Liberal Democrats (UK)
Liberal Democrats | ||
---|---|---|
centre-left | ||
European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe | |
International affiliation | Liberal International | |
Northern Irish affiliation | ||
Colours | Gold Directly elected mayors 1 / 14 | |
Councillors[nb][5] | 2,987 / 18,646 | |
Website | ||
libdems.org.uk | ||
^Councillors of local authorities in England (including 25 aldermen of the City of London) and Scotland, principal councils in Wales and local councils in Northern Ireland. |
The Liberal Democrats (colloquially referred to as the Lib Dems) are a
In 1981, an
A
The Liberal Democrats are historically strongest in
History
Origins (1977–1983)
The Liberal Party had existed in different forms for over 300 years.[18] During the 19th and early 20th century, it had been one of the United Kingdom's two dominant political parties, along with the Conservative Party. Following World War I, it was pushed into third place by the Labour Party and underwent a gradual decline throughout the rest of the 20th century.[19] In the 1970s, the Liberal leader David Steel began contemplating how an alliance with other parties could return it to political power.[20] In 1977, he formed a pact with Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan to back Callaghan's government in a motion of no confidence. This angered many Liberals and damaged them electorally.[21] In the 1979 general election, the Liberals lost three seats in the House of Commons; the Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher, won the election.[22]
Within Labour, many centrists were uncomfortable with the growing influence of the hard left, who were calling for the UK to leave the European Economic Community and unilaterally disarm as a nuclear power. In January 1981, four senior Labour MPs—Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, and David Owen, known as the "Gang of Four"—issued the Limehouse Declaration in which they announced their split from Labour. This led to the formal launch of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in March.[23] 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.[24]
The new alliance initially did well in opinion polls.[25] The SDP and Liberals agreed to contest alternating parliamentary by-elections; between 1981 and 1982, the SDP came close in Warrington and won Crosby and Glasgow Hillhead.[26] At the 1983 general election, the Liberals gained five additional seats although the SDP lost many that they had previously inherited from Labour.[27] After the 1983 election, Owen replaced Jenkins as head of the SDP.[28] Several gains were made in subsequent by-elections: the SDP won in Portsmouth South and Greenwich and the Liberals in Brecon and Radnor and Ryedale.[29]
Foundation and early years (1987–1992)
Both parties lost seats in the
The Social and Liberal Democrats were formally launched on 3 March 1988.[40] Steel and Maclennan initially became joint interim leaders.[41] At the start, it claimed 19 MPs, 3,500 local councillors, and 100,000 members.[40] In its first leadership election, Paddy Ashdown defeated Alan Beith.[42] 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.[43] At the September 1988 conference it adopted the short form name "the Democrats" and in October 1989 changed its name to "Liberal Democrats".[44][45] The bird of liberty was adopted as its logo.[46] In 1989, its election results were poor: it lost 190 seats in the May 1989 local elections and secured only 6.4% of the vote in the 1989 European Parliament elections, beaten to third position by the Green Party.[47] This was the worst election result for an established third party since the 1950s.[48] Its prospects were buoyed after it won the 1990 Eastbourne by-election, followed by-election victories in Ribble Valley and Kincardine and Deeside.[49] In the 1991 local elections it secured a net gain of 520 seats.[50] In the 1992 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.[51]
Consolidation and growth (1992–1999)
Between 1992 and 1997, the party underwent a period of consolidation, particularly on local councils.
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.
Charles Kennedy and Menzies Campbell (1999–2007)
The MP Simon Hughes was initially seen as Ashdown's most likely successor, but was defeated in the contest by Charles Kennedy.[65] 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.[66] In 2001, Kennedy suspended the Joint Cabinet Committee with Labour.[67] The media characterised him as "Inaction Man" and accused him of lacking a clear identity and political purpose;[68] later criticism also focused on his alcoholism.[69][70] In the 2001 general election, the party fielded 639 candidates and made a net gain of 6, bringing its total of seats to 52.[71][72]
Following the
In 2004, The Orange Book 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.[77] In the 2005 general election, the Lib Dems secured 62 seats, the most the Liberals had had since 1923.[78][79] 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.[80] 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).[81]
In March 2006,
Nick Clegg and coalition with the Conservatives (2007–2015)
In December 2007, Nick Clegg narrowly beat Chris Huhne to take the party's leadership.[88][89] Clegg's reshuffle of the leadership team was seen by many as a shift to the right;[90] under Clegg, the party moved away from the social democratic focus it displayed previously.[91] It rebranded itself as a party that would cut rather than raise taxes and dropped its hard pro-EU position.[92] In the 2008 local elections it gained 34 seats, beating Labour in terms of vote share.[91] The following year, the party was damaged by the expenses scandal as 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.[93] In the build-up to the 2010 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".[94]
In the election, the Lib Dems secured 23% of the vote and 57 seats; the Conservatives were the largest party but lacked a majority.
After joining the coalition poll ratings for the party fell,[103] particularly following the government's support for raising the cap on tuition fees with Liberal Democrat MPs voting 27 for, 21 against and 8 abstaining.[104] 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 the Vote for Students pledge to oppose any increase in student tuition fees prior to the 2010 general election.[105] 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.[106] Clegg later made a formal apology for breaking this promise in September 2012.[107][108] Shortly after the 2015 general election, Liberal Democrat leadership contender Norman Lamb conceded that Clegg's broken pledge on university tuition had proven costly.[109]
In the May 2011 local elections and the elections for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats.[110] Clegg admitted that the party had taken "big knocks" due to a perception that the coalition government had returned to the Thatcherism of the 1980s.[111]
As part of the deal that formed the coalition, it was agreed to hold a
The Lib Dems lost over 300 councillors in the 2012 local elections, leaving them with fewer than 3,000 for the first time in the party's history.[116] In June 2012 it was reported that membership of the party had fallen by around 20% since joining the coalition.[117]
In February 2013, the party won a
In the 2013 local elections, the Liberal Democrats lost over 100 seats council seats. In the 2014 local elections, they lost another 307 council seats[121] and ten of their eleven seats in the European Parliament in the 2014 European elections.[122]
In the 2015 general election, the party lost 48 seats in the House of Commons, leaving them with only eight MPs.[123][124] Prominent Liberal Democrat MPs who lost their seats included former leader Charles Kennedy, former deputy leaders Vince Cable and Simon Hughes, and several cabinet ministers. The Conservatives won an outright majority.[125] Clegg then announced his resignation as party leader.[126] The party lost over 400 council seats in the 2015 local elections, held the same day.[127]
Opposing Brexit (2015–2019)
Membership of the Liberal Democrats rose from 45,000 to 61,000
The 2017 local election results saw a loss of about 40 council seats. In the
The party gained 76 councillors in the 2018 local elections and 704 councillors in the 2019 local elections.[139] In the 2019 European Parliament election the 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.[140][141] In that election, the party gained 20% of the popular vote and returned 16 MEPs.[142] In May, Cable stood down as leader, triggering a leadership election.[143]
Between June and October 2019, the total number of MPs rose from 11 to 21, following eight defections from other parties, one by-election win, and Lloyd retaking the whip. The defections were mainly former MPs of Change UK, with Chuka Umunna[144] and Sarah Wollaston[145] joining directly from the party, whereas Heidi Allen, Luciana Berger, and Angela Smith joined after subsequently being part of The Independents. The remaining defectors were three of the 21 rebel Conservative MPs who had the whip withdrawn for voting against the government on a piece of legislation which would prevent a no-deal scenario on 31 October 2019: Antoinette Sandbach, Sam Gyimah, and Phillip Lee. The latter physically crossed the floor during the debate on the legislation, effectively removing the majority of the first Johnson government.[146]
Heading into the
Ed Davey (2020–present)
The Lib Dems' federal board set out a timetable in January 2020 which stated that a new party leader would be elected in July 2020.[153] Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 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.[154] The decision was reversed in May 2020 to hold the leadership election in July 2020.[155]
On 27 August 2020, Ed Davey was elected as leader of the party, by a margin of almost 18,000 votes.[156] On 13 September 2020, Daisy Cooper was announced as the party's new Deputy Leader.[157]
In September 2020, it was revealed by the party's new campaigning chief that the Liberal Democrats had starting planning a four-year drive to woo "soft
When Davey was asked by Andrew Marr about 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 Lib Dem 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".[159]
Under Davey, the Liberal Democrats seized the traditional
The Liberal Democrats saw considerable gains in the 2023 local elections, gaining 405 councillors and winning control of 12 more councils.[164] They also overturned a 19,000 Conservative majority in the 2023 Somerton and Frome by-election to elect Sarah Dyke as their 15th MP.[165]
In the 2024 United Kingdom local elections, Ed Davey said he was confident of toppling the "Tory Blue Wall in Surrey".[166] Liberal Democrat target seats for the next United Kingdom general election include Sheffield Hallam[167] and Mid Dunbartonshire.[168]
Ideology
This article is part of a series on |
Liberalism in the United Kingdom |
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The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions.
The party spans the
A key ideological influence on the Liberal Democrats is
The Liberal Democrats support a range of constitutional reforms, including by advocating a decentralised federal structure for the United Kingdom, including devolving power to the
The party has a number of factions representing different strains of liberal thought.
Policy platform
Constitutional reform
The Liberal Democrats support institutional reform in the United Kingdom, including the decentralisation of state power, reform of Parliament, and electoral reform.
According to a 1999 survey, two-thirds of party members supported retaining the monarchy.
Economic and social welfare policy
The 1999 membership survey found that most favoured free markets and individual responsibility; they were nevertheless split on whether or not they regarded private enterprise as the best way to solve economic problems.[198] Most were against either further privatisation or further nationalisation, although they were overwhelmingly favourable to increasing taxation and government spending.[199] The membership was also heavily against additional restrictions on trade unions.[199]
Liberal Democrat policy has generally been favourable to social welfare spending.
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,
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.[92] 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 for tax credits and scrapping road building schemes.[208] In its 2010 manifesto, it pledged to end income taxes for those earning under £10,000 a year,[209] something it introduced through the Cameron coalition government.[101] Also in 2010, it stated that it would halve the national deficit over the course of four years.[203] It had also specified that it would oppose any increases in VAT, although when in coalition announced an increase in VAT to 20%.[102]
Foreign policy and the European Union
The Liberal Democrats supported the
The Liberal Democrats called for a full
Whiteley et al. noted that "like the Liberals before them, [the Liberal Democrats] have taken a strong positive position on internationalism", including the need for international cooperation, aid for the developing world, and European integration.[220] In this they have always been more internationalist and pro-Europeanist than either Labour or the Conservatives.[220]
From its foundation, the Liberal Democrats were committed to the UK's membership of the European Union.[43] 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.[190] A 1999 survey of party members found they overwhelmingly backed European integration, and two thirds wanted the UK to adopt the euro currency.[221] 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.[222] This attitude had been inherited from the Liberal Party which had originally proposing membership into the predecessor European Coal and Steel Community.[223] However, the Liberal Democrats oppose the European federalism espoused by their counterparts.[224]
Despite its pro-European stance, the party has included
In June 2016, following the
Environmentalism
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.[230] In 1993, the party put forward proposals for an EU tax on energy use and CO2 emissions.[190] That year, it also proposed that GDP should be redefined to take into account pollution and the depletion of natural resources.[53] At its 2009 conference, the party introduced a commitment for Lib Dem controlled councils to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.[231] Other policies included:
- Designate an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas with appropriate management by 2020.[232]
- Encourage the uptake of water metering, including introducing metering in all defined water-stressed areas by 2025, coupled with the development of national social tariffs to protect low income households.[232]
- Complete the coastal path, introduce a fuller Right to Roam and a new designation of National Nature Parks to protect up to a million acres of accessible green space valued by local communities.[232]
Human rights and individual liberty
The Liberal Democrats place greater emphasis on human rights and individual freedoms than the Conservatives or Labour.[233] Conversely, the political scientist John Meadowcroft expressed the view that "the Liberal Democrats are a supposedly liberal party that does not believe in liberty."[234] 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.[235]
Its 1997 manifesto committed the party to lowering the age of consent for same-sex couples to 16, bringing it in line with that of opposite-sex couples.[56] At its 2000 conference, party delegates backed calls for the government to provide legal recognition for same-sex relationships.[196] In the 1999 membership survey, 57% believed that the government should discourage the growth of one-parent families.[235] That same survey found just over half of the party membership expressing pro-choice views regarding abortion access.[236]
At its 1997 conference, the party's delegates voted in favour of establishing a Royal Commission to examine the possibility of decriminalising voluntary euthanasia.[59]
At its 1994 conference, party delegates voted to end criminal prosecutions for cannabis possession, although the party's 23 MPs voted against the measure.[195] 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.[235] The 2004 party congress approved a ban on smoking in public places.[237]
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.[238][239]
Organisation and structure
The Liberal Democrats are a federal party of the parties of England, Scotland, and Wales. The English and Scottish parties are further split into regions. The parliamentary parties of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd form 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.[240]
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 the Electoral Commission includes, 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.[241]
Specified Associated Organisations (SAOs) review and input policies, representing groups including:
Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems organise in
The party is a member of Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Their 16 MEPs sat in the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament until Britain left the European Union.[258] The party colour is amber, but it is referred to as yellow in the party's style guide.[259] The party anthem is the old Liberal's "The Land" while its slogan is "Build a Brighter Future".[260] The party headquarters are at 8–10 Great George Street London SW1P 3AE.[261]
Support
In the 2005 general election, the party was endorsed by The Independent.[78] 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.[262] In that election, it nevertheless attracted the endorsement of The Guardian and The Observer.[263]
Finances
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.[264] 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.[92] In some years, it struggled to cover its costs; in 2008 for instance it made a loss of £670,000.[265]
Membership
In its early years, the caricature of Liberal Democrat members was that of "sandal-wearing, bearded eccentrics obsessed by the minutiae of electoral reform".
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.[272] 21% of members had joined because of their social contacts, such as friends, family, and colleagues, who were already members.[273] 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.[274] 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.[275]
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.[276] Reinforcing its "male, middle-class image", after the 2010 election, 40% of Liberal Democrat MPs were privately educated.[277] However, following the 2019 general election, seven of its then eleven MPs were female, and the Lib Dem victories in the 2021 Chesham and Amersham by-election, followed by the 2021 North Shropshire by-election, increased the share to nine out of thirteen MPs.
Membership fluctuated between 1988 and 2000 between a low of 69,000 in 2000 and a peak of 101,768 in 1994.[278] Membership increased sharply after the confirmation on 18 April 2017 of the 8 June 2017 general election, surpassing 100,000 on 24 April 2017[279] and reached an all-time high in June 2019 following the 2019 European elections,[280] increasing further after their win in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election which reduced the working majority of the Conservative government to just one seat.[281]
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.[281]
A research briefing paper by the House of Commons Library published 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.[2]: 13
Year | Membership[278][280][282][2] |
---|---|
1999 | 83,000 |
2000 | 69,000 |
2001 | 73,276 |
2002 | 71,636 |
2003 | 73,305 |
2004 | 72,721 |
2005 | 72,031 |
2006 | 68,743 |
2007 | 65,400 |
2008 | 59,810 |
2009 | 58,768 |
2010 | 65,038 |
2011 | 48,934 |
2012 | 42,501 |
2013 | 43,451 |
2014 | 44,680 |
2015 | 61,598 |
2016 | 79,507 |
2017 | 103,300 |
2018 | 99,200 |
2019 | 120,000 |
2020 | 98,247 |
2021 | 73,544 |
Voters
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.[283] 16% of Lib Dem voters at that time possessed a degree.[283] 23% were working class or blue collar workers, a much higher percentage than was found among the party's membership.[283] The survey found that Liberal Democrat voters shared many attitudes with the members; these voters overwhelmingly desired proportional representation and 63% backed EU membership.[284] 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.[285]
Analysing voting patterns from the 1990s, Whiteley et al. argued that highly educated people were more likely than average to vote Liberal Democrat, that older people were less likely than average to vote Liberal Democrat, and that class, gender, or ethnicity had no impact on the tendency to vote for the party.[286]
Ipsos studied voter patterns for the 2010 and 2015 elections. Their support in 2010 came from a fairly even spread of ages; at 5 to 10% of all the age groups studied, peaking in the 35 to 44 range. At the 2015 election their vote across all age groups declined, but most strongly among younger voters.[287]
Electoral results
Devolved seats | |
---|---|
London Assembly | 2 / 25 |
Scottish Parliament | 4 / 129 |
Senedd | 1 / 60 |
From the Liberal Party, the Liberal Democrats inherited a strong base in Wales and Scotland.[288] 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.[289] A key feature of the party's electoral strategy has been foregrounding community politics.[290] 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.[291]
General elections
Throughout its history, the first past the post system has prevented the Liberal Democrats from receiving a share of parliamentary seats that reflects their share of the vote.[292]
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.[293] 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.[294] 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.[295]
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,
Election | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | Government | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Share | No. | ± | Share | |||||
1992 | Paddy Ashdown | 5,999,606 | 17.8 | 20 / 650
|
2 | 3.1 | 3rd | Conservative | [301] |
1997 | 5,242,947 | 16.8 | 46 / 659
|
28 | 7.0 | 3rd | Labour | [302] | |
2001 | Charles Kennedy | 4,814,321 | 18.3 | 52 / 659
|
6 | 7.9 | 3rd | Labour | [303] |
2005 | 5,985,454 | 22.0 | 62 / 646
|
11 | 9.6 | 3rd | Labour | [304] | |
2010 | Nick Clegg | 6,836,248 | 23.0 | 57 / 650
|
5 | 8.8 | 3rd | Conservative–Liberal Democrats | [305] |
2015 | 2,415,862 | 7.9 | 8 / 650
|
49 | 1.2 | 4th | Conservative | [306] | |
2017 | Tim Farron | 2,371,861 | 7.4 | 12 / 650
|
4 | 1.8 | 4th | Conservative minority with DUP confidence and supply |
[307] |
2019 | Jo Swinson | 3,696,419 | 11.5 | 11 / 650
|
1 | 1.7 | 4th | Conservative | [308] |
Local elections
The party had control of 31 councils in 2008, having held 29 councils prior to the 2008 election.[309] In the 2008 local elections they 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. In council elections held 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.[110] In local 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.[116] In the 2013 local elections, they lost more councillors. In the 2014 local elections they lost over 300 councillors and the control of two local governments.[310]
In the
In the 2021 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 the London Assembly, two seats were won (an increase of one).[313] As of 2022, the party has 2,562 councilors.[314]
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[315]), the stated aim of which being to present themselves as grassroots activists, focusing on local issues along with national issues.[316]
European Parliament elections
As a
In the
Election | Leaders | Votes | Seats | Position | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | ± | |||
1989 | Paddy Ashdown | 944,861 | 5.9 | 0 / 81
|
4th[327] | |
1994 | 2,591,659 | 16.1 | 2 / 81
|
2 | 3rd | |
1999 | 1,266,549 | 11.9 | 10 / 81
|
8 | 3rd | |
2004 | Charles Kennedy | 2,452,327 | 14.4 | 12 / 78
|
2 | 4th |
2009 | Nick Clegg | 2,080,613 | 13.3 | 11 / 72
|
1 | 4th |
2014 | 1,087,633 | 6.6 | 1 / 73
|
10 | 6th | |
2019 | Vince Cable | 3,367,284 | 19.6 | 16 / 73
|
15 | 2nd |
Scottish Parliament elections
The inaugural
The Scottish Liberal Democrats again won 17 seats in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election and again formed a coalition government with Scottish Labour.[331][332] Nicol Stephen was elected party leader in 2005.[333] Stephen served as deputy first minister for two years. The Scottish Liberal Democrats exited government in 2007 despite losing only one seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. The Scottish National Party emerged from the election as the largest party and formed a minority administration. Nicol Stephen resigned as party leader the following year.[334]
Tavish Scott was elected party leader in 2008.[335] Scott resigned following what he described as "disastrous" results in the 2011 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 a coalition government with the Conservative Party in 2010.[336] He further blamed the coalition government's austerity programme.[336] Willie Rennie, who became party leader in 2011, also blamed the unpopularity of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition.[337]
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 the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.[338] 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 the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[339] Willie Rennie resigned as leader and was succeeded by Alex Cole-Hamilton in 2021.[340]
Election | Constituency | Regional | Total seats | Seat share | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vote share | Seats | Vote share | Seats | |||
1999 | 14.2% | 12 | 12.4% | 5 | 17 / 129
|
13.2% |
2003 | 15.4% | 13 | 11.8% | 4 | 17 / 129
|
13.2% |
2007 | 16.2% | 11 | 11.3% | 5 | 16 / 129
|
12.6% |
2011 | 7.9% | 2 | 5.2% | 3 | 5 / 129
|
3.9% |
2016 | 7.8% | 4 | 5.2% | 1 | 5 / 129
|
3.9% |
2021 | 6.9% | 4 | 5.1% | 0 | 4 / 129
|
3.1% |
Senedd elections
The first elections to the newly created National Assembly for Wales (now Senedd) were in 1999; the Liberal Democrats took six seats in the inaugural Assembly; Welsh Labour won a plurality of seats, but without an overall majority. In October 2000, following a series of close votes, the parties formed a coalition, with the Liberal Democrat leader in the assembly, Michael German, becoming the Deputy First Minister.[341] The deal lasted until the 2003 election, when Labour won enough seats to be able to govern outright.[342]
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 the
Election | Constituency | Regional | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | Seats | Votes | Seats | Seats | Share | |
1999 | 14% | 3 | 13% | 3 | 6 / 60
|
10% |
2003 | 14% | 3 | 13% | 3 | 6 / 60
|
10% |
2007 | 15% | 3 | 12% | 3 | 6 / 60
|
10% |
2011 | 11% | 1 | 8% | 4 | 5 / 60
|
8% |
2016 | 8% | 1 | 6% | 0 | 1 / 60
|
2% |
2021 | 5% | 0 | 4% | 1 | 1 / 60
|
2% |
Federal Conference
Leadership
Leaders
Source:[344]
- Paddy Ashdown (1988–1999)
- Charles Kennedy (1999–2006)
- Menzies Campbell (2006–2007)
- Nick Clegg (2007–2015)
- Tim Farron (2015–2017)
- Vince Cable (2017–2019)
- Jo Swinson (2019–2020)
- Sal Brinton, Ed Davey, Mark Pack (2020; acting)
- Ed Davey (2020–present)
Deputy Leaders
- Russell Johnston (1988–1992)
- Alan Beith (1992–2003)
- Menzies Campbell (2003–2006)
- Vince Cable (2006–2010)
- Simon Hughes (2010–2014)
- Malcolm Bruce (2014–2015)
- Vacant (2015–2017)
- Jo Swinson (2017–2019)
- Vacant (2019)
- Ed Davey (2019–2020)
- Vacant (2020)
- Daisy Cooper (2020–present)
Frontbench
Party Presidents
Presidents chair the Federal Board. They are elected for a three-year term (previously two-year term), starting on 1 January and ending on 31 December. They may serve a maximum of two terms.
Source:[344]
- Ian Wrigglesworth (1988–1990)
- Charles Kennedy (1990–1994)
- Robert Maclennan(1994–1998)
- Diana Maddock(1998–2000)
- Navnit Dholakia(2000–2004)
- Simon Hughes (2004–2008)
- Ros Scott(2008–2010)
- Tim Farron (2010–2015)
- Sal Brinton (2015–2019)
- Mark Pack (2020–present)
Leaders in the House of Lords
Leader | Entered office | Left office |
---|---|---|
Roy Jenkins (1920–2003) | 16 July 1988 | 4 May 1997 |
William Rodgers (b. 1928) | 4 May 1997 | 13 June 2001 |
Shirley Williams (1930–2021) | 13 June 2001 | 22 June 2004 |
Tom McNally, Baron McNally (b. 1943) | 22 June 2004 | 15 October 2013 |
Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness (b. 1954) | 15 October 2013 | 13 September 2016 |
Richard Newby, Baron Newby (b. 1953) | 13 September 2016 | Present |
Leaders in the European Parliament
- Graham Watson, 1994–2002 (President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party)
- Diana Wallis, 2002–2004
- Chris Davies, 2004–2006
- Diana Wallis, 2006–2007 (vice-president of the European Parliament)
- Andrew Duff, 2007–2009
- Fiona Hall, 2009–2014
- Catherine Bearder, 2014–2019
- Caroline Voaden, 2019–2020
The Liberal Democrats did not have representation in the European Parliament prior to 1994.
Chairs of the English Liberal Democrats
- Paul Farthing (1994–1999)
- Dawn Davidson (2000–2003)
- Stan Collins (2004–2006)[346]
- Brian Orrell (2007–2009)[346]
- Jonathan Davies (2010–2011)[346]
- Peter Ellis (2012–2014)
- Steve Jarvis (2015–2016)
- Liz Leffman (2017–2018)
- Tahir Maher (2019)
- Gerald Vernon-Jackson (2020)[347]
- Alison Rouse (2021–present)[348]
Leaders of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Malcolm Bruce (3 March 1988 – 18 April 1992)
- Jim Wallace(18 April 1992 – 23 June 2005)
- Nicol Stephen (27 June 2005 – 2 July 2008)
- Tavish Scott (26 August 2008 – 7 May 2011)
- Willie Rennie (17 May 2011 – 20 August 2021)
- Alex Cole-Hamilton (20 August 2021–present)
Leaders of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
- Richard Livsey(1988–1992)
- Alex Carlile(1992–1997)
- Richard Livsey(1997–2001)
- Lembit Öpik (2001–2007)
- Mike German(2007–2008)
- Kirsty Williams (2008–2016)
- Mark Williams (2016–2017)
- Kirsty Williams (Acting, 2017)
- Jane Dodds (2017–present)
Current MPs
Eleven Liberal Democrat
Member | Constituency |
---|---|
Jamie Stone | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland |
Wendy Chamberlain | Fife North East |
Christine Jardine | Edinburgh West |
Tim Farron | Westmorland and Lonsdale
|
Wera Hobhouse | Bath |
Layla Moran | Oxford West and Abingdon
|
Daisy Cooper | St Albans |
Munira Wilson | Twickenham |
Sarah Olney | Richmond Park |
Ed Davey | Kingston and Surbiton
|
Sarah Green | Chesham and Amersham
|
Helen Morgan | North Shropshire |
Richard Foord | Tiverton and Honiton
|
Sarah Dyke | Somerton and Frome
|
Reception
In 2006, Whiteley et al. noted that the Liberal Democrats were "a major force in contemporary British politics".[349] 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.[350]
See also
- Glee Club (UK politics)
- Liberal Democrat Conference
- Liberal Democrat Voice
- Liberal Left (UK)
- Liberal Reform
- Liberal parties by country
- Liberalism in the United Kingdom
- List of Liberal Democrat MPs
- List of liberal theorists
- List of Liberal Party and Liberal Democrats (UK) general election manifestos
- Lloyd George Society
- Party conference season
- Politics of the United Kingdom
- Social Liberal Forum
Notes
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