20 seats in the House of Commons: nine of these were in Scotland and five were in Southwest England.[53] Between 1992 and 1997, the party underwent a period of consolidation, particularly on local councils.[54]In the1994 local elections, it came second, pushing the Conservatives into third place.[55]In the1994 European Parliament elections, it gained twoMembers of the European Parliament(MEPs).[54]In 1993, the party was damaged by allegations of racism on the Liberal Democrat-controlled council in Tower Hamlets;[55]it faced additional problems as its distinctive centrist niche was threatened by the rise ofTony BlairandNew Labour, a project which pushed Labour to the centre.[56]At the1997 general election, it fielded 639 candidates,[57]securing 46 MPs, the greatest number that the Liberals had had since 1929.[58]These were concentrated in Southwest England, Southwest London, and areas of Scotland.[58] Although Blair's Labour won a landslide victory in 1997 and did not require a coalition government, Blair was interested in cooperation with the Lib Dems. In July 1997, he invited Ashdown and other senior Lib Dems to join a Cabinet Committee on constitutional affairs.[59][60]Privately, Blair offered the Liberal Democrats a coalition but later backed down amid fears that it would split his own Cabinet.[61]The joint Committee launched theIndependent Commission on the Voting Systemin December;[62]its report, published in October 1998, proposed the change from thefirst past the postelectoral system to analternative vote top-up system. This was not the Lib Dems preferred option—they wanted fullproportional representation—although Ashdown hailed it as ""a historic step forward"".[63]Many Lib Dems were concerned by Ashdown's growing closeness with Labour;[64]aware of this, he stepped down as party leader in 1999.[65]Before he did so, the party took part in the 1999 elections for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. In both, the Lib Dems came fourth and became Labour's junior coalition partners.[66] The MPSimon Hugheswas initially seen as Ashdown's most likely successor, but was defeatedin the contestbyCharles Kennedy.[67]To reduce the impact of more leftist members who tended to dominate at conferences, Kennedy proposed that all members—rather than just conference delegates—should vote for the party's federal executive and federal policy committees.[68]In 2001, Kennedy suspended the Joint Cabinet Committee with Labour.[69]The media characterised him as ""Inaction Man"" and accused him of lacking a clear identity and political purpose;[70]later criticism also focused on his alcoholism.[71][72]In the2001 general election, the party fielded 639 candidates and made a net gain of 6, bringing its total of seats to 52.[73][74] Following theSeptember 11 attacksin the United States and the launch of the U.S.-ledWar on terror, the Liberal Democrat MPs backed the government's decision to participate in theUnited States invasion of Afghanistan.[75]The party was more critical of Blair's decision to participate in theU.S.-led invasion of Iraqin 2003; Kennedy joined thelarge anti-war marchin London.[76]With the Conservatives backing the Labour government's decision to go to war, the Lib Dems were the only major party opposing it.[76]In following years, Lib Dem MPs increasingly voted against the Labour government on a range of issues.[77]Much of this Lib Dem opposition to the government came from their members in the House of Lords.[77]In the2003 local elections, the party secured about 30% of the vote, its highest ever result.[78] In 2004, anthology was published. Written largely by centre-right economists in the party, it sparked discussions about Liberal Democrat philosophy and brought criticism from the party's social-liberal wing.[79]In the2005 general election, the Lib Dems secured 62 seats, the most the Liberals had had since 1923.[80][81]Kennedy however faced growing calls within the party to resign after admitting that he had been treated for alcoholism; in January 2006 he stepped down under pressure even though his admission wasn't damaging to the Lib Dems' public support.[82]In retrospect the move to oust Kennedy was seen as a ""graceless"" move and a turning point for the Lib Dems, who after 2010 would lose many of the left-leaning voters that Kennedy won over from Labour in 2005, ""reeling in disgust from the decision to go into coalition"" with the Conservatives (which Kennedy staunchly opposed).[83] In March 2006,Menzies Campbellsucceeded Kennedy as party leader.[84]Campbell was not popular with voters and faced a resurgent Conservative Party under new leaderDavid Cameron;[85]in theMay 2007 local elections, the party experienced a net loss of nearly 250 seats.[86]Inthat year's Scottish Parliamentelection, theScottish National Party(SNP) secured the largest vote and the Lib Dem/Labour coalition ended.[87]Campbell was frustrated at the constant media focus on the fact that he was in his late sixties; in October he resigned andVince Cablebecame acting leader.[88][89] See also:Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreementandCameron–Clegg coalition In December 2007,Nick Cleggnarrowly beatChris Huhneto take the party's leadership.[90][91]Clegg's reshuffle of the leadership team was seen by many as a shift to the right;[92]under Clegg, the party moved away from the social democratic focus it displayed previously.[93]It rebranded itself as a party that would cut rather than raise taxes and dropped its hard pro-EU position.[94]In the2008 local electionsit gained 34 seats, beating Labour in terms of vote share.[93]The following year, the party was damaged bythe expenses scandalas several Lib Dem MPs and peers were found to have misused their expenses; Campbell for example was revealed to have claimed nearly £10,000 in expenses for luxury home furnishings.[95]In the build-up to the2010 general election, Clegg took part in the UK's first televised party leaders debate; he was generally considered to have performed well, with pundits referring to an ensuing ""Cleggmania"".[96] In the election, the Lib Dems secured 23% of the vote and 57 seats; the Conservatives were the largest party but lacked a majority.[97]The Conservatives and Lib Dems formed a coalition government,[98]with Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister.[99]Four other Lib Dems—Cable, Huhne,Danny Alexander, andDavid Laws—entered the coalition Cabinet.[100]Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement, with former party leaderCharles KennedyandManchester WithingtonMPJohn Leechboth rebelling against.[101]Many Lib Dems opposed the move, with some favouring a coalition deal with Labour.[102]As part of the coalition agreement, the Conservatives agreed to Lib Dem demands to introduce elected health boards, put forward aFixed Term Parliament Bill, and ended income tax for those earning less than £10,000 a year. The Conservatives also agreed to shelve their plans to replace theHuman Rights Act 1998with a proposedBritish Bill of Rights.[103]The Conservatives refused to agree to Lib Dem demands for a referendum on proportional representation, instead offering a referendum on a switch from first-past-the-post to the Alternative Vote system.[103]The coalition introduced an emergency budget to attack the fiscal deficit.[104] After joining the coalition poll ratings for the party fell,[105]particularly following the government's support for raising the cap ontuition feesfor ""higher education"" with Liberal Democrat MPs voting 27 for, 21 against and eight abstaining.[106]The Liberal Democrats had made opposing tuition fees a major message of their campaign, with all of the party's MPs, including Nick Clegg, signing theVote for Students pledgeto oppose any increase in student tuition fees prior to the 2010 general election.[107]In November 2010,_The Guardian_ accessed internal party documents on the subject written prior to the election. These revealed that the party had planned to abandon the tuition fee policy after the election had taken place, as part of any hypothetical coalition agreement with either major party.[108]Clegg later made a formal apology for breaking this promise in September 2012.[109][110]Shortly after the 2015 general election, Liberal Democrat leadership contenderNorman Lambconceded that Clegg's broken pledge on university tuition had proven costly.[111] In theMay 2011 local electionsand the elections for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats.[112]Clegg admitted that the party had taken ""big knocks"" due to a perception that the coalition government had returned to theThatcherismof the 1980s.[113] As part of the deal that formed the coalition, it was agreed to hold areferendum on the Alternative Vote, in which the Conservatives would campaign forFirst Past the Postand the Liberal Democrats forAlternative Vote. The referendum, held on 5 May 2011, resulted in First Past the Post being chosen over Alternative Vote by approximately two-thirds of voters.[114]In May 2011, Clegg revealed plans to make the House of Lords a mainly elected chamber, limiting the number ofpeersto 300, 80% of whom would be elected with a third of that 80% being elected every five years bysingle transferable vote.[115]In August 2012, Clegg announced that attempts to reform the House of Lords would be abandoned due to opposition for the proposals bybackbenchConservative MPs. Claiming the coalition agreement had been broken, Clegg stated that Liberal Democrat MPs would no longer support changes to the House of Commons boundaries for the 2015 general election.[116]The Lib DemSecretary of State for Energy and Climate ChangeChris Huhnein 2011 announced plans for halving UK carbon emissions by 2025 as part of the ""Green Deal"" which was in the 2010 Liberal Democrat manifesto.[117] The Lib Dems lost over 300 councillorsin the 2012 local elections, leaving them with fewer than 3,000 for the first time in the party's history.[118]In June 2012, it was reported that membership of the party had fallen by around 20% since joining the coalition.[119] In February 2013, the party won aby-election in Eastleigh, the Hampshire constituency that had previously been held by the former minister,Chris Huhne. The party's candidate,Mike Thornton, had been a local councillor for the party, and held the seat.[120]In eighteen other by-elections held throughout the 2010 to 2015 Parliament, the party lost itsdepositin 11;[121]in theRochester and Strood by-electionheld on 20 November 2014, it came fifth polling 349 votes or 0.9% of the total votes cast, the worst result in the history of the party.[122] Inthe 2013 local elections, the Liberal Democrats lost over 100 council seats. Inthe 2014 local elections, they lost another 307 council seats[123]and ten of their eleven seats in theEuropean Parliamentin the2014 European elections.[124] In the2015 general election, the party lost 48 seats in the House of Commons, leaving them with only eight MPs.[125][126]Prominent Liberal Democrat MPs who lost their seats included former leaderCharles Kennedy, former deputy leadersVince CableandSimon Hughes, and several cabinet ministers. The Conservatives won an outright majority.[127]Clegg then announced his resignation as party leader.[128]The party lost over 400 council seats inthe 2015 local elections, held the same day.[129] Membership of the Liberal Democrats rose from 45,000 to 61,000[130]as the party prepared to hold its2015 party leadership ballot. On 16 July 2015,Tim Farronwas elected to the leadership of the party with 56.5% of the vote, beating opponentNorman Lamb.[131]In theMay 2016 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained a small number of council seats, though they lost ground in theWelsh Assembly. The party campaigned for a Remain vote in thereferendum on United Kingdom membership of the European Unionin June 2016.[132]After the Leave vote, the Liberal Democrats sought to mobilise the 48% who voted Remain,[133]and the party's membership rose again, reaching 80,000 by September.[134] The2017 local electionresults saw a loss of about 40 council seats. In the2017 general election, during which the party advocated continued membership of theEuropean single marketand areferendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement,[135]the Liberal Democrats' vote share dropped 0.5% to 7.4%, its lowest percentage ever, but produced a net gain of four seats.[136]Farron then resigned;[137]in July 2017Vince Cablewaselected leader unopposed.[138]He called for a second referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union.[139]In December 2018, the MP forEastbourne,Stephen Lloyd, resigned the Liberal Democrat Whip, saying that his party's position onBrexitwas inconsistent with his pledge to his constituency that he would ""respect the result"" of the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[140]Although Lloyd remained a Liberal Democrat member, this took the number of sitting Liberal Democrat MPs down to 11. The party gained 76 councillors inthe 2018 local electionsand 704 councillors in the2019 local elections.[141]In the2019 European Parliament electionthe party ran with an anti-Brexit message seeking the support of those who wish the UK to remain in the EU, using the slogan ""Bollocks to Brexit"" which attracted considerable media attention.[142][143]In that election, the party gained 20% of the popular vote and returned 16 MEPs.[144]In May, Cable stood down as leader, triggering aleadership election.[145] Guy Verhofstadt, theEuropean parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, at the 2019 Liberal Democrats conference Heading into the2019 general election, the party polled well, with one poll showing the party with 20% (within 4% of Labour) as late as 28 October.[149]Nonetheless, during the campaign period the party's fortunes dwindled, and leaderJo Swinsonreceived negative reviews.[150][151]In the election, the Liberal Democrats lost ten seats from the previous parliament and one from the previous election, returning 11 MPs. Of the nine new MPs who joined between June and October 2019, the eight who contested their seats in the 2019 general election all lost their seats. However, the party did gain 4.2% in the vote, rising to 11.6%. Swinson herself narrowly lost herEast Dunbartonshireconstituency to the Scottish National Party'sAmy Callaghan, forcing her to resign as leader the next day in accordance with the Liberal Democrat Constitution which mandates that the leader must also serve as an MP.[152]Deputy LeaderEd Daveyand Party PresidentSal Brintonthen jointly assumed the positions of acting co-leaders of the party. Brinton was at the end of the year (31 December 2019) replaced byMark Packas Party President and acting co-leader[153]while Mike Dixon remains the party CEO.[154] The Liberal Democrats' federal board set out a timetable in January 2020 which stated that a new party leader would be elected in July 2020.[155]Due to theoutbreakofCOVID-19in the United Kingdom in the late winter and spring which saw many politicians infected, the party's board initially pushed the leadership election back to May 2021.[156]The decision was reversed in May 2020 to hold theleadership electionin July 2020.[157]On 27 August 2020,Ed Daveywas elected as leader of the party, by a margin of almost 18,000 votes.[158]On 13 September 2020,Daisy Cooperwas announced as the party's new Deputy Leader.[159] In September 2020, it was revealed by the party's new campaigning chief that the Liberal Democrats had started planning a four-year drive to woo ""softconservatives"". Cooper said the party could find a route forward by appealing to voters that had always thought of themselves as conservatives but who opposed the current direction of the Conservative Party underBoris Johnson.[160] When Davey was asked byAndrew Marrabout the party's stance on rejoining the EU, he said ""We are not a rejoin party, but we are a very pro-European party."" This caused anger to some Liberal Democrat members and a few days after Davey wrote a blog post clarifying his position. He stressed the Liberal Democrats were ""committed to the UK being members of the European Union again"" and insisted that members may have ""misinterpreted"" what he said on _The Andrew Marr Show_ and that once he was able to clarify ""people were completely relaxed"".[161] Under Davey, the Liberal Democrats seized the traditionalConservativeconstituency ofChesham and Amershamin aby-electionin whichSarah Greenoverturned a 16,000 majority in June 2021[162]and then repeated a similar feat inNorth Shropshirein December 2021 whenHelen Morganoverturned a 23,000 majority.[163]In the2022 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained councillors in all countries of Great Britain, with the largest gain of any party in England with 194 new councillors.[164]One month later, the Liberal Democrats contested and won theTiverton and Honiton by-electionwith its candidateRichard Foord, overturning a majority of over 24,000 and breaking the record for the biggest overturning of a majority in British by-election history.[165] The Liberal Democrats saw considerable gains in the2023 local elections, gaining 405 councillors and winning control of 12 more councils.[166]They also overturned a 19,000 Conservative majority in the2023 Somerton and Frome by-electionto electSarah Dykeas their 15th MP.[167] In the2024 local elections, Davey said he was confident of toppling the ""ToryBlue Wallin Surrey"".[168]The Lib Dems finished in second place behind Labour and ahead of the Conservatives in terms of seats. The Liberal Democrats gainedTunbridge Wells council[169]andDorset Council.[170]They notably added more council seats than any other party over the last parliament, gaining more than 750 in the last five years, largely insouthern England.[171] The Liberal Democrats entered the2024 general electionwith its manifesto policies including reformingCarer's Allowance, free personal care in England,votes at 16andproportional representation.[172][173]After a successful campaign, the party made the biggest gain in seats in its history, winning a party high of 72 seats.[174][175]
* Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
* Liberal Democrats
* Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Social Democratic Party
The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions.[176]The party is primarilysocial liberal, supporting redistribution but sceptical of increasing the power of the state, emphasising the link between equality and liberty. The party supports investment and progressive taxation, but also promotescivil libertiesand a less centralised economy.[177]This distinguishes the party from many liberal parties elsewhere in Europe that are instead dominated byclassical liberalism.[178][179]By comparison, the Liberal Democrats support amixed economyand have sometimes opposed privatisation.[177] The party spans thecentreandcentre-left, and has emphasised each aspect at different times.[179][180][181][182][183]The public have traditionally viewed the party as centre-left,[184]though during theCameron–Clegg coalitionthey were seen as centrist.[185]On economic issues, the party has usually been positioned between theConservativesand theLabour Party, though typically closer to the Labour Party.[186]There is a degree of ideological diversity among members of the Liberal Democrats, with a wide range of opinions on most subjects.[176] Leonard Hobhouseis a key ideological influence on the Liberal Democrats, and there is substantial overlap between the party's platform and the form of social democracy advocated byAnthony Croslandin _The Future of Socialism_.[177][187]The party'segalitarianismis based on the concept ofequality of opportunity. The party has been sceptical ofpositive discrimination, including in its process for selecting political candidates. The party has frequently debated the introduction ofall-women shortlistsin selection, but not implemented them.[187] The Liberal Democrats support a range of constitutional reforms, including by advocating a decentralised federal structure for the United Kingdom, including devolving power to theregions of England.[188]The party supported devolution to Scotland and Wales enacted by the Labour government underTony Blair. The party has consistently supportedelectoral reformto produce more proportional results.[189]On social issues, the party is liberal and progressive. It has consistently supported LGBT rights and drug reform.[16]The party is internationalist and pro-European. They have consistently supported policies of European integration, including long-term advocacy of theUnited Kingdom adopting the euro,[190]though they have opposed the establishing of aEuropean army.[179][191]Both before and after the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the party has advocated for the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union. The party supportsliberal interventionism, and supported thewar in Afghanistan, later opposing the2003 invasion of Iraqdue to its lack of support from theUnited Nations.[186]The party has also faced internal division over the issue ofnuclear weapons.[182] The party has a number of factions representing different strains of liberal thought.[16][192]Although the social liberals, represented by theSocial Liberal Forum(often abbreviated to the SLF), are the majority, factions that advocate for moreeconomically liberalpositions includeLiberal Reform(often abbreviated to LR) and the ""Orange Bookers"", named after _The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism_ ;_The Orange Book_ is most often associated with former deputy prime ministerNick Clegg, who contributed to it, along with former Liberal Democrat leaderVince Cableand incumbent leaderEd Davey.[192][193]Additionally, there is the centre-leftBeveridge Group, inspired byWilliam Beveridge. The Beveridge Group has been associated with both social liberals and social democrats within the party, including former Liberal Democrat leaderCharles Kennedy.[194] The 2011 Liberal Democrats conference The Liberal Democrats support institutional reform in the United Kingdom, including the decentralisation of state power, reform of Parliament, and electoral reform.[195]At its 1993 conference, the party put forward plans for the introduction offixed term parliaments,[196]something it would later secure in the coalition government of 2010 to 2015.[103]Also in 1993, it proposed state funding for political parties.[196]The Liberal Democrats have long included a commitment to proportional representation in their manifestos.[197]According to the , this is the ""one policy with which the Liberal Democrats are identified in the minds of the public.""[198]The Lib Dems calls for devolution orhome rulefor Scotland and Wales were enacted by Blair's Labour government in the late 1990s.[59]The 1993 conference also called for the introduction of abill of rightsinto the British constitution.[196]Its 2001 manifesto included a commitment to lowering thevoting agefrom 18 to 16.[197]In 2013, an internal pressure group in the party called _Liberal Democrats for a republic_ was formed.[199] According to a 1999 survey, two-thirds of party members supported retaining the monarchy.[200]In the 1990s, there was an anti-royalist contingent within the party;[201]in 1993, the party conference announced support for removing theroyal prerogative,[196]and the 2000 conference backed calls for the monarch to be removed as theSupreme Governorof theChurch of England.[202]At its 2003 conference, the party's Youth and Student League put forward a motion calling for the abolition of the monarchy and the introduction of an electedhead of state.[71]The 2000 party conference produced a call for the1701 Act of Settlementto be reformed so as to allow the heir to the throne to marry a Roman Catholic,[202]while the party's 2001 manifesto called for thedisestablishmentof the Church of England.[197]The party's endorsement ofsecularismdates back to 1990, with standing policy favouring totalseparation of church and state.[203] Liberal Democrats campaigning stakeboards inHornsey and Wood Greenin 2015 Liberal Democrat policy has generally been favourable to social welfare spending.[206]During the 2000s, the party made pledges for major investment into health, education, and public services.[197]In 1995, the party announced a plan to put £2 billion into education, including nursery places for under fives,[207]while its 2005 manifesto included a commitment to use £1.5 billion to decrease class sizes in schools.[80]In the 2000s, the party also pledged to abolish tuition fees for university students,[208]and in the build-up to the 2010 general election, Clegg pledged that under a Lib Dem government this would be achieved over six years.[209]In 2004, it pledged to add £25 a week to thestate pensionfor people over the age of 75.[210]In 2003, it outlined plans for devolving control of schools to local councils.[208] In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, it stated that such increases in education spending would be funded through higher taxes. These included a 50% tax on those earning over £100,000 a year,[211]and raising thebasic rateof income tax by one penny in the pound.[212]In 2003, the party's conference approved plans for a local income tax of 3.5 pence in the pound that would replacecouncil tax; the party believed that this would result in 70% of the population paying less tax.[71]In 2006, the party abandoned its plans for a 50% tax on the highest earners,[213]and also put forward plans to cut income tax but balance the books by increasing tax on air travel and introducing a carbon tax.[213] Under Clegg, the party emphasised lowering taxes rather than raising them; it stated that a 4 pence reduction in the basic rate tax could be permitted by finding £20 billion savings in Whitehall. This measure was opposed by the left of the party.[94]Amid the 2008 recession, Clegg called for £20 billion cuts to state spending, to be funded by measures like reducing the number of people eligible fortax creditsand scrapping road building schemes.[214]In its 2010 manifesto, it pledged to end income taxes for those earning under £10,000 a year,[215]something it introduced through the Cameron coalition government.[103]Also in 2010, it stated that it would halve the national deficit over the course of four years.[209]It had also specified that it would oppose any increases in VAT, although when in coalition announced an increase in VAT to 20%.[104] The Liberal Democrats supported thewar in Afghanistanin 2001.[216]The party was the only one of Britain's three major parties to oppose the2003 invasion of Iraq.[217]The party's leadership stressed that this was not because the party was intrinsically anti-war, but because the invasion did not have support from theUnited Nations.[218]In the wake of the invasion, the party's 2005 manifesto included a pledge that the UK would never again support a military occupation deemed illegal under international law.[80]Menzies Campbelldemanded the suspension of all future arms exports toIsraelduring the2006 Lebanon WarandOperation Summer Rains.[219]Ed Daveyand the Liberal Democrats have supported a ceasefire in theGaza warsince 13 November 2023.[220] The Liberal Democrats called for a fulljudicial inquiryinto Britain's involvement inCIAblack sitesandextraordinary renditionsince the 11September attacks.[221]They also called on the UK government to suspendarms salestoSaudi Arabiaand condemned theSaudi-led coalition's attackstargeting civilians in Yemen.[222][223]In February 2019, theInternational Court of JusticeinThe Hagueissuedan advisory opinion statingthat the UK must transfer theChagos ArchipelagotoMauritiusas they werenot legally separatedfrom the latter in 1965.[224]Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokespersonAlistair Carmichaelstated: ""The ICJ has very clearly instructed the UK to return the island chain to Mauritian control. The government's refusal to do so is arrogant and jeopardises our credibility on a world stage.""[225] From its foundation, the Liberal Democrats were committed to the UK's membership of theEuropean Union.[45]In 1993, it called for the UK to take a lead in seeking a timetable for the adoption of a pan-European currency, and also called for the formation of an autonomous European central bank.[196]A 1999 survey of party members found they overwhelmingly backed European integration, and two thirds wanted the UK to adopt theeurocurrency.[227]In its 1999 manifesto for the European Parliamentary elections, it called for completing the European single market, holding a referendum on the adoption of the euro currency, establishing an EU constitution, expanding the EU into Central and Eastern Europe, and encouraging an EU-wide clampdown on pollution and international crime.[228]This attitude had been inherited from the Liberal Party which had originally proposing membership into the predecessorEuropean Coal and Steel Community.[229]However, the Liberal Democrats oppose theEuropean federalismespoused by their counterparts.[230] Despite its pro-European stance, the party has includedEuroscepticssuch as the MPNick Harvey.[231]The 1999 membership survey found that 37% wanted the UK to remain in the EU but to have the latter's powers reduced while 5% of members wanted the UK to leave the EU altogether.[204]Cook argued that whereas the Lib Dems were once ""the most pro-European of all British parties"", by 2008, it had ""a vocal Eurosceptic element"" who were opposed to the British ratification of the EU'sLisbon Treatywithout a referendum.[232]Under Clegg, the party backed away from its hardline pro-EU position.[94] In June 2016, following theUnited Kingdom European Union membership referendumin which 51.9% voted in favour of leaving the European Union,Tim Farronsaid that if Liberal Democrats were to be elected in the next parliamentary election, they would not follow through with triggeringArticle 50of theTreaty on European Unionandleaving the EU(""Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements"") but would instead keep UK part of the EU.[233]Following this promise, the Liberal Democrats claim that their membership has increased by 10,000 since the referendum; at one point, the growth in the party was the equivalent of one person joining per minute.[234]Campaigning for a second referendum regarding the exact goals of Brexit negotiation was one of the party's flagship policies in the2017 general electionand the2019 general election.[235] The Liberal Democrats have strongly advocated for environmental protection and have typically taken more radical stances on environmental issues than either Labour or the Conservatives. One of the Party`s Affiliated Organisations, the Green Liberal Democrats (GLD), lays claim to being the ""Environmental Conscience"" of the party and was formed in 1988 at the same time as the Liberal Party merged with the SDP to become the Liberal Democrats. (See article on [Green Liberalism]) GLD itself was a merger between the small SDP Green group and the Liberal Ecology Group (LEG) which was formed in 1977. Amongst the Class of 2024 Lib Dem MPs, 26 of them are paid-up members of GLD (including Party Leader, Sir Ed Davey), thus forming a significant green caucus in the new parliament.[236]In 1993, the party put forward proposals for an EU tax on energy use and CO2emissions.[196]That year, it also proposed that GDP should be redefined to take into account pollution and the depletion of natural resources.[55]At its 2009 conference, the party introduced a commitment for Lib Dem controlled councils to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.[237]Other policies included: The Liberal Democrats place greater emphasis onhuman rightsand individual freedoms than the Conservatives or Labour.[239]Conversely, the political scientist John Meadowcroft expressed the view that ""the Liberal Democrats are a supposedly liberal party that does not believe in liberty.""[240]Commenting on the 1999 membership survey, Whiteley et al. noted that the majority of members took ""a distinctly right of centre view"" on many, although not all, moral and legal issues.[241] Its 1997 manifesto committed the party to lowering theage of consentfor same-sex couples to 16, bringing it in line with that of opposite-sex couples.[58]At its 2000 conference, party delegates backed calls for the government to provide legal recognition for same-sex relationships.[202]In the 1999 membership survey, 57% believed that the government should discourage the growth of one-parent families.[241]That same survey found just over half of the party membership expressing pro-choice views regarding abortion access.[242] At its 1997 conference, the party's delegates voted in favour of establishing a Royal Commission to examine the possibility of decriminalisingvoluntary euthanasia.[61] At its 1994 conference, party delegates voted to end criminal prosecutions for cannabis possession, although the party's 23 MPs voted against the measure.[201]The 1999 membership survey suggested a tougher stance on many law and order issues, with over half wanting longer sentencing and no option of parole for those serving life sentences.[241]The 2004 party congress approved a ban on smoking in public places.[243] In March 2016, the Liberal Democrats became the first major political party in the UK to support the legalisation of cannabis. The party supports cannabis sale and possession to be legal for all UK adults aged 18-years-old and over, the set up of specialist licensed stores to sell cannabis, the legalisation of home cultivation of cannabis for personal use, small scale cannabis clubs to be licensed, and a new regulator to oversee the market.[244][245] See also:Federal Board (Liberal Democrats),English Liberal Democrats,Scottish Liberal Democrats, andWelsh Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are afederalparty of the parties of England, Scotland, and Wales. The English and Scottish parties are further split into regions. The parliamentary parties of theHouse of Commons, theHouse of Lords, theScottish Parliamentand theSeneddform semi-autonomous units within the party. The leaders in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament are the leaders of the federal party and the Scottish Party; the leaders in the other two chambers, and the officers of all parliamentary parties, are elected from their own number. Co-ordination of all party activities across all federated groups is undertaken through the Federal Board. Chaired by the party president, its 30+ members includes representatives from each of the groups and democratically elected representatives.[246] Campaign board for the Scottish Liberal Democrats inStornoway In the first quarter of 2008, the party received £1.1 million in donations and have total borrowings and unused credit facilities of £1.1 million (the ""total debt"" figure reported by theElectoral Commissionincludes, for example, unused overdraft facilities). This compares to Labour's £3.1 million in donations and £17.8 million of borrowing/credit facilities, and the Conservatives' £5.7 million in donations and £12.1 million of borrowing/credit facilities.[247] Specified Associated Organisations(SAOs) review and input policies, representing groups including:ethnic minorities(LDCRE),[248]women (WLD),[249]the LGBT community (LGBT+ Liberal Democrats),[250]youth and students (Young Liberals), engineers and scientists (ALDES),[251]parliamentary candidates (PCA)[252]and localcouncillors(ALDC).[253]Others can become Associated Organisations (AOs) as campaigning or representative groups in the party, such as the Green Liberal Democrats (GLD),[254]the Liberal Democrat European Group (LDEG)[255]and the Liberal Democrat Disability Association.[256]There are many other groups that are not formally affiliated to the party, including Social Liberal Forum (SLF)[257]and Liberal Reform.[258] Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems organise inNorthern Ireland. Although they do not contest elections in the province, they work with theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland, described as its sister party[259]and _de facto_ agreeing to support the Alliance in elections.[260]There is a separate local party operating in Northern Ireland, theNorthern Ireland Liberal Democrats.[261]It is also a sister party of theLiberal Party of Gibraltarand contested the South-West England constituency at European Parliamentary elections on ajoint ticket; they used to take place six on theparty list.[262][263] The party is a member ofLiberal Internationaland theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Their 16 MEPs sat in theRenew Europegroup in the European Parliament untilBritain left the European Union.[264]The party colour isamber, but it is referred to asyellowin the party's style guide.[265]The party anthem is the oldLiberal's ""The Land"" while its slogan is ""Build a Brighter Future"".[266]The party headquarters are at 8–10 Great George StreetLondonSW1P 3AE.[267] In the 2005 general election, the party was endorsed by .[80]Cook noted that in the build-up to the 2010 election, most mainstream press—which was aligned with either the Conservatives or Labour—was ""voraciously hostile"" to the Lib Dems.[268]In that election, it nevertheless attracted the endorsement of and .[269] Whereas Labour gained funding through its links to trade unions and the Conservatives through big business, the Liberal Democrats have relied on funds raised by the subscriptions and donations provided by its members.[270]The party had some major donors, such as Lord Jacobs, who gave it around £1 million over the course of twenty years until he resigned in 2008.[94]In some years, it struggled to cover its costs; for instance, it made a loss of £670,000 in 2008.[271] The Liberal Democrat contingent at an anti-Brexit rally in Birmingham in September 2018 In its early years, the caricature of Liberal Democrat members was that of ""sandal-wearing, bearded eccentrics obsessed by the minutiae of electoral reform"".[69]Based on their 1999 survey of Liberal Democrat members, Whiteley noted that although party members shared many of the same attitudes as the party's voters, there were also ""striking differences"", namely in that members were ""older, more middle-class and better educated"" than the voters.[272]Their survey found that party membership was 54% male;[273]and was dominated by middle-class people, with working-class individuals comprising only 5% of members (in contrast to 30% of Labour and 19% of Conservative members at that time).[274]The average age was 59, and 58% of members were aged 56 or over.[275]A third were retired, and a third in full-time employment.[276]A majority worked, or had previously worked, in the non-profit sector.[276]42% possessed a degree, which was higher than among Labour (30%) and Conservative (19%) members at that time.[275]65% of members considered themselves religious, with 70% of those beingAnglican, 15%Methodist, and 11%Roman Catholic.[277] As of 1999, 43% of members had previously belonged to the Liberal Party, 14% to the Social Democratic Party, and 42% had joined with no previous political affiliation.[278]21% of members had joined because of their social contacts, such as friends, family, and colleagues, who were already members.[279]Around 40% of members stated that they joined because they agreed with the party's principles; a further 16% said they joined because of its policies.[280]The majority of members were largely inactive in party activities, with only 22% of those polled indicating that they were willing to attend party meetings.[281] The senior ranks of the party had long been heavily male-dominated; after the 1997 general election, for instance, only three of its 46 MPs were women.[282]Reinforcing its ""male, middle-class image"", after the 2010 election, 40% of Liberal Democrat MPs were privately educated.[283]However, following the 2019 general election, seven of its then eleven MPs were female, and the Lib Dem victories in the2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election, followed by the2021 North Shropshire by-election, increased the share to nine out of thirteen MPs. In 2019, the party had a minimum of 17,102 registered supporters which were not included in the membership figure of at least 120,000 members.[287] A research briefing paper by theHouse of Commons Librarypublished on 30 August 2022, stated that data submitted to the Electoral Commission suggested that the party membership at the end of 2021 stood at 73,544.[288] | 2005 The 1997 British Election Study Survey found that the average Liberal Democrat voter was aged 47, with 52% between the ages of 18 and 45.[290]At the time, 16% of Lib Dem voters possessed a degree.[290]Working class or blue collar workers composed 23% of Lib Dem voters, a much higher percentage than was found among the party's membership.[290]The survey found that Liberal Democrat voters shared many attitudes with the members; these voters overwhelmingly desired proportional representation and 63% backed EU membership.[291]Where the voters differed from the members was on the issue of foreign aid; over half of members wanted to increase the UK's foreign aid budget, whereas only a third of Liberal Democrat voters agreed.[292] From the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democrats inherited a strong base in Wales and Scotland.[295]In 2010, Cook noted that the party's safe seats ""do not fit a very homogeneous pattern"", being scattered amidst rural, middle-class suburban, and inner city areas.[296]A key feature of the party's electoral strategy has been foregrounding community politics.[297]Examining the survey evidence, Whiteley et al. argued that the strength of grassroots party activism in a particular area had a big impact on the vote share that the Liberal Democrats received there.[298] Liberal Democrats vote and seat share, 1983–2024 Throughout its history, thefirst-past-the-post systemhas prevented the party from receiving a share of parliamentary seats that reflects their share of the vote.[299] In the 1992 general election, the Lib Dems succeeded the SDP–Liberal Alliance as the third most popular party, behind Labour and the Conservatives. Their popularity never rose to the levels attained by the Alliance, but in later years their seat count rose far above the Alliance's peak, a feat that has been credited to more intelligent targeting of vulnerable seats.[300]The vote percentage for the Alliance in 1987 and the Lib Dems in 2005 is similar, yet the Lib Dems won 62 seats to the Alliance's 22.[301]This was because in 1987, the Alliance vote was fairly evenly spread throughout the country, whereas in 2005, the Liberal Democrat vote was concentrated in particular areas, allowing them to win nearly three times as many parliamentary seats as in 1987 despite getting a slightly lower share of the overall vote.[302] The first-past-the-post electoral system used in UK general elections is not suited to parties whose vote is evenly divided across the country, resulting in those parties achieving a lower proportion of seats in the Commons than their proportion of the popular vote (see table and graph). The Lib Dems and their Liberal and SDP predecessors have suffered especially,[303]particularly in the 1980s when their electoral support was greatest while the disparity between the votes and the number of MPs returned to parliament was significantly large. The increase in their number of seats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 was attributed to the weakness of the Conservatives and the success of their election strategistChris Rennard.[300]Lib Dems state that they want 'three-party politics' in the Commons;[304][305]the most realistic chance of power with first past the post is for the party to be ""the kingmakers"" in a hung parliament.[306]Party leaders often set out their terms for forming a coalition in such an event—Nick Cleggstated in 2008 that the policy for the 2010 general election was to reform elections, parties and Parliament in a ""constitutional convention"".[307] | Conservative–Liberal Democrats The party had control of 31 councils in 2008, having held 29 councils prior to the 2008 election.[316]In the2008 local electionsthey gained 25% of the vote, placing them ahead of Labour and increasing their control by 34 to more than 4,200 council seats—21% of the total number of seats. Incouncil electionsheld in May 2011, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats in the Midlands and North of England. They also lost heavily in the Welsh assembly and Scottish Parliament.[112]Inlocal elections held in May 2012, the Lib Dems lost more than 300 councillors, leaving them with fewer than 3000 for the first time in the party's history.[118]In the2013 local elections, they lost more councillors. In the2014 local electionsthey lost over 300 councillors and the control of two local governments.[317] In the2016 local elections, the number of Liberal Democrat councillors increased for the first time since they went into coalition in 2010. The party won 43 seats and increased its vote share by 4%. A number of former MPs who lost their seats in 2015 won council seats in 2016, including formerManchester WithingtonMPJohn Leech[318]who won 53% of the vote in a traditionally safe Labour seat. Leech's win was the first gain for any party in Manchester other than Labour for the first time in six years, and provided the city's majority Labour administration with its first opposition for two years.[318]Cheadle's former MPMark Hunteralso won a seat on Stockport Council.[319] In the2021 elections, the BBC reported that in England's 143 councils up for election the party won 588 seats (an increase of seven) and won seven councils (an increase of one), holding Cheltenham, Eastleigh, Mole Valley, Three Rivers, Watford and Winchester and gaining St. Albans. In theLondon Assembly, two seats were won (an increase of one).[320]As of 2022, the party has 2,562 councilors.[321] In some council areas, some Liberal Democrat candidates stand under the banner of 'Liberal Democrat Focus Team' instead (this being one of the party's registered descriptions with the electoral commission[322]), the stated aim of which being to present themselves as grassroots activists, focusing on local issues along with national issues.[323] Graham Watson, former leader of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europeand Secretary General of theInternational Federation of Liberal Youth, was the Liberal Democrat MEP forSouth West Englandand the first Lib Dem to be elected to the European parliament. As apro-Europeanparty,[324][325]the Liberal Democrats tended to fare badly at European Parliament elections.[326]In the 2004 local elections their share of the vote was 29% (placing them second, ahead of Labour)[305]and 14.9% in the simultaneousEuropean Parliament elections(putting them in fourth place behind the UK Independence Party).[327]The results of the2009 European electionswere similar with the party achieving a vote of 28% in the county council elections yet achieving only 13.7% in the Europeans despite the elections taking place on the same day. The 2009 elections did however see the party gain one seat from UKIP in the East Midlands region taking the number of representatives in the parliament up to 11.[328]In 2014 the party lost ten seats, leaving them with one MEP.[329]Campaigning on a pro-Remain platform with the slogan ""Bollocks to Brexit"", the party achieved their best ever results in the2019 election, taking 19.6% of the vote and winning 16 seats.[330] In theEuropean Parliamentfrom 2004 to 2019, the party sat with theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe(ALDE)political group, which favoured further strengtheningEuropean integration.[331]The group's leader for seven and a half years was theSouth West EnglandMEPGraham Watson, who was also the first Liberal Democrat to be elected to the European Parliament when he won the oldSomerset and North Devonconstituency in 1994.[332]Following the2019 European elections, the Liberal Democrats joinedRenew Europe, the successor group to the ALDE group. Jim Wallaceled the Scottish Liberal Democrats between 1992 and 2005 Alex Cole-Hamiltonhas led the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 The inauguralScottish Parliamentelection was held in1999and resulted in the Scottish Liberal Democrats winning a total of 17 seats.[334]The Scottish Liberal Democrats subsequently formed acoalition governmentwithScottish Labour.[335]Scottish Liberal Democrat leaderJim Wallacebecamedeputy first ministerof the newScottish Executive, a position he held until his resignation as party leader in 2005. Wallace served briefly as acting first minister following the death in office ofDonald Dewarin 2000 and the resignation ofHenry McLeishin 2001.[336] The Scottish Liberal Democrats again won 17 seats in the2003 Scottish Parliament electionand again formed acoalition governmentwith Scottish Labour.[337][338]Nicol Stephenwas elected party leader in 2005.[339]Stephen served as deputy first minister for two years. The Scottish Liberal Democrats exited government in 2007 despite losing only one seat in the2007 Scottish Parliament election. The Scottish National Party emerged from the election as the largest party and formed aminority administration.Nicol Stephenresigned as party leader the following year.[340] Tavish Scottwas elected party leader in 2008.[341]Scott resigned following what he described as ""disastrous"" results in the2011 Scottish Parliament election, in which the Scottish Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats. Scott claimed that the party had been ""damaged"" in Scotland by its decision to form acoalition governmentwith theConservative Partyin 2010.[342]He further blamed the coalition government'sausterity programme.[342]Willie Rennie, who became party leader in 2011, also blamed the unpopularity of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition.[343] The Scottish Liberal Democrats contested two Scottish Parliament elections under the leadership of Willie Rennie. The party again returned a total of five seats in the2016 Scottish Parliament election.[344]The Scottish Liberal Democrats recorded its worst ever result in a Scottish Parliament election by returning its lowest ever tally of four seats and achieving its lowest ever share of the vote in the2021 Scottish Parliament election.[345]Willie Rennie resigned as leader and was succeeded byAlex Cole-Hamiltonin 2021.[346] Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since November 2017 The first elections to the newly created National Assembly for Wales (nowSenedd) were in 1999; the Liberal Democrats took six seats in the inaugural Assembly;Welsh Labourwon apluralityof seats, but without an overall majority. In October 2000, following a series of close votes, the parties formed acoalition, with the Liberal Democrat leader in the assembly,Michael German, becoming theDeputy First Minister.[347]The deal lasted until the 2003 election, when Labour won enough seats to be able to govern outright.[348] The party had polled consistently in the first four elections to the National Assembly, returning six representatives in the first three elections and five in the2011 election, thereby establishing itself as the fourth party in Wales behind Labour, the Conservatives andPlaid Cymru, but fell to just one seat in 2016. Between 2008 and 2016, the leader of theWelsh Liberal DemocratswasKirsty Williams, the Assembly Member (nowMember of the Senedd(MS)) forBrecon and Radnorshire, the Assembly's first female party leader.[349] Main article:Liberal Democrat Conference Main article:Liberal Democrat frontbench team
### Party Presidents
See also:President of the Liberal Democrats Main article:Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
* Graham Watson, 1994–2002 (President of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party)
The Liberal Democrats did not have representation in the European Parliament prior to 1994.
### Chairs of the English Liberal Democrats
Main article:English Liberal Democrats
### Leaders of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Main article:Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Nicol Stephen(27 June 2005 – 2 July 2008)
### Leaders of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
Main article:Welsh Liberal Democrats See also:List of United Kingdom Liberal Democrat MPs (2024–present) Another 27 Liberal Democrat candidates at the 2024 Election achieved second places (25 in England and 2 in Wales). Those polling within 10% of the winner (in 11 constituencies) were as follows: In 2006, Whiteley et al. noted that the Liberal Democrats were ""a major force in contemporary British politics"".[358]Although throughout its history, the party had been relegated to third party status, they argued that it had the capability of breaking through to become one of the country's main two parties if proportional representation (or something like it) was introduced, or if either the Conservatives or Labour were severely weakened by splitting in two.[359]
* Liberal Democrat Conference
* Liberal Democrat Voice
* Liberal Party (UK)
* List of Liberal Democrat MPs
* List of Liberal Party and Liberal Democrats (UK) general election manifestos
* List of major liberal parties considered left
* Liberal Democrat frontbench team
* Norman, Paul (21 June 2021).""Liberal Democrats Relocate Westminster HQ""._CoStar_.Archivedfrom the original on 21 June 2021.
* ""Liberal Democrats website""._libdems.org.uk_. 19 September 2024. Retrieved19 September2024.
* ""Liberal Democrats – Spring Conference Online""._Liberal Democrats_. Retrieved13 July2024.
* Sloman, Peter (2020).""Squeezed Out? The Liberal Democrats and the 2019 General Election""._The Political Quarterly_.**91**(1):35–42.doi:.ISSN1467-923X.
* Cassel-Piccot, Muriel (20 December 2014).""The Liberal Democrat Party: From Contender to Coalitionist""._Revue LISA/LISA e-journal. Littératures, Histoire des Idées, Images, Sociétés du Monde Anglophone – Literature, History of Ideas, Images and Societies of the English-speaking World_(in French).**XII**(8).doi:.ISSN1762-6153.
978-1-3512-4549-4
* ""The Liberal Democrats' place in progressive politics"". . 19 December 2019. Retrieved12 May2024.
* Tom Peck (3 March 2018).""Liberal Democrats at 30: How the third party went from Roy Jenkins to coalition government to the brink of extinction"". .Archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved30 June2019.
* ""Coalition under pressure as Liberal Democrat support plummets""._London Evening Standard_. 10 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2011. Retrieved28 December2010.
* Curtis, Polly; Wintour, Patrick; Mulholland, Hélène (6 May 2011).""Liberal Democrats have taken 'big knocks', says Nick Clegg"". .Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved30 August2015.
* Chorley, Matt (3 June 2012).""Lib Dems suffer plunge in party membership"". . London.Archivedfrom the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved13 April2014.
* Parker, George; Stacey, Kiran (8 May 2015).""Liberal Democrats suffer electoral collapse""._Financial Times_.
* Lusher, Adam (17 May 2016).""Liberal Democrat membership numbers soar despite the party's woeful election performance"". .Archivedfrom the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved24 May2015.
* ""Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2017""(PDF)._libdems.org.uk_. Tim Gordon. May 2017. pp.9–10.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved2 November2019.
* ""Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd resigns the Lib Dem Party Whip""._Eastbourne Herald_. Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2019. Retrieved16 December2019.
* ""Why the Liberal Democrats' ""Bollocks to Brexit"" slogan is a stroke of genius""._New Statesman_. 9 May 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved17 December2019.
* Dixon, Mike (31 December 2019).""Breaking: The new Party President is...""_LibDemVoice_.
* ""Liberal Democrats announce virtual leadership contest and party conference""._Belfast Telegraph_.ISSN0307-1235. Retrieved20 May2020.
* ""Davey wins Liberal Democrat leadership race""._BBC News_. 27 August 2020. Retrieved27 August2020.
* Woodcock, Andrew (13 September 2020).""Liberal Democrats plan to woo 'soft conservatives' repulsed by 'thuggish' Johnson Tories""._The Independent_. Retrieved14 September2020.
* ""Lib Dems: Uneasy party ponders long road back to EU""._BBC News_. 7 February 2021. Retrieved7 February2021.
* Bond, David (24 June 2022).""Liberal Democrats win in Tiverton and Honiton biggest in by-election history""._Evening Standard_. Retrieved25 June2022.
* ""Lib Dems add councillors as party targets Tory heartland""._BBC News_. 3 May 2024. Retrieved4 May2024.
* ""Local elections 2024: Liberal Democrats take control of Dorset""._BBC News_. 3 May 2024. Retrieved4 May2024.
* Mason, Rowena (5 May 2024).""Lib Dems gain most council seats in last five years, party's data shows""._The Guardian_.ISSN0261-3077. Retrieved5 May2024.
* Davison, William; Mata, Tamara (11 June 2024).""What are the Liberal Democrats' policies and who is their leader Ed Davey?""._Evening Standard_. Retrieved15 June2024.
* Gross, Anna (5 July 2024).""Liberal Democrats return record number of MPs after Tory rout""._www.ft.com_. Retrieved5 July2024.
978-0-1992-4282-5
* ^Jump up to:Grayson, Richard S. (2007). ""Social Democracy or Social Liberalism? Ideological Sources of Liberal Democrat Policy""._The Political Quarterly_.**78**(1):32–39.doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00828.x.ISSN1467-923X.
* Brack, Duncan (2010)._The Liberal Democrats and the Role of the State_. pp.173–188.inGriffiths & Hickson 2010.
* ^Jump up to:Smith, Julie (1 January 2014). ""Between ideology and pragmatism: Liberal party politics at the European level""._Acta Politica_.**49**(1):105–121.doi:10.1057/ap.2013.28.ISSN1741-1416.S2CID143794467.
* ^Jump up to:Evans, Elizabeth (1 June 2011).""Two heads are better than one? Assessing the implications of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition for UK politics""(PDF)._Political Science_.**63**(1):45–60.doi:10.1177/0032318711404532.ISSN0032-3187.S2CID2275771.
* Pattie, C.J.; Johnston, R.J. (1 May 2001). ""Routes to party choice: Ideology, economic evaluations and voting at the 1997 British General Election""._European Journal of Political Research_.**39**(3):373–389.doi:10.1023/A:1011077921719.ISSN1475-6765.S2CID189868174.
* Dommett, Katharine (2013). ""A Miserable Little Compromise? Exploring Liberal Democrat Fortunes in the UK Coalition""._The Political Quarterly_.**84**(2):218–227.doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2013.12013.x.ISSN1467-923X.
* Cole, Matt (2010)._Icarus Turns Back: Liberal Democrat Constitutional Policy_. pp.155–172.inGriffiths & Hickson 2010.
978-0-7190-6601-6
* Hulbert, Mathew (27 May 2013).""Opinion: Liberal Democrats for a republic""._Lib Dem Voice_. Retrieved7 June2022.
* Wingate, Sophie (13 November 2023).""Liberal Democrats call for 'immediate bilateral ceasefire' in Israel-Hamas war""._The Independent_.
* ""'It is morally reprehensible': Five UK opposition parties call for Britain to drop Saudi weapons sales""._The Independent_. 25 March 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2022.
* Stone, Jon (25 June 2016).""Liberal Democrats pledge to ignore referendum result and keep Britain in the EU""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved27 June2016.
* Mortimer, Caroline (29 June 2016).""Liberal Democrat membership surging with 'one person a minute joining' following party's pledge to fight Brexit""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved1 July2016.
* ""The Liberal Democrat Plan for Britain in Europe"". Libdems.org.uk. 6 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved12 November2016.
* ^Jump up to:""Liberal Democrat Manifesto. (2015). p82. Available at cloudfront.net:Accessed: 25 March 2015""(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 July 2016.
* ""Liberal Democrats become first major party to back cannabis legalisation""._BBC News_. 8 March 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved28 August2019.
* Leftly, Mark (12 March 2016).""Liberal Democrats become first major party to back cannabis legalisation""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved28 August2019.
* ""New figures published showing political parties' donations and borrowing"".Electoral Commission. 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved22 September2008.
* ""Liberal Democrat Campaign for Racial Equality""._ldcre.org.uk_. 8 February 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved8 February2019.
* ""DELGA: Liberal Democrats for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Action"". Lgbt.libdems.org.uk. 17 February 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors"". ALDC. 17 February 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Liberal Democrat European Group"". ldeg.org.Archivedfrom the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""LDDA — The Liberal Democrat Disability Association"". Disabilitylibdems.org.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Alliance Party faces uphill battle"". BBC. 14 September 2001. Retrieved21 March2008.
* Wax, Eddy (24 April 2019).""Macron-Liberal alliance to be named Renew Europe French president's party was keen to ditch the L-word"". Politico.eu. Retrieved1 January2020.
* ^Jump up to:Pack, Mark (9 October 2016).""Liberal Democrat annual membership figures since 1989"". Mark Pack. Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2017. Retrieved6 April2017.
* ""Liberal Democrats annual report year ended 31 December 2020""._The Electoral Commission_. 31 December 2020. Retrieved6 September2021.
* ""General Election 2005 (p35, 92)""(PDF).House of Commons Library.Archived(PDF)from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved22 November2023.
* ""Open Council Data UK – compositions councillors parties wards elections"". Open Council Data. Retrieved20 December2018.
* ""The Focus Team | Forest of Dean Liberal Democrat Focus Team""._forestofdean.focusteam.org.uk_.Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved3 April2024.
* ""Biographical details: Graham Watson MEP, Former leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament"".ALDE. 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2009. Retrieved8 June2009.
* ""Tavish Scott wins Liberal Democrat leadership race""._The Scotsman_. 26 August 2008. Retrieved16 July2022.
* ^Jump up to:""Disastrous election performance provokes Scott to stand down as party leader"". Shetland Times. 7 May 2011. Retrieved16 July2022.
* ^Jump up to:Sarah Priddy (1 September 2020).""Liberal Democrat, SDP and Liberal Party leaders and officials since 1975""(PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved28 November2023.
978-0-2302-4855-7
* Meadowcroft, John (2000). ""Is There a Liberal Alternative? Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats' Strategy""._The Political Quarterly_.**71**(4):436–442.doi:10.1111/1467-923X.00331.
* Meadowcroft, John (2008). ""Are the Liberal Democrats the Party of Liberty?""._Economic Affairs_.**28**(2): 93.doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2008.00835.x.
978-0-1992-4282-5
* Liberal Democrats Flock Together
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| State parties
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Liberal Democrats (UK)
",1.0
page_scrape,7.825021982192993,11.896048545837402,,,https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lib-dems-biggest-donor-stole-money-1040242.html#comments-area,1144.0,"The Liberal Democrats may be forced to pay back a record donation of £2.4m after a jury decided the party's biggest donor was a con man.
The Electoral Commission is to reopen its investigation into 5th Avenue Partners Ltd, the firm Brown founded. Anti-sleaze laws forbid the receipt of donations from companies who are not ""carrying on business"", so it is possible the party will be required to return the money, which could badly damage its budget to fight a general election. The Los Angeles-based lawyer Robert Mann, who gave Brown $5m (£3m), is now suing the Liberal Democrats for the return of £632,000 Brown gave to the party.
Nick Clegg, the party leader, said: ""We took that money in good faith. We did all the due diligence checks we could have done, totally unaware of the crimes of which Michael Brown has now been indicted. Beyond that, I can't comment.""
Edwards was among an international array of victims who gave Brown a total of $57.7m (£36m), of which a record £2.4m was given to the Liberal Democrats. Former leader Charles Kennedy flew around Britain in Brown's private jet during the campaign for the 2005 General Election.
",3.0
page_scrape,11.32785964012146,12.819560289382935,,,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)#bodyContent,73755.0,"British political party
""Lib Dems"" redirects here. For other uses, seeLiberal Democrats (disambiguation).
Liberal Democrats
* Social Democratic Party
Liberal Democrat Headquarters1Vincent Square,London.SW1P 2PN[1] | Liberal Democrat Women | LGBT+ Liberal Democrats | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Liberal Democrat Conference
* Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Welsh Liberal Democrats
* Northern IrelandLiberal Democrats
The**Liberal Democrats** , colloquially known as the**Lib Dems** , are aliberalpolitical party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based atLiberal Democrat Headquarters, inWestminster, and the current leader of the party isEd Davey. They are the third-largestparty in the United Kingdom, with 72members of Parliament(MPs) in theHouse of Commons. They have 77 members of theHouse of Lords,[5]five members of theScottish Parliament, one member in the WelshSenedd, and more than 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice-per-yearLiberal Democrat Conference, at which party policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents' rules,[6][7][8]the Liberal Democratsgrant all members attending its Conferencethe right to vote on party policy, under aone member, one votesystem.[9][10]The party also allows its members to vote online for its policies and in the election of a new leader.[11] In 1981,an electoral alliancewas established between theLiberal Party, a group which descended from the 18th-centuryWhigs, and theSocial Democratic Party(SDP), a splinter group from theLabour Party. In 1988, the parties merged as the**Social and Liberal Democrats** , adopting their present name just over a year later. Under the leadership ofPaddy Ashdownand laterCharles Kennedy, the party grew during the 1990s and 2000s, focusing its campaigns on specific seats and becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons. In 2010, underNick Clegg's leadership, the Liberal Democrats were junior partners inDavid Cameron'sConservative-led coalition government, in which Clegg served asdeputy prime minister. Although it allowed them to implement some of their policies, the coalition badly damaged the party's electoral standing, and they lost 48 of their 56 MPs at the2015 general election, which relegated them to fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. Under the leaderships ofTim Farron,Vince CableandJo Swinson, the party was refocused as apro-Europeanistparty opposingBrexit. In the2019 general election, the party garnered 11.5 per cent of the vote on an anti-Brexit platform, but this did not translate into seat gains, with Swinson losing her own seat.[12]However, the party gained hundreds of seats on local councils under the leadership ofEd Davey, being especially successful in the2022,2023, and2024 local elections. Davey is the party's first leader since Ashdown in the 1990s to win four by-elections in the space of one Parliament. This success continued at the2024 general election, where despite only a small vote share increase to 12.2 per cent, the party won 72 seats, their highest total ever, and returned to being the third largest party in the House of Commons for the first time since 2015. Acentrist[13]tocentre-left[14]political party, the Liberal Democrats ideologically draw upon both liberalism andsocial democracy. Different factions have dominated the party at different times, each with its own ideological bent, some leaning towards the centre-left and others the centre. The party is a member of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party(ALDE), andLiberal International. It calls for constitutional reform, including a change from thefirst-past-the-post votingsystem toproportional representation. Emphasising stronger protections forcivil liberties, the party promotessocial-liberalapproaches[15]to issues likeLGBT rights,drug liberalisation,education policyandcriminal justice. It favours amarket-based economysupplemented withsocial welfarespending. The party has been described asprogressive,[16][17][18]and isinternationalistandpro-European,[19]and supported thePeople's Votefor the continued UK membership of theEuropean Unionand greaterEuropean integration, having previously called for adoption of theeuro. The Liberal Democrats have promoted further environmental protections and opposed British military ventures such as theIraq War. The Liberal Democrats are historically strongest innorthern Scotland, south-west London,South West England, andmid Wales. Membership is primarily made up ofmiddle-classprofessionals and the party's composition has a higher proportion ofuniversityeducated members than the other major political parties of the United Kingdom.[]The party is a federation of theEnglish,Scottish, andWelsh Liberal Democrats. The party is in a partnership with theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland, while still organising there. Internationally, the party is a member of theLiberal Internationaland theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, with its MEPs formerly affiliated to theRenew Europegroup in the European Parliament. TheLiberal Partyhad existed in different forms for over 300 years.[20]During the 19th and early 20th century, it had been one of the United Kingdom's two dominant political parties, along with theConservative Party. FollowingWorld War I, it was pushed into third place by theLabour Partyand underwent a gradual decline throughout the rest of the 20th century.[21]In the 1970s, the Liberal leaderDavid Steelbegan contemplating how an alliance with other parties could return it to political power.[22]In 1977, he formed a pact with Labour Prime MinisterJames Callaghanto back Callaghan's government in amotion of no confidence. This angered many Liberals and damaged them electorally.[23]In the1979 general election, the Liberals lost three seats in theHouse of Commons; the Conservatives, led byMargaret Thatcher, won the election.[24] Within the Labour Party, many centrists were uncomfortable with the growing influence of thehard left, who were calling for the UK to leave theEuropean Economic Communityand unilaterally disarm as anuclear power. In January 1981, four senior Labour MPs—Bill Rodgers,Shirley Williams,Roy Jenkins, andDavid Owen, known as the ""Gang of Four""—issued theLimehouse Declarationin which they announced their split from Labour. This led to the formal launch of theSocial Democratic Party(SDP) in March.[25]One of its first decisions was to negotiate an electoral arrangement with the Liberals, facilitated between Jenkins, who was the first SDP leader, and Steel.[26] The initial logo used by the Social and Liberal Democrats after their 1988 foundation Both parties lost seats in the1987 general election.[32]In the wake of this, Steel called for the SDP and Liberals to merge into a single party.[33]At the grassroots, various local constituency groups had already _de facto_ merged.[34]In the SDP, Jenkins, Rodgers, Williams, and the MPCharles Kennedysupported the idea; Owen and the MPsRosie BarnesandJohn Cartwrightopposed it.[35]The SDP's membership was balloted on the idea: after it produced 57.4% in favour of the merger, Owen resigned as leader, to be replaced byBob Maclennan.[36]A Liberal conference in September found delegates providing a landslide majority for the merger.[37]Formal negotiations launched that month and in December it produced a draft constitution for the new party.[38]In 1988, Liberal and SDP meetings both produced majorities for the merger;[39]finally, the memberships of both parties were balloted and both produced support for unification.[40]Those in both parties opposed to unification split to form their own breakaway groups, in the form of theLiberal Partyand theContinuing SDP.[41] The Social and Liberal Democrats were formally launched on 3 March 1988.[42]Steel and Maclennan initially became joint interim leaders.[43]At the start, it claimed 19 MPs, 3,500 local councillors, and 100,000 members.[42]In its first leadership election,Paddy AshdowndefeatedAlan Beith.[44]Ashdown saw the Liberal Democrats as a radical, reforming force, putting forward policies for introducing home rule for Scotland and Wales, proportional representation, transforming the House of Lords into an elected Senate, and advancing environmental protections.[45]At the September 1988 conference it adopted the short form name ""the Democrats"" and in October 1989 changed its name to ""Liberal Democrats"".[46][47]The bird of liberty was adopted as its logo.[48]In 1989, its election results were poor: it lost 190 seats in theMay 1989 local electionsand secured only 6.4% of the vote in the1989 European Parliament elections, beaten to third position by theGreen Party.[49]This was the worst election result for an established third party since the 1950s.[50]Its prospects were buoyed after it won the1990 Eastbourne by-election, followed by-election victories inRibble ValleyandKincardine and Deeside.[51]In the1991 local electionsit secured a net gain of 520 seats.[52]In the1992 general election, it secured 17.8% of the vote and 20 seats in the House of Commons: nine of these were in Scotland and five were in Southwest England.[53] Between 1992 and 1997, the party underwent a period of consolidation, particularly on local councils.[54]In the1994 local elections, it came second, pushing the Conservatives into third place.[55]In the1994 European Parliament elections, it gained twoMembers of the European Parliament(MEPs).[54]In 1993, the party was damaged by allegations of racism on the Liberal Democrat-controlled council in Tower Hamlets;[55]it faced additional problems as its distinctive centrist niche was threatened by the rise ofTony BlairandNew Labour, a project which pushed Labour to the centre.[56]At the1997 general election, it fielded 639 candidates,[57]securing 46 MPs, the greatest number that the Liberals had had since 1929.[58]These were concentrated in Southwest England, Southwest London, and areas of Scotland.[58] Although Blair's Labour won a landslide victory in 1997 and did not require a coalition government, Blair was interested in cooperation with the Lib Dems. In July 1997, he invited Ashdown and other senior Lib Dems to join a Cabinet Committee on constitutional affairs.[59][60]Privately, Blair offered the Liberal Democrats a coalition but later backed down amid fears that it would split his own Cabinet.[61]The joint Committee launched theIndependent Commission on the Voting Systemin December;[62]its report, published in October 1998, proposed the change from thefirst past the postelectoral system to analternative vote top-up system. This was not the Lib Dems preferred option—they wanted fullproportional representation—although Ashdown hailed it as ""a historic step forward"".[63]Many Lib Dems were concerned by Ashdown's growing closeness with Labour;[64]aware of this, he stepped down as party leader in 1999.[65]Before he did so, the party took part in the 1999 elections for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. In both, the Lib Dems came fourth and became Labour's junior coalition partners.[66] The MPSimon Hugheswas initially seen as Ashdown's most likely successor, but was defeatedin the contestbyCharles Kennedy.[67]To reduce the impact of more leftist members who tended to dominate at conferences, Kennedy proposed that all members—rather than just conference delegates—should vote for the party's federal executive and federal policy committees.[68]In 2001, Kennedy suspended the Joint Cabinet Committee with Labour.[69]The media characterised him as ""Inaction Man"" and accused him of lacking a clear identity and political purpose;[70]later criticism also focused on his alcoholism.[71][72]In the2001 general election, the party fielded 639 candidates and made a net gain of 6, bringing its total of seats to 52.[73][74] Following theSeptember 11 attacksin the United States and the launch of the U.S.-ledWar on terror, the Liberal Democrat MPs backed the government's decision to participate in theUnited States invasion of Afghanistan.[75]The party was more critical of Blair's decision to participate in theU.S.-led invasion of Iraqin 2003; Kennedy joined thelarge anti-war marchin London.[76]With the Conservatives backing the Labour government's decision to go to war, the Lib Dems were the only major party opposing it.[76]In following years, Lib Dem MPs increasingly voted against the Labour government on a range of issues.[77]Much of this Lib Dem opposition to the government came from their members in the House of Lords.[77]In the2003 local elections, the party secured about 30% of the vote, its highest ever result.[78] In 2004, anthology was published. Written largely by centre-right economists in the party, it sparked discussions about Liberal Democrat philosophy and brought criticism from the party's social-liberal wing.[79]In the2005 general election, the Lib Dems secured 62 seats, the most the Liberals had had since 1923.[80][81]Kennedy however faced growing calls within the party to resign after admitting that he had been treated for alcoholism; in January 2006 he stepped down under pressure even though his admission wasn't damaging to the Lib Dems' public support.[82]In retrospect the move to oust Kennedy was seen as a ""graceless"" move and a turning point for the Lib Dems, who after 2010 would lose many of the left-leaning voters that Kennedy won over from Labour in 2005, ""reeling in disgust from the decision to go into coalition"" with the Conservatives (which Kennedy staunchly opposed).[83] In March 2006,Menzies Campbellsucceeded Kennedy as party leader.[84]Campbell was not popular with voters and faced a resurgent Conservative Party under new leaderDavid Cameron;[85]in theMay 2007 local elections, the party experienced a net loss of nearly 250 seats.[86]Inthat year's Scottish Parliamentelection, theScottish National Party(SNP) secured the largest vote and the Lib Dem/Labour coalition ended.[87]Campbell was frustrated at the constant media focus on the fact that he was in his late sixties; in October he resigned andVince Cablebecame acting leader.[88][89] See also:Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreementandCameron–Clegg coalition In December 2007,Nick Cleggnarrowly beatChris Huhneto take the party's leadership.[90][91]Clegg's reshuffle of the leadership team was seen by many as a shift to the right;[92]under Clegg, the party moved away from the social democratic focus it displayed previously.[93]It rebranded itself as a party that would cut rather than raise taxes and dropped its hard pro-EU position.[94]In the2008 local electionsit gained 34 seats, beating Labour in terms of vote share.[93]The following year, the party was damaged bythe expenses scandalas several Lib Dem MPs and peers were found to have misused their expenses; Campbell for example was revealed to have claimed nearly £10,000 in expenses for luxury home furnishings.[95]In the build-up to the2010 general election, Clegg took part in the UK's first televised party leaders debate; he was generally considered to have performed well, with pundits referring to an ensuing ""Cleggmania"".[96] In the election, the Lib Dems secured 23% of the vote and 57 seats; the Conservatives were the largest party but lacked a majority.[97]The Conservatives and Lib Dems formed a coalition government,[98]with Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister.[99]Four other Lib Dems—Cable, Huhne,Danny Alexander, andDavid Laws—entered the coalition Cabinet.[100]Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement, with former party leaderCharles KennedyandManchester WithingtonMPJohn Leechboth rebelling against.[101]Many Lib Dems opposed the move, with some favouring a coalition deal with Labour.[102]As part of the coalition agreement, the Conservatives agreed to Lib Dem demands to introduce elected health boards, put forward aFixed Term Parliament Bill, and ended income tax for those earning less than £10,000 a year. The Conservatives also agreed to shelve their plans to replace theHuman Rights Act 1998with a proposedBritish Bill of Rights.[103]The Conservatives refused to agree to Lib Dem demands for a referendum on proportional representation, instead offering a referendum on a switch from first-past-the-post to the Alternative Vote system.[103]The coalition introduced an emergency budget to attack the fiscal deficit.[104] After joining the coalition poll ratings for the party fell,[105]particularly following the government's support for raising the cap ontuition feesfor ""higher education"" with Liberal Democrat MPs voting 27 for, 21 against and eight abstaining.[106]The Liberal Democrats had made opposing tuition fees a major message of their campaign, with all of the party's MPs, including Nick Clegg, signing theVote for Students pledgeto oppose any increase in student tuition fees prior to the 2010 general election.[107]In November 2010,_The Guardian_ accessed internal party documents on the subject written prior to the election. These revealed that the party had planned to abandon the tuition fee policy after the election had taken place, as part of any hypothetical coalition agreement with either major party.[108]Clegg later made a formal apology for breaking this promise in September 2012.[109][110]Shortly after the 2015 general election, Liberal Democrat leadership contenderNorman Lambconceded that Clegg's broken pledge on university tuition had proven costly.[111] In theMay 2011 local electionsand the elections for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats.[112]Clegg admitted that the party had taken ""big knocks"" due to a perception that the coalition government had returned to theThatcherismof the 1980s.[113] As part of the deal that formed the coalition, it was agreed to hold areferendum on the Alternative Vote, in which the Conservatives would campaign forFirst Past the Postand the Liberal Democrats forAlternative Vote. The referendum, held on 5 May 2011, resulted in First Past the Post being chosen over Alternative Vote by approximately two-thirds of voters.[114]In May 2011, Clegg revealed plans to make the House of Lords a mainly elected chamber, limiting the number ofpeersto 300, 80% of whom would be elected with a third of that 80% being elected every five years bysingle transferable vote.[115]In August 2012, Clegg announced that attempts to reform the House of Lords would be abandoned due to opposition for the proposals bybackbenchConservative MPs. Claiming the coalition agreement had been broken, Clegg stated that Liberal Democrat MPs would no longer support changes to the House of Commons boundaries for the 2015 general election.[116]The Lib DemSecretary of State for Energy and Climate ChangeChris Huhnein 2011 announced plans for halving UK carbon emissions by 2025 as part of the ""Green Deal"" which was in the 2010 Liberal Democrat manifesto.[117] The Lib Dems lost over 300 councillorsin the 2012 local elections, leaving them with fewer than 3,000 for the first time in the party's history.[118]In June 2012, it was reported that membership of the party had fallen by around 20% since joining the coalition.[119] In February 2013, the party won aby-election in Eastleigh, the Hampshire constituency that had previously been held by the former minister,Chris Huhne. The party's candidate,Mike Thornton, had been a local councillor for the party, and held the seat.[120]In eighteen other by-elections held throughout the 2010 to 2015 Parliament, the party lost itsdepositin 11;[121]in theRochester and Strood by-electionheld on 20 November 2014, it came fifth polling 349 votes or 0.9% of the total votes cast, the worst result in the history of the party.[122] Inthe 2013 local elections, the Liberal Democrats lost over 100 council seats. Inthe 2014 local elections, they lost another 307 council seats[123]and ten of their eleven seats in theEuropean Parliamentin the2014 European elections.[124] In the2015 general election, the party lost 48 seats in the House of Commons, leaving them with only eight MPs.[125][126]Prominent Liberal Democrat MPs who lost their seats included former leaderCharles Kennedy, former deputy leadersVince CableandSimon Hughes, and several cabinet ministers. The Conservatives won an outright majority.[127]Clegg then announced his resignation as party leader.[128]The party lost over 400 council seats inthe 2015 local elections, held the same day.[129] Membership of the Liberal Democrats rose from 45,000 to 61,000[130]as the party prepared to hold its2015 party leadership ballot. On 16 July 2015,Tim Farronwas elected to the leadership of the party with 56.5% of the vote, beating opponentNorman Lamb.[131]In theMay 2016 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained a small number of council seats, though they lost ground in theWelsh Assembly. The party campaigned for a Remain vote in thereferendum on United Kingdom membership of the European Unionin June 2016.[132]After the Leave vote, the Liberal Democrats sought to mobilise the 48% who voted Remain,[133]and the party's membership rose again, reaching 80,000 by September.[134] The2017 local electionresults saw a loss of about 40 council seats. In the2017 general election, during which the party advocated continued membership of theEuropean single marketand areferendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement,[135]the Liberal Democrats' vote share dropped 0.5% to 7.4%, its lowest percentage ever, but produced a net gain of four seats.[136]Farron then resigned;[137]in July 2017Vince Cablewaselected leader unopposed.[138]He called for a second referendum on the UK's relationship with the European Union.[139]In December 2018, the MP forEastbourne,Stephen Lloyd, resigned the Liberal Democrat Whip, saying that his party's position onBrexitwas inconsistent with his pledge to his constituency that he would ""respect the result"" of the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[140]Although Lloyd remained a Liberal Democrat member, this took the number of sitting Liberal Democrat MPs down to 11. The party gained 76 councillors inthe 2018 local electionsand 704 councillors in the2019 local elections.[141]In the2019 European Parliament electionthe party ran with an anti-Brexit message seeking the support of those who wish the UK to remain in the EU, using the slogan ""Bollocks to Brexit"" which attracted considerable media attention.[142][143]In that election, the party gained 20% of the popular vote and returned 16 MEPs.[144]In May, Cable stood down as leader, triggering aleadership election.[145] Guy Verhofstadt, theEuropean parliament's Brexit co-ordinator, at the 2019 Liberal Democrats conference Heading into the2019 general election, the party polled well, with one poll showing the party with 20% (within 4% of Labour) as late as 28 October.[149]Nonetheless, during the campaign period the party's fortunes dwindled, and leaderJo Swinsonreceived negative reviews.[150][151]In the election, the Liberal Democrats lost ten seats from the previous parliament and one from the previous election, returning 11 MPs. Of the nine new MPs who joined between June and October 2019, the eight who contested their seats in the 2019 general election all lost their seats. However, the party did gain 4.2% in the vote, rising to 11.6%. Swinson herself narrowly lost herEast Dunbartonshireconstituency to the Scottish National Party'sAmy Callaghan, forcing her to resign as leader the next day in accordance with the Liberal Democrat Constitution which mandates that the leader must also serve as an MP.[152]Deputy LeaderEd Daveyand Party PresidentSal Brintonthen jointly assumed the positions of acting co-leaders of the party. Brinton was at the end of the year (31 December 2019) replaced byMark Packas Party President and acting co-leader[153]while Mike Dixon remains the party CEO.[154] The Liberal Democrats' federal board set out a timetable in January 2020 which stated that a new party leader would be elected in July 2020.[155]Due to theoutbreakofCOVID-19in the United Kingdom in the late winter and spring which saw many politicians infected, the party's board initially pushed the leadership election back to May 2021.[156]The decision was reversed in May 2020 to hold theleadership electionin July 2020.[157]On 27 August 2020,Ed Daveywas elected as leader of the party, by a margin of almost 18,000 votes.[158]On 13 September 2020,Daisy Cooperwas announced as the party's new Deputy Leader.[159] In September 2020, it was revealed by the party's new campaigning chief that the Liberal Democrats had started planning a four-year drive to woo ""softconservatives"". Cooper said the party could find a route forward by appealing to voters that had always thought of themselves as conservatives but who opposed the current direction of the Conservative Party underBoris Johnson.[160] When Davey was asked byAndrew Marrabout the party's stance on rejoining the EU, he said ""We are not a rejoin party, but we are a very pro-European party."" This caused anger to some Liberal Democrat members and a few days after Davey wrote a blog post clarifying his position. He stressed the Liberal Democrats were ""committed to the UK being members of the European Union again"" and insisted that members may have ""misinterpreted"" what he said on _The Andrew Marr Show_ and that once he was able to clarify ""people were completely relaxed"".[161] Under Davey, the Liberal Democrats seized the traditionalConservativeconstituency ofChesham and Amershamin aby-electionin whichSarah Greenoverturned a 16,000 majority in June 2021[162]and then repeated a similar feat inNorth Shropshirein December 2021 whenHelen Morganoverturned a 23,000 majority.[163]In the2022 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained councillors in all countries of Great Britain, with the largest gain of any party in England with 194 new councillors.[164]One month later, the Liberal Democrats contested and won theTiverton and Honiton by-electionwith its candidateRichard Foord, overturning a majority of over 24,000 and breaking the record for the biggest overturning of a majority in British by-election history.[165] The Liberal Democrats saw considerable gains in the2023 local elections, gaining 405 councillors and winning control of 12 more councils.[166]They also overturned a 19,000 Conservative majority in the2023 Somerton and Frome by-electionto electSarah Dykeas their 15th MP.[167] In the2024 local elections, Davey said he was confident of toppling the ""ToryBlue Wallin Surrey"".[168]The Lib Dems finished in second place behind Labour and ahead of the Conservatives in terms of seats. The Liberal Democrats gainedTunbridge Wells council[169]andDorset Council.[170]They notably added more council seats than any other party over the last parliament, gaining more than 750 in the last five years, largely insouthern England.[171] The Liberal Democrats entered the2024 general electionwith its manifesto policies including reformingCarer's Allowance, free personal care in England,votes at 16andproportional representation.[172][173]After a successful campaign, the party made the biggest gain in seats in its history, winning a party high of 72 seats.[174][175]
* Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
* Liberal Democrats
* Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Social Democratic Party
The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions.[176]The party is primarilysocial liberal, supporting redistribution but sceptical of increasing the power of the state, emphasising the link between equality and liberty. The party supports investment and progressive taxation, but also promotescivil libertiesand a less centralised economy.[177]This distinguishes the party from many liberal parties elsewhere in Europe that are instead dominated byclassical liberalism.[178][179]By comparison, the Liberal Democrats support amixed economyand have sometimes opposed privatisation.[177] The party spans thecentreandcentre-left, and has emphasised each aspect at different times.[179][180][181][182][183]The public have traditionally viewed the party as centre-left,[184]though during theCameron–Clegg coalitionthey were seen as centrist.[185]On economic issues, the party has usually been positioned between theConservativesand theLabour Party, though typically closer to the Labour Party.[186]There is a degree of ideological diversity among members of the Liberal Democrats, with a wide range of opinions on most subjects.[176] Leonard Hobhouseis a key ideological influence on the Liberal Democrats, and there is substantial overlap between the party's platform and the form of social democracy advocated byAnthony Croslandin _The Future of Socialism_.[177][187]The party'segalitarianismis based on the concept ofequality of opportunity. The party has been sceptical ofpositive discrimination, including in its process for selecting political candidates. The party has frequently debated the introduction ofall-women shortlistsin selection, but not implemented them.[187] The Liberal Democrats support a range of constitutional reforms, including by advocating a decentralised federal structure for the United Kingdom, including devolving power to theregions of England.[188]The party supported devolution to Scotland and Wales enacted by the Labour government underTony Blair. The party has consistently supportedelectoral reformto produce more proportional results.[189]On social issues, the party is liberal and progressive. It has consistently supported LGBT rights and drug reform.[16]The party is internationalist and pro-European. They have consistently supported policies of European integration, including long-term advocacy of theUnited Kingdom adopting the euro,[190]though they have opposed the establishing of aEuropean army.[179][191]Both before and after the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, the party has advocated for the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union. The party supportsliberal interventionism, and supported thewar in Afghanistan, later opposing the2003 invasion of Iraqdue to its lack of support from theUnited Nations.[186]The party has also faced internal division over the issue ofnuclear weapons.[182] The party has a number of factions representing different strains of liberal thought.[16][192]Although the social liberals, represented by theSocial Liberal Forum(often abbreviated to the SLF), are the majority, factions that advocate for moreeconomically liberalpositions includeLiberal Reform(often abbreviated to LR) and the ""Orange Bookers"", named after _The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism_ ;_The Orange Book_ is most often associated with former deputy prime ministerNick Clegg, who contributed to it, along with former Liberal Democrat leaderVince Cableand incumbent leaderEd Davey.[192][193]Additionally, there is the centre-leftBeveridge Group, inspired byWilliam Beveridge. The Beveridge Group has been associated with both social liberals and social democrats within the party, including former Liberal Democrat leaderCharles Kennedy.[194] The 2011 Liberal Democrats conference The Liberal Democrats support institutional reform in the United Kingdom, including the decentralisation of state power, reform of Parliament, and electoral reform.[195]At its 1993 conference, the party put forward plans for the introduction offixed term parliaments,[196]something it would later secure in the coalition government of 2010 to 2015.[103]Also in 1993, it proposed state funding for political parties.[196]The Liberal Democrats have long included a commitment to proportional representation in their manifestos.[197]According to the , this is the ""one policy with which the Liberal Democrats are identified in the minds of the public.""[198]The Lib Dems calls for devolution orhome rulefor Scotland and Wales were enacted by Blair's Labour government in the late 1990s.[59]The 1993 conference also called for the introduction of abill of rightsinto the British constitution.[196]Its 2001 manifesto included a commitment to lowering thevoting agefrom 18 to 16.[197]In 2013, an internal pressure group in the party called _Liberal Democrats for a republic_ was formed.[199] According to a 1999 survey, two-thirds of party members supported retaining the monarchy.[200]In the 1990s, there was an anti-royalist contingent within the party;[201]in 1993, the party conference announced support for removing theroyal prerogative,[196]and the 2000 conference backed calls for the monarch to be removed as theSupreme Governorof theChurch of England.[202]At its 2003 conference, the party's Youth and Student League put forward a motion calling for the abolition of the monarchy and the introduction of an electedhead of state.[71]The 2000 party conference produced a call for the1701 Act of Settlementto be reformed so as to allow the heir to the throne to marry a Roman Catholic,[202]while the party's 2001 manifesto called for thedisestablishmentof the Church of England.[197]The party's endorsement ofsecularismdates back to 1990, with standing policy favouring totalseparation of church and state.[203] Liberal Democrats campaigning stakeboards inHornsey and Wood Greenin 2015 Liberal Democrat policy has generally been favourable to social welfare spending.[206]During the 2000s, the party made pledges for major investment into health, education, and public services.[197]In 1995, the party announced a plan to put £2 billion into education, including nursery places for under fives,[207]while its 2005 manifesto included a commitment to use £1.5 billion to decrease class sizes in schools.[80]In the 2000s, the party also pledged to abolish tuition fees for university students,[208]and in the build-up to the 2010 general election, Clegg pledged that under a Lib Dem government this would be achieved over six years.[209]In 2004, it pledged to add £25 a week to thestate pensionfor people over the age of 75.[210]In 2003, it outlined plans for devolving control of schools to local councils.[208] In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, it stated that such increases in education spending would be funded through higher taxes. These included a 50% tax on those earning over £100,000 a year,[211]and raising thebasic rateof income tax by one penny in the pound.[212]In 2003, the party's conference approved plans for a local income tax of 3.5 pence in the pound that would replacecouncil tax; the party believed that this would result in 70% of the population paying less tax.[71]In 2006, the party abandoned its plans for a 50% tax on the highest earners,[213]and also put forward plans to cut income tax but balance the books by increasing tax on air travel and introducing a carbon tax.[213] Under Clegg, the party emphasised lowering taxes rather than raising them; it stated that a 4 pence reduction in the basic rate tax could be permitted by finding £20 billion savings in Whitehall. This measure was opposed by the left of the party.[94]Amid the 2008 recession, Clegg called for £20 billion cuts to state spending, to be funded by measures like reducing the number of people eligible fortax creditsand scrapping road building schemes.[214]In its 2010 manifesto, it pledged to end income taxes for those earning under £10,000 a year,[215]something it introduced through the Cameron coalition government.[103]Also in 2010, it stated that it would halve the national deficit over the course of four years.[209]It had also specified that it would oppose any increases in VAT, although when in coalition announced an increase in VAT to 20%.[104] The Liberal Democrats supported thewar in Afghanistanin 2001.[216]The party was the only one of Britain's three major parties to oppose the2003 invasion of Iraq.[217]The party's leadership stressed that this was not because the party was intrinsically anti-war, but because the invasion did not have support from theUnited Nations.[218]In the wake of the invasion, the party's 2005 manifesto included a pledge that the UK would never again support a military occupation deemed illegal under international law.[80]Menzies Campbelldemanded the suspension of all future arms exports toIsraelduring the2006 Lebanon WarandOperation Summer Rains.[219]Ed Daveyand the Liberal Democrats have supported a ceasefire in theGaza warsince 13 November 2023.[220] The Liberal Democrats called for a fulljudicial inquiryinto Britain's involvement inCIAblack sitesandextraordinary renditionsince the 11September attacks.[221]They also called on the UK government to suspendarms salestoSaudi Arabiaand condemned theSaudi-led coalition's attackstargeting civilians in Yemen.[222][223]In February 2019, theInternational Court of JusticeinThe Hagueissuedan advisory opinion statingthat the UK must transfer theChagos ArchipelagotoMauritiusas they werenot legally separatedfrom the latter in 1965.[224]Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokespersonAlistair Carmichaelstated: ""The ICJ has very clearly instructed the UK to return the island chain to Mauritian control. The government's refusal to do so is arrogant and jeopardises our credibility on a world stage.""[225] From its foundation, the Liberal Democrats were committed to the UK's membership of theEuropean Union.[45]In 1993, it called for the UK to take a lead in seeking a timetable for the adoption of a pan-European currency, and also called for the formation of an autonomous European central bank.[196]A 1999 survey of party members found they overwhelmingly backed European integration, and two thirds wanted the UK to adopt theeurocurrency.[227]In its 1999 manifesto for the European Parliamentary elections, it called for completing the European single market, holding a referendum on the adoption of the euro currency, establishing an EU constitution, expanding the EU into Central and Eastern Europe, and encouraging an EU-wide clampdown on pollution and international crime.[228]This attitude had been inherited from the Liberal Party which had originally proposing membership into the predecessorEuropean Coal and Steel Community.[229]However, the Liberal Democrats oppose theEuropean federalismespoused by their counterparts.[230] Despite its pro-European stance, the party has includedEuroscepticssuch as the MPNick Harvey.[231]The 1999 membership survey found that 37% wanted the UK to remain in the EU but to have the latter's powers reduced while 5% of members wanted the UK to leave the EU altogether.[204]Cook argued that whereas the Lib Dems were once ""the most pro-European of all British parties"", by 2008, it had ""a vocal Eurosceptic element"" who were opposed to the British ratification of the EU'sLisbon Treatywithout a referendum.[232]Under Clegg, the party backed away from its hardline pro-EU position.[94] In June 2016, following theUnited Kingdom European Union membership referendumin which 51.9% voted in favour of leaving the European Union,Tim Farronsaid that if Liberal Democrats were to be elected in the next parliamentary election, they would not follow through with triggeringArticle 50of theTreaty on European Unionandleaving the EU(""Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements"") but would instead keep UK part of the EU.[233]Following this promise, the Liberal Democrats claim that their membership has increased by 10,000 since the referendum; at one point, the growth in the party was the equivalent of one person joining per minute.[234]Campaigning for a second referendum regarding the exact goals of Brexit negotiation was one of the party's flagship policies in the2017 general electionand the2019 general election.[235] The Liberal Democrats have strongly advocated for environmental protection and have typically taken more radical stances on environmental issues than either Labour or the Conservatives. One of the Party`s Affiliated Organisations, the Green Liberal Democrats (GLD), lays claim to being the ""Environmental Conscience"" of the party and was formed in 1988 at the same time as the Liberal Party merged with the SDP to become the Liberal Democrats. (See article on [Green Liberalism]) GLD itself was a merger between the small SDP Green group and the Liberal Ecology Group (LEG) which was formed in 1977. Amongst the Class of 2024 Lib Dem MPs, 26 of them are paid-up members of GLD (including Party Leader, Sir Ed Davey), thus forming a significant green caucus in the new parliament.[236]In 1993, the party put forward proposals for an EU tax on energy use and CO2emissions.[196]That year, it also proposed that GDP should be redefined to take into account pollution and the depletion of natural resources.[55]At its 2009 conference, the party introduced a commitment for Lib Dem controlled councils to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.[237]Other policies included: The Liberal Democrats place greater emphasis onhuman rightsand individual freedoms than the Conservatives or Labour.[239]Conversely, the political scientist John Meadowcroft expressed the view that ""the Liberal Democrats are a supposedly liberal party that does not believe in liberty.""[240]Commenting on the 1999 membership survey, Whiteley et al. noted that the majority of members took ""a distinctly right of centre view"" on many, although not all, moral and legal issues.[241] Its 1997 manifesto committed the party to lowering theage of consentfor same-sex couples to 16, bringing it in line with that of opposite-sex couples.[58]At its 2000 conference, party delegates backed calls for the government to provide legal recognition for same-sex relationships.[202]In the 1999 membership survey, 57% believed that the government should discourage the growth of one-parent families.[241]That same survey found just over half of the party membership expressing pro-choice views regarding abortion access.[242] At its 1997 conference, the party's delegates voted in favour of establishing a Royal Commission to examine the possibility of decriminalisingvoluntary euthanasia.[61] At its 1994 conference, party delegates voted to end criminal prosecutions for cannabis possession, although the party's 23 MPs voted against the measure.[201]The 1999 membership survey suggested a tougher stance on many law and order issues, with over half wanting longer sentencing and no option of parole for those serving life sentences.[241]The 2004 party congress approved a ban on smoking in public places.[243] In March 2016, the Liberal Democrats became the first major political party in the UK to support the legalisation of cannabis. The party supports cannabis sale and possession to be legal for all UK adults aged 18-years-old and over, the set up of specialist licensed stores to sell cannabis, the legalisation of home cultivation of cannabis for personal use, small scale cannabis clubs to be licensed, and a new regulator to oversee the market.[244][245] See also:Federal Board (Liberal Democrats),English Liberal Democrats,Scottish Liberal Democrats, andWelsh Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are afederalparty of the parties of England, Scotland, and Wales. The English and Scottish parties are further split into regions. The parliamentary parties of theHouse of Commons, theHouse of Lords, theScottish Parliamentand theSeneddform semi-autonomous units within the party. The leaders in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament are the leaders of the federal party and the Scottish Party; the leaders in the other two chambers, and the officers of all parliamentary parties, are elected from their own number. Co-ordination of all party activities across all federated groups is undertaken through the Federal Board. Chaired by the party president, its 30+ members includes representatives from each of the groups and democratically elected representatives.[246] Campaign board for the Scottish Liberal Democrats inStornoway In the first quarter of 2008, the party received £1.1 million in donations and have total borrowings and unused credit facilities of £1.1 million (the ""total debt"" figure reported by theElectoral Commissionincludes, for example, unused overdraft facilities). This compares to Labour's £3.1 million in donations and £17.8 million of borrowing/credit facilities, and the Conservatives' £5.7 million in donations and £12.1 million of borrowing/credit facilities.[247] Specified Associated Organisations(SAOs) review and input policies, representing groups including:ethnic minorities(LDCRE),[248]women (WLD),[249]the LGBT community (LGBT+ Liberal Democrats),[250]youth and students (Young Liberals), engineers and scientists (ALDES),[251]parliamentary candidates (PCA)[252]and localcouncillors(ALDC).[253]Others can become Associated Organisations (AOs) as campaigning or representative groups in the party, such as the Green Liberal Democrats (GLD),[254]the Liberal Democrat European Group (LDEG)[255]and the Liberal Democrat Disability Association.[256]There are many other groups that are not formally affiliated to the party, including Social Liberal Forum (SLF)[257]and Liberal Reform.[258] Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems organise inNorthern Ireland. Although they do not contest elections in the province, they work with theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland, described as its sister party[259]and _de facto_ agreeing to support the Alliance in elections.[260]There is a separate local party operating in Northern Ireland, theNorthern Ireland Liberal Democrats.[261]It is also a sister party of theLiberal Party of Gibraltarand contested the South-West England constituency at European Parliamentary elections on ajoint ticket; they used to take place six on theparty list.[262][263] The party is a member ofLiberal Internationaland theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Their 16 MEPs sat in theRenew Europegroup in the European Parliament untilBritain left the European Union.[264]The party colour isamber, but it is referred to asyellowin the party's style guide.[265]The party anthem is the oldLiberal's ""The Land"" while its slogan is ""Build a Brighter Future"".[266]The party headquarters are at 8–10 Great George StreetLondonSW1P 3AE.[267] In the 2005 general election, the party was endorsed by .[80]Cook noted that in the build-up to the 2010 election, most mainstream press—which was aligned with either the Conservatives or Labour—was ""voraciously hostile"" to the Lib Dems.[268]In that election, it nevertheless attracted the endorsement of and .[269] Whereas Labour gained funding through its links to trade unions and the Conservatives through big business, the Liberal Democrats have relied on funds raised by the subscriptions and donations provided by its members.[270]The party had some major donors, such as Lord Jacobs, who gave it around £1 million over the course of twenty years until he resigned in 2008.[94]In some years, it struggled to cover its costs; for instance, it made a loss of £670,000 in 2008.[271] The Liberal Democrat contingent at an anti-Brexit rally in Birmingham in September 2018 In its early years, the caricature of Liberal Democrat members was that of ""sandal-wearing, bearded eccentrics obsessed by the minutiae of electoral reform"".[69]Based on their 1999 survey of Liberal Democrat members, Whiteley noted that although party members shared many of the same attitudes as the party's voters, there were also ""striking differences"", namely in that members were ""older, more middle-class and better educated"" than the voters.[272]Their survey found that party membership was 54% male;[273]and was dominated by middle-class people, with working-class individuals comprising only 5% of members (in contrast to 30% of Labour and 19% of Conservative members at that time).[274]The average age was 59, and 58% of members were aged 56 or over.[275]A third were retired, and a third in full-time employment.[276]A majority worked, or had previously worked, in the non-profit sector.[276]42% possessed a degree, which was higher than among Labour (30%) and Conservative (19%) members at that time.[275]65% of members considered themselves religious, with 70% of those beingAnglican, 15%Methodist, and 11%Roman Catholic.[277] As of 1999, 43% of members had previously belonged to the Liberal Party, 14% to the Social Democratic Party, and 42% had joined with no previous political affiliation.[278]21% of members had joined because of their social contacts, such as friends, family, and colleagues, who were already members.[279]Around 40% of members stated that they joined because they agreed with the party's principles; a further 16% said they joined because of its policies.[280]The majority of members were largely inactive in party activities, with only 22% of those polled indicating that they were willing to attend party meetings.[281] The senior ranks of the party had long been heavily male-dominated; after the 1997 general election, for instance, only three of its 46 MPs were women.[282]Reinforcing its ""male, middle-class image"", after the 2010 election, 40% of Liberal Democrat MPs were privately educated.[283]However, following the 2019 general election, seven of its then eleven MPs were female, and the Lib Dem victories in the2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election, followed by the2021 North Shropshire by-election, increased the share to nine out of thirteen MPs. In 2019, the party had a minimum of 17,102 registered supporters which were not included in the membership figure of at least 120,000 members.[287] A research briefing paper by theHouse of Commons Librarypublished on 30 August 2022, stated that data submitted to the Electoral Commission suggested that the party membership at the end of 2021 stood at 73,544.[288] | 2005 The 1997 British Election Study Survey found that the average Liberal Democrat voter was aged 47, with 52% between the ages of 18 and 45.[290]At the time, 16% of Lib Dem voters possessed a degree.[290]Working class or blue collar workers composed 23% of Lib Dem voters, a much higher percentage than was found among the party's membership.[290]The survey found that Liberal Democrat voters shared many attitudes with the members; these voters overwhelmingly desired proportional representation and 63% backed EU membership.[291]Where the voters differed from the members was on the issue of foreign aid; over half of members wanted to increase the UK's foreign aid budget, whereas only a third of Liberal Democrat voters agreed.[292] From the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democrats inherited a strong base in Wales and Scotland.[295]In 2010, Cook noted that the party's safe seats ""do not fit a very homogeneous pattern"", being scattered amidst rural, middle-class suburban, and inner city areas.[296]A key feature of the party's electoral strategy has been foregrounding community politics.[297]Examining the survey evidence, Whiteley et al. argued that the strength of grassroots party activism in a particular area had a big impact on the vote share that the Liberal Democrats received there.[298] Liberal Democrats vote and seat share, 1983–2024 Throughout its history, thefirst-past-the-post systemhas prevented the party from receiving a share of parliamentary seats that reflects their share of the vote.[299] In the 1992 general election, the Lib Dems succeeded the SDP–Liberal Alliance as the third most popular party, behind Labour and the Conservatives. Their popularity never rose to the levels attained by the Alliance, but in later years their seat count rose far above the Alliance's peak, a feat that has been credited to more intelligent targeting of vulnerable seats.[300]The vote percentage for the Alliance in 1987 and the Lib Dems in 2005 is similar, yet the Lib Dems won 62 seats to the Alliance's 22.[301]This was because in 1987, the Alliance vote was fairly evenly spread throughout the country, whereas in 2005, the Liberal Democrat vote was concentrated in particular areas, allowing them to win nearly three times as many parliamentary seats as in 1987 despite getting a slightly lower share of the overall vote.[302] The first-past-the-post electoral system used in UK general elections is not suited to parties whose vote is evenly divided across the country, resulting in those parties achieving a lower proportion of seats in the Commons than their proportion of the popular vote (see table and graph). The Lib Dems and their Liberal and SDP predecessors have suffered especially,[303]particularly in the 1980s when their electoral support was greatest while the disparity between the votes and the number of MPs returned to parliament was significantly large. The increase in their number of seats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 was attributed to the weakness of the Conservatives and the success of their election strategistChris Rennard.[300]Lib Dems state that they want 'three-party politics' in the Commons;[304][305]the most realistic chance of power with first past the post is for the party to be ""the kingmakers"" in a hung parliament.[306]Party leaders often set out their terms for forming a coalition in such an event—Nick Cleggstated in 2008 that the policy for the 2010 general election was to reform elections, parties and Parliament in a ""constitutional convention"".[307] | Conservative–Liberal Democrats The party had control of 31 councils in 2008, having held 29 councils prior to the 2008 election.[316]In the2008 local electionsthey gained 25% of the vote, placing them ahead of Labour and increasing their control by 34 to more than 4,200 council seats—21% of the total number of seats. Incouncil electionsheld in May 2011, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats in the Midlands and North of England. They also lost heavily in the Welsh assembly and Scottish Parliament.[112]Inlocal elections held in May 2012, the Lib Dems lost more than 300 councillors, leaving them with fewer than 3000 for the first time in the party's history.[118]In the2013 local elections, they lost more councillors. In the2014 local electionsthey lost over 300 councillors and the control of two local governments.[317] In the2016 local elections, the number of Liberal Democrat councillors increased for the first time since they went into coalition in 2010. The party won 43 seats and increased its vote share by 4%. A number of former MPs who lost their seats in 2015 won council seats in 2016, including formerManchester WithingtonMPJohn Leech[318]who won 53% of the vote in a traditionally safe Labour seat. Leech's win was the first gain for any party in Manchester other than Labour for the first time in six years, and provided the city's majority Labour administration with its first opposition for two years.[318]Cheadle's former MPMark Hunteralso won a seat on Stockport Council.[319] In the2021 elections, the BBC reported that in England's 143 councils up for election the party won 588 seats (an increase of seven) and won seven councils (an increase of one), holding Cheltenham, Eastleigh, Mole Valley, Three Rivers, Watford and Winchester and gaining St. Albans. In theLondon Assembly, two seats were won (an increase of one).[320]As of 2022, the party has 2,562 councilors.[321] In some council areas, some Liberal Democrat candidates stand under the banner of 'Liberal Democrat Focus Team' instead (this being one of the party's registered descriptions with the electoral commission[322]), the stated aim of which being to present themselves as grassroots activists, focusing on local issues along with national issues.[323] Graham Watson, former leader of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europeand Secretary General of theInternational Federation of Liberal Youth, was the Liberal Democrat MEP forSouth West Englandand the first Lib Dem to be elected to the European parliament. As apro-Europeanparty,[324][325]the Liberal Democrats tended to fare badly at European Parliament elections.[326]In the 2004 local elections their share of the vote was 29% (placing them second, ahead of Labour)[305]and 14.9% in the simultaneousEuropean Parliament elections(putting them in fourth place behind the UK Independence Party).[327]The results of the2009 European electionswere similar with the party achieving a vote of 28% in the county council elections yet achieving only 13.7% in the Europeans despite the elections taking place on the same day. The 2009 elections did however see the party gain one seat from UKIP in the East Midlands region taking the number of representatives in the parliament up to 11.[328]In 2014 the party lost ten seats, leaving them with one MEP.[329]Campaigning on a pro-Remain platform with the slogan ""Bollocks to Brexit"", the party achieved their best ever results in the2019 election, taking 19.6% of the vote and winning 16 seats.[330] In theEuropean Parliamentfrom 2004 to 2019, the party sat with theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe(ALDE)political group, which favoured further strengtheningEuropean integration.[331]The group's leader for seven and a half years was theSouth West EnglandMEPGraham Watson, who was also the first Liberal Democrat to be elected to the European Parliament when he won the oldSomerset and North Devonconstituency in 1994.[332]Following the2019 European elections, the Liberal Democrats joinedRenew Europe, the successor group to the ALDE group. Jim Wallaceled the Scottish Liberal Democrats between 1992 and 2005 Alex Cole-Hamiltonhas led the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 The inauguralScottish Parliamentelection was held in1999and resulted in the Scottish Liberal Democrats winning a total of 17 seats.[334]The Scottish Liberal Democrats subsequently formed acoalition governmentwithScottish Labour.[335]Scottish Liberal Democrat leaderJim Wallacebecamedeputy first ministerof the newScottish Executive, a position he held until his resignation as party leader in 2005. Wallace served briefly as acting first minister following the death in office ofDonald Dewarin 2000 and the resignation ofHenry McLeishin 2001.[336] The Scottish Liberal Democrats again won 17 seats in the2003 Scottish Parliament electionand again formed acoalition governmentwith Scottish Labour.[337][338]Nicol Stephenwas elected party leader in 2005.[339]Stephen served as deputy first minister for two years. The Scottish Liberal Democrats exited government in 2007 despite losing only one seat in the2007 Scottish Parliament election. The Scottish National Party emerged from the election as the largest party and formed aminority administration.Nicol Stephenresigned as party leader the following year.[340] Tavish Scottwas elected party leader in 2008.[341]Scott resigned following what he described as ""disastrous"" results in the2011 Scottish Parliament election, in which the Scottish Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats. Scott claimed that the party had been ""damaged"" in Scotland by its decision to form acoalition governmentwith theConservative Partyin 2010.[342]He further blamed the coalition government'sausterity programme.[342]Willie Rennie, who became party leader in 2011, also blamed the unpopularity of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition.[343] The Scottish Liberal Democrats contested two Scottish Parliament elections under the leadership of Willie Rennie. The party again returned a total of five seats in the2016 Scottish Parliament election.[344]The Scottish Liberal Democrats recorded its worst ever result in a Scottish Parliament election by returning its lowest ever tally of four seats and achieving its lowest ever share of the vote in the2021 Scottish Parliament election.[345]Willie Rennie resigned as leader and was succeeded byAlex Cole-Hamiltonin 2021.[346] Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since November 2017 The first elections to the newly created National Assembly for Wales (nowSenedd) were in 1999; the Liberal Democrats took six seats in the inaugural Assembly;Welsh Labourwon apluralityof seats, but without an overall majority. In October 2000, following a series of close votes, the parties formed acoalition, with the Liberal Democrat leader in the assembly,Michael German, becoming theDeputy First Minister.[347]The deal lasted until the 2003 election, when Labour won enough seats to be able to govern outright.[348] The party had polled consistently in the first four elections to the National Assembly, returning six representatives in the first three elections and five in the2011 election, thereby establishing itself as the fourth party in Wales behind Labour, the Conservatives andPlaid Cymru, but fell to just one seat in 2016. Between 2008 and 2016, the leader of theWelsh Liberal DemocratswasKirsty Williams, the Assembly Member (nowMember of the Senedd(MS)) forBrecon and Radnorshire, the Assembly's first female party leader.[349] Main article:Liberal Democrat Conference Main article:Liberal Democrat frontbench team
### Party Presidents
See also:President of the Liberal Democrats Main article:Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
* Graham Watson, 1994–2002 (President of theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party)
The Liberal Democrats did not have representation in the European Parliament prior to 1994.
### Chairs of the English Liberal Democrats
Main article:English Liberal Democrats
### Leaders of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Main article:Scottish Liberal Democrats
* Nicol Stephen(27 June 2005 – 2 July 2008)
### Leaders of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
Main article:Welsh Liberal Democrats See also:List of United Kingdom Liberal Democrat MPs (2024–present) Another 27 Liberal Democrat candidates at the 2024 Election achieved second places (25 in England and 2 in Wales). Those polling within 10% of the winner (in 11 constituencies) were as follows: In 2006, Whiteley et al. noted that the Liberal Democrats were ""a major force in contemporary British politics"".[358]Although throughout its history, the party had been relegated to third party status, they argued that it had the capability of breaking through to become one of the country's main two parties if proportional representation (or something like it) was introduced, or if either the Conservatives or Labour were severely weakened by splitting in two.[359]
* Liberal Democrat Conference
* Liberal Democrat Voice
* Liberal Party (UK)
* List of Liberal Democrat MPs
* List of Liberal Party and Liberal Democrats (UK) general election manifestos
* List of major liberal parties considered left
* Liberal Democrat frontbench team
* Norman, Paul (21 June 2021).""Liberal Democrats Relocate Westminster HQ""._CoStar_.Archivedfrom the original on 21 June 2021.
* ""Liberal Democrats website""._libdems.org.uk_. 19 September 2024. Retrieved19 September2024.
* ""Liberal Democrats – Spring Conference Online""._Liberal Democrats_. Retrieved13 July2024.
* Sloman, Peter (2020).""Squeezed Out? The Liberal Democrats and the 2019 General Election""._The Political Quarterly_.**91**(1):35–42.doi:.ISSN1467-923X.
* Cassel-Piccot, Muriel (20 December 2014).""The Liberal Democrat Party: From Contender to Coalitionist""._Revue LISA/LISA e-journal. Littératures, Histoire des Idées, Images, Sociétés du Monde Anglophone – Literature, History of Ideas, Images and Societies of the English-speaking World_(in French).**XII**(8).doi:.ISSN1762-6153.
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* ""Coalition under pressure as Liberal Democrat support plummets""._London Evening Standard_. 10 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2011. Retrieved28 December2010.
* Curtis, Polly; Wintour, Patrick; Mulholland, Hélène (6 May 2011).""Liberal Democrats have taken 'big knocks', says Nick Clegg"". .Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved30 August2015.
* Chorley, Matt (3 June 2012).""Lib Dems suffer plunge in party membership"". . London.Archivedfrom the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved13 April2014.
* Parker, George; Stacey, Kiran (8 May 2015).""Liberal Democrats suffer electoral collapse""._Financial Times_.
* Lusher, Adam (17 May 2016).""Liberal Democrat membership numbers soar despite the party's woeful election performance"". .Archivedfrom the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved24 May2015.
* ""Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2017""(PDF)._libdems.org.uk_. Tim Gordon. May 2017. pp.9–10.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved2 November2019.
* ""Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd resigns the Lib Dem Party Whip""._Eastbourne Herald_. Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2019. Retrieved16 December2019.
* ""Why the Liberal Democrats' ""Bollocks to Brexit"" slogan is a stroke of genius""._New Statesman_. 9 May 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved17 December2019.
* Dixon, Mike (31 December 2019).""Breaking: The new Party President is...""_LibDemVoice_.
* ""Liberal Democrats announce virtual leadership contest and party conference""._Belfast Telegraph_.ISSN0307-1235. Retrieved20 May2020.
* ""Davey wins Liberal Democrat leadership race""._BBC News_. 27 August 2020. Retrieved27 August2020.
* Woodcock, Andrew (13 September 2020).""Liberal Democrats plan to woo 'soft conservatives' repulsed by 'thuggish' Johnson Tories""._The Independent_. Retrieved14 September2020.
* ""Lib Dems: Uneasy party ponders long road back to EU""._BBC News_. 7 February 2021. Retrieved7 February2021.
* Bond, David (24 June 2022).""Liberal Democrats win in Tiverton and Honiton biggest in by-election history""._Evening Standard_. Retrieved25 June2022.
* ""Lib Dems add councillors as party targets Tory heartland""._BBC News_. 3 May 2024. Retrieved4 May2024.
* ""Local elections 2024: Liberal Democrats take control of Dorset""._BBC News_. 3 May 2024. Retrieved4 May2024.
* Mason, Rowena (5 May 2024).""Lib Dems gain most council seats in last five years, party's data shows""._The Guardian_.ISSN0261-3077. Retrieved5 May2024.
* Davison, William; Mata, Tamara (11 June 2024).""What are the Liberal Democrats' policies and who is their leader Ed Davey?""._Evening Standard_. Retrieved15 June2024.
* Gross, Anna (5 July 2024).""Liberal Democrats return record number of MPs after Tory rout""._www.ft.com_. Retrieved5 July2024.
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* ^Jump up to:Grayson, Richard S. (2007). ""Social Democracy or Social Liberalism? Ideological Sources of Liberal Democrat Policy""._The Political Quarterly_.**78**(1):32–39.doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00828.x.ISSN1467-923X.
* Brack, Duncan (2010)._The Liberal Democrats and the Role of the State_. pp.173–188.inGriffiths & Hickson 2010.
* ^Jump up to:Smith, Julie (1 January 2014). ""Between ideology and pragmatism: Liberal party politics at the European level""._Acta Politica_.**49**(1):105–121.doi:10.1057/ap.2013.28.ISSN1741-1416.S2CID143794467.
* ^Jump up to:Evans, Elizabeth (1 June 2011).""Two heads are better than one? Assessing the implications of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition for UK politics""(PDF)._Political Science_.**63**(1):45–60.doi:10.1177/0032318711404532.ISSN0032-3187.S2CID2275771.
* Pattie, C.J.; Johnston, R.J. (1 May 2001). ""Routes to party choice: Ideology, economic evaluations and voting at the 1997 British General Election""._European Journal of Political Research_.**39**(3):373–389.doi:10.1023/A:1011077921719.ISSN1475-6765.S2CID189868174.
* Dommett, Katharine (2013). ""A Miserable Little Compromise? Exploring Liberal Democrat Fortunes in the UK Coalition""._The Political Quarterly_.**84**(2):218–227.doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2013.12013.x.ISSN1467-923X.
* Cole, Matt (2010)._Icarus Turns Back: Liberal Democrat Constitutional Policy_. pp.155–172.inGriffiths & Hickson 2010.
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* Hulbert, Mathew (27 May 2013).""Opinion: Liberal Democrats for a republic""._Lib Dem Voice_. Retrieved7 June2022.
* Wingate, Sophie (13 November 2023).""Liberal Democrats call for 'immediate bilateral ceasefire' in Israel-Hamas war""._The Independent_.
* ""'It is morally reprehensible': Five UK opposition parties call for Britain to drop Saudi weapons sales""._The Independent_. 25 March 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2022.
* Stone, Jon (25 June 2016).""Liberal Democrats pledge to ignore referendum result and keep Britain in the EU""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved27 June2016.
* Mortimer, Caroline (29 June 2016).""Liberal Democrat membership surging with 'one person a minute joining' following party's pledge to fight Brexit""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved1 July2016.
* ""The Liberal Democrat Plan for Britain in Europe"". Libdems.org.uk. 6 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved12 November2016.
* ^Jump up to:""Liberal Democrat Manifesto. (2015). p82. Available at cloudfront.net:Accessed: 25 March 2015""(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 July 2016.
* ""Liberal Democrats become first major party to back cannabis legalisation""._BBC News_. 8 March 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved28 August2019.
* Leftly, Mark (12 March 2016).""Liberal Democrats become first major party to back cannabis legalisation""._The Independent_.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved28 August2019.
* ""New figures published showing political parties' donations and borrowing"".Electoral Commission. 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved22 September2008.
* ""Liberal Democrat Campaign for Racial Equality""._ldcre.org.uk_. 8 February 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved8 February2019.
* ""DELGA: Liberal Democrats for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Action"". Lgbt.libdems.org.uk. 17 February 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors"". ALDC. 17 February 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Liberal Democrat European Group"". ldeg.org.Archivedfrom the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""LDDA — The Liberal Democrat Disability Association"". Disabilitylibdems.org.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved13 April2010.
* ""Alliance Party faces uphill battle"". BBC. 14 September 2001. Retrieved21 March2008.
* Wax, Eddy (24 April 2019).""Macron-Liberal alliance to be named Renew Europe French president's party was keen to ditch the L-word"". Politico.eu. Retrieved1 January2020.
* ^Jump up to:Pack, Mark (9 October 2016).""Liberal Democrat annual membership figures since 1989"". Mark Pack. Archived fromthe originalon 31 March 2017. Retrieved6 April2017.
* ""Liberal Democrats annual report year ended 31 December 2020""._The Electoral Commission_. 31 December 2020. Retrieved6 September2021.
* ""General Election 2005 (p35, 92)""(PDF).House of Commons Library.Archived(PDF)from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved22 November2023.
* ""Open Council Data UK – compositions councillors parties wards elections"". Open Council Data. Retrieved20 December2018.
* ""The Focus Team | Forest of Dean Liberal Democrat Focus Team""._forestofdean.focusteam.org.uk_.Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved3 April2024.
* ""Biographical details: Graham Watson MEP, Former leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament"".ALDE. 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2009. Retrieved8 June2009.
* ""Tavish Scott wins Liberal Democrat leadership race""._The Scotsman_. 26 August 2008. Retrieved16 July2022.
* ^Jump up to:""Disastrous election performance provokes Scott to stand down as party leader"". Shetland Times. 7 May 2011. Retrieved16 July2022.
* ^Jump up to:Sarah Priddy (1 September 2020).""Liberal Democrat, SDP and Liberal Party leaders and officials since 1975""(PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved28 November2023.
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* Meadowcroft, John (2000). ""Is There a Liberal Alternative? Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats' Strategy""._The Political Quarterly_.**71**(4):436–442.doi:10.1111/1467-923X.00331.
* Meadowcroft, John (2008). ""Are the Liberal Democrats the Party of Liberty?""._Economic Affairs_.**28**(2): 93.doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2008.00835.x.
978-0-1992-4282-5
* Liberal Democrats Flock Together
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",1.0