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142-555: Robin Fenwick created the site on Friday 8 September 2006. Since July 2007, it has been run by a collective of Liberal Democrat members, activists and bloggers. The site aims to present views from a range of people and perspectives on the Liberal Democrats. The editorial line is neutral on matters of debate within the party and party selections and elections. The site conducts regular surveys of Liberal Democrat members, which serve as

284-459: A Fixed Term Parliament Bill , and end income tax for those earning less than £10,000 a year. The Conservatives also agreed to shelve their plans to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a proposed British Bill of Rights . 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

426-490: A leadership election . 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 and Sarah Wollaston 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

568-770: A motion of no confidence . This angered many Liberals and damaged them electorally. In the 1979 general election , the Liberals lost three seats in the House of Commons ; the Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher , won the election. Within the Labour Party, 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

710-618: 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. One of its first decisions was to negotiate an electoral arrangement with the Liberals, facilitated between Jenkins, who

852-648: A referendum in which a majority supported leaving the European Union , Clegg returned to the Liberal Democrat frontbench , concurrently serving as Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and for International Trade from July 2016 to June 2017. In the 2017 general election , Clegg was defeated in his constituency of Sheffield Hallam by Jared O'Mara of the Labour Party . After losing his seat, Clegg moved to

994-429: A Freedom Bill to repeal what he described as "unnecessary and illiberal legislation", campaigning against Identity Cards and the retention of innocent people's DNA, and arguing against excessive counter-terrorism legislation. He has campaigned for prison reform, a liberal approach to immigration, and defended the Human Rights Act against ongoing attacks from across the political spectrum. In January 2007, Clegg launched

1136-407: A blog which is open to any contributor the site also contains a Liberal Democrat party members-only forum which members use as a place for debate and discussion. Lib Dem Voice's current editor is Lib Dem commentator Caron Lindsay. She is supported by a team of day editors (Mark Valladares, Alan Muhammed, and Mary Reid), contributing editors (Joe Otten, Alex Foster, Sara Bedford and Nick Thornsby), and

1278-422: A change from the first-past-the-post voting system to proportional representation . Emphasising stronger protections for civil liberties , the party promotes social-liberal approaches to issues like LGBT rights , drug liberalisation , education policy and criminal justice . It favours a market-based economy supplemented with social welfare spending. The party has been described as progressive , and

1420-737: 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. Privately, Blair offered the Liberal Democrats a coalition but later backed down amid fears that it would split his own Cabinet. The joint Committee launched the Independent Commission on the Voting System in December; its report, published in October 1998, proposed

1562-491: A defender of the status quo and an obstacle to the reform of Parliament. In response to revelations about MPs' expenses, Clegg set out his plans for reform of Parliament in The Guardian . Speaking about the plans, he said: "let us bar the gates of Westminster and stop MPs leaving for their summer holidays until this crisis has been sorted out, and every nook and cranny of our political system has been reformed." He argued for

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1704-615: A draft constitution for the new party. In 1988, Liberal and SDP meetings both produced majorities for the merger; finally, the memberships of both parties were balloted and both produced support for unification. Those in both parties opposed to unification split to form their own breakaway groups, in the form of the Liberal Party and the Continuing SDP . The Social and Liberal Democrats were formally launched on 3 March 1988. Steel and Maclennan initially became joint interim leaders. At

1846-486: A fifth partner: It's especially exciting to be joining GPlus at a time when Brussels is moving more and more to the centre of business concerns. With the EU taking in ten more countries and adopting a new Constitution, organisations need more than ever intelligent professional help in engaging with the EU institutions. Clegg worked on GPlus clients including The Hertz Corporation and British Gas . In May 2003, Richard Allan ,

1988-557: A formal apology for breaking this promise in September 2012. Shortly after the 2015 general election, Liberal Democrat leadership contender Norman Lamb conceded that Clegg's broken pledge on university tuition had proven costly. In the May 2011 local elections and the elections for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy defeats. Clegg admitted that

2130-608: A former trustee of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation (where Ken Clarke was an adviser). Clegg has one-quarter Baltic-German ancestry. His paternal grandmother, Baroness Kira von Engelhardt , of Smolensk , was a Baltic-German noblewoman, niece of Moura Budberg , adventuress and suspected double agent , and the granddaughter of attorney general of the Imperial Russian Senate, Ignatiy Platonovich Zakrevsky. Through this Russian connection, Clegg

2272-609: A friend drunkenly set fire to what he called "the leading collection of cacti in Germany". When news of the incident was reported during his time as Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson , Clegg said he was "not proud" of it. He was arrested and not formally charged, but performed a type of community service . Clegg spent a gap year working as a skiing instructor in Austria , before going on to Cambridge in 1986, where he studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Robinson College . He

2414-675: A human being and a party Leader", and Norman Lamb that "Nick tries to be absolutely straight in everything that he does, and that might sometimes get him into trouble but he will build a reputation for being honest and straightforward." Speaking to the BBC about the interview Clegg said "wisdom with hindsight is an easy thing" as what had been a split second response had been "taken out of context, interpreted, over interpreted and so on". Upon his election Clegg appointed leadership rival Huhne as his replacement as Home Affairs spokesperson and following his strong performances as acting party leader, Vince Cable

2556-407: A large number of pamphlets and books. With Dr Richard Grayson he wrote a book in 2002 about the importance of devolution in secondary education systems, based on comparative research across Europe. The final conclusions included the idea of pupil premiums so that children from poorer backgrounds receive the additional resources their educational needs require. He wrote a controversial pamphlet for

2698-457: A less centralised economy. This distinguishes the party from many liberal parties elsewhere in Europe that are instead dominated by classical liberalism . By comparison, the Liberal Democrats support a mixed economy and have sometimes opposed privatisation. The party spans the centre and centre-left , and has emphasised each aspect at different times. The public have traditionally viewed

2840-678: A liberal." His Dutch mother instilled in him "a degree of scepticism about the entrenched class configurations in British society ". Clegg was educated at two private schools : at Caldicott School in Farnham Royal in South Buckinghamshire , where he was joint Head Prefect in 1980, and later at Westminster School in Central London . As a 16-year-old exchange student in Munich, he and

2982-535: A majority, formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, and Clegg was appointed by Conservative leader David Cameron to serve as his Deputy Prime Minister. In this capacity , he became the first leader of the Liberal Democrats to answer for the Prime Minister's Questions , and used his influence in the position to pass the Fixed-term Parliaments Act . Controversy arose during this time surrounding

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3124-414: A party conference that the Liberal Democrats were radical centrist in orientation: "Our opponents try to divide us with their outdated labels of left and right. But we are not on the left and we are not on the right. We have our own label: Liberal. We are liberals and we own the freehold to the centre ground of British politics. Our politics is the politics of the radical centre." When he became leader of

3266-482: A plane journey. He told the BBC's Politics Show that "a lot of it is, frankly, fiction". "I believe every single person is extraordinary. The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfil that extraordinary potential. My view – the liberal view – is that government's job is to help them to do it. Not to tell people how to live their lives. But to make their choices possible, to release their potential, no matter who they are. The way to do that

3408-747: A post at the European Commission in April 1994, working in the TACIS aid programme to the former Soviet Union . For two years, Clegg was responsible for developing direct aid programmes in Central Asia and the Caucasus worth €50 million. He was involved in negotiations with Russia on airline overflight rights, and launched a conference in Tashkent in 1993 that founded TRACECA —an international transport programme for

3550-404: A record of CUCA members for 1986–1987, and Clegg's name appears on the list. Hands noted that "for the avoidance of any doubt, there was only one 'N Clegg' at Robinson College ... [he] is listed in the 'Robinson College Record', under 'Freshmen 1986'. He graduated with an upper second class honours (2:1) degree in social anthropology. After university, he was awarded a scholarship to study for

3692-527: A republic was formed. According to a 1999 survey, two-thirds of party members supported retaining the monarchy. In the 1990s, there was an anti-royalist contingent within the party; in 1993, the party conference announced support for removing the royal prerogative , and the 2000 conference backed calls for the monarch to be removed as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England . At its 2003 conference,

3834-431: A respectable bellwether of party opinion: mainstream UK press such as The Independent cite these, most notably over the issue of Vince Cable being the preferred candidate to succeed Nick Clegg as party leader. For example, in a 2011 survey, Vince Cable was also voted Lib Dem minister of the year. The site is rated as the top Liberal Democrat blog by Total Politics for 2011 and has been consistently rated by Wikio as

3976-515: A splinter group from the Labour Party . In 1988, the parties merged as the Social and Liberal Democrats , adopting their present name just over a year later. Under the leadership of Paddy Ashdown and later Charles 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, under Nick Clegg 's leadership,

4118-488: A successful campaign, the party made the biggest gain in seats in its history, winning a party high of 72 seats. The Liberal Democrats have an ideology that draws on both the liberal and social democratic traditions. The party is primarily social 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 promotes civil liberties and

4260-509: A technical editor, Ryan Cullen. Former editors include Stephen Tall, Lib Dem Party President Mark Pack and founder Rob Fenwick. Liberal Democrats (UK) The Liberal Democrats (colloquially known as the Lib Dems ) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based at Liberal Democrat Headquarters , near Westminster , and the current leader of

4402-564: A tenacious obsession with the last war, is much harder to shake off". The article was dusted down during the 2010 general election campaign when the Daily Mail interpreted the article as being a "Nazi slur on Britain" and Clegg had begun to feel the full heat of the British tabloid press following his success during the first leaders' debate . On leaving the European Parliament, Clegg joined political lobbying firm GPlus in April 2004 as

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4544-604: A trainee in the G24 coordination unit which delivered aid to the countries of the former Soviet Union . After the internship he studied for a master's degree at the College of Europe in Bruges , a university for European studies in Belgium, where he met his wife, Miriam González Durántez , a lawyer and the daughter of a Spanish senator. Nick Clegg is an alumnus of the " Mozart Promotion " (1991–92) of

4686-499: A very practical level quickly lent him prominence, with many already seeing him as a future Liberal Democrat leader. Following the resignation of Kennedy on 7 January 2006, Clegg was touted as a possible leadership contender. He was quick to rule himself out however instead declaring his support for Menzies Campbell ahead of his former colleague in the European Parliament Chris Huhne , with Campbell going on to win

4828-407: A visit to England in 1956, and they married on 1 August 1959. Clegg is multilingual . He speaks English, French, Dutch, German, and Spanish. His background has informed his politics. He says, "There is simply not a shred of racism in me, as a person whose whole family is formed by flight from persecution, from different people in different generations. It's what I am. It's one of the reasons I am

4970-412: A week to the state pension for people over the age of 75. In 2003, it outlined plans for devolving control of schools to local councils. 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, and raising the basic rate of income tax by one penny in the pound. In 2003,

5112-504: A year at the University of Minnesota , where he wrote a thesis on the political philosophy of the Deep Green movement . He then moved to New York City, where he worked as an intern under Christopher Hitchens at The Nation , a progressive liberal magazine, where he fact-checked Hitchens's articles. Clegg next moved to Brussels , where he worked alongside Guy Spier for six months as

5254-595: Is internationalist and pro-European , and supported the People's Vote for the continued UK membership of the European Union and greater European integration , having previously called for adoption of the euro . The Liberal Democrats have promoted further environmental protections and opposed British military ventures such as the Iraq War . The Liberal Democrats are historically strongest in northern Scotland , south-west London, South West England , and mid Wales . Membership

5396-478: Is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017. An " Orange Book " liberal, he has been associated with both socially liberal and economically liberal policies. Born in Buckinghamshire , Clegg

5538-713: Is distantly related to Michael Ignatieff , leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2008 to 2011. His English grandfather was Hugh Anthony Clegg , editor of the British Medical Journal for 35 years. Clegg's mother is Dutch and was interned , along with her family, by the Japanese military in Batavia (Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during the Second World War . She met Clegg's father during

5680-515: Is primarily made up of middle-class professionals and the party's composition has a higher proportion of university educated members than the other major political parties of the United Kingdom. The party is a federation of the English , Scottish , and Welsh Liberal Democrats . The party is in a partnership with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland , while still organising there. Internationally,

5822-428: Is the centre-left Beveridge Group , inspired by William Beveridge . The Beveridge Group has been associated with both social liberals and social democrats within the party, including former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy . The Liberal Democrats support institutional reform in the United Kingdom, including the decentralisation of state power, reform of Parliament, and electoral reform. At its 1993 conference,

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5964-409: Is their turn" and claimed that come the election the "choice before people is the choice between fake, phoney change from Cameron's Conservatives, and real change the Liberal Democrats offer". Clegg became the first party leader in modern political history to call for a Speaker of the House of Commons to resign, describing then-Speaker Michael Martin , following his handling of the expenses scandal, as

6106-468: Is to take power away from those who hoard it. To challenge vested interests. To break down privilege. To clear out the bottlenecks in our society that block opportunity and block progress. And so give everyone a chance to live the life they want." Liberal Democrat Manifesto Launch, 14 April 2010 In the Commons, Clegg initially concentrated most of his fire on Labour and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but in

6248-404: The 2008 local elections it gained 34 seats, beating Labour in terms of vote share. 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. In the build-up to the 2010 general election , Clegg took part in

6390-409: The 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 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 the 2024 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

6532-453: The 2023 local elections , gaining 405 councillors and winning control of 12 more councils. They also overturned a 19,000 Conservative majority in the 2023 Somerton and Frome by-election to elect Sarah Dyke as their 15th MP. In the 2024 local elections , Davey said he was confident of toppling the "Tory Blue Wall in Surrey". The Lib Dems finished in second place behind Labour and ahead of

6674-425: 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. Heading into the 2019 general election ,

6816-692: The All-Party Parliamentary Group on National Parks , a particular interest given that his constituency includes part of the Peak District National Park . Following his election to parliament, Clegg was promoted by leader Charles Kennedy to be the party's spokesperson on Europe, focusing on the party's preparations for an expected referendum on the European constitution and acting as deputy to Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Menzies Campbell . Clegg's ability to articulate liberal values at

6958-531: 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. In the 1970s, the Liberal leader David Steel began contemplating how an alliance with other parties could return it to political power. In 1977, he formed a pact with Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan to back Callaghan's government in

7100-462: The Lisbon Treaty but had wanted to vote in favour and so defied the whip. In addition to the three frontbenchers, a further 12 more backbench LibDem MPs also defied the whip and voted "yes". Clegg said "though we have disagreed on this issue I fully understand and respect their strongly held views on the subject.... However, as they have recognised, the shadow cabinet cannot operate effectively unless

7242-683: The September 11 attacks in the United States and the launch of the U.S.-led War on terror , the Liberal Democrat MPs backed the government's decision to participate in the United States invasion of Afghanistan . The party was more critical of Blair's decision to participate in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003; Kennedy joined the large anti-war march in London. With the Conservatives backing

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7384-576: The Welsh Assembly . The party campaigned for a Remain vote in the referendum on United Kingdom membership of the European Union in June 2016. After the Leave vote, the Liberal Democrats sought to mobilise the 48% who voted Remain, and the party's membership rose again, reaching 80,000 by September. The 2017 local election results saw a loss of about 40 council seats. In the 2017 general election , during which

7526-400: The ballot . Clegg had been a signatory to the letter circulated by Vince Cable prior to Kennedy's resignation, which stated his opposition to working under Kennedy's continued leadership. Following the 2006 leadership election, Clegg was promoted to be Home Affairs spokesperson , replacing Mark Oaten . In this job he spearheaded the Liberal Democrats' defence of civil liberties, proposing

7668-483: The "It's About Freedom" working parties. Clegg, for four years whilst an MEP, wrote a fortnightly column for Guardian Unlimited . One particular article in 2002 accused Gordon Brown of encouraging "condescension" towards Germany. In an article, Clegg wrote that "all nations have a cross to bear, and none more so than Germany with its memories of Nazism. But the British cross is more insidious still. A misplaced sense of superiority, sustained by delusions of grandeur and

7810-459: The "reinvention of British politics" within 100 days, calling for a commitment to accept the Kelly expenses report in full; the power to recall members suspended for misconduct; House of Lords reform; reform of party funding; fixed-term parliaments; enabling legislation for a referendum on AV+ ; and changes to House of Commons procedure to reduce executive power. Shortly ahead of the election, Clegg

7952-490: The 'We Can Cut Crime!' campaign, "proposing real action at a national level and acting to cut crime where the Liberal Democrats are in power locally". Clegg caused a degree of controversy when, at the Liberal Democrat party conference in 2007, he admitted his leadership ambitions to journalists at a fringe event. The admission followed a period of increased media speculation about Sir Menzies Campbell 's leadership, which

8094-608: The 1983 election, Owen replaced Jenkins as head of the SDP. 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 . Both parties lost seats in the 1987 general election . In the wake of this, Steel called for the SDP and Liberals to merge into a single party. At the grassroots, various local constituency groups had already de facto merged. In

8236-522: 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. The MP Simon Hughes was initially seen as Ashdown's most likely successor, but was defeated in the contest by Charles Kennedy . 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

8378-432: The 2015 local elections , held the same day. Membership of the Liberal Democrats rose from 45,000 to 61,000 as the party prepared to hold its 2015 party leadership ballot . On 16 July 2015, Tim Farron was elected to the leadership of the party with 56.5% of the vote, beating opponent Norman Lamb . In the May 2016 local elections , the Liberal Democrats gained a small number of council seats, though they lost ground in

8520-445: The 2018 local elections and 704 councillors in the 2019 local elections . 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. In that election, the party gained 20% of the popular vote and returned 16 MEPs. In May, Cable stood down as leader, triggering

8662-495: The 5th most influential political blog in the UK. Contributors to Liberal Democrat Voice include Senior Liberal Democrats such as Charles Kennedy , John Pugh , Danny Alexander , Tim Farron , Sal Brinton , Caroline Pidgeon , Ed Davey , Brian Paddick , Jenny Willott and Mark Pack as well as new and long serving members of the party. The site also features regular polls of Lib Dem members showing where they agree and where they disagree with party policy. As well as being

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8804-489: The Alternative Vote system. The coalition introduced an emergency budget to attack the fiscal deficit. After joining the coalition poll ratings for the party fell, particularly following the government's support for raising the cap on tuition fees with Liberal Democrat MPs voting 27 for, 21 against and eight abstaining. The Liberal Democrats had made opposing tuition fees a major message of their campaign, with all of

8946-499: The Centre for European Reform advocating devolution and evolution of the European Union, and contributed to the 2004 Orange Book , where he offered market liberal solutions for reform of European institutions. He co-authored a pamphlet with Duncan Brack arguing for a wholesale reform of world trade rules to allow room for a greater emphasis on development, internationally binding environmental treaties, and parliamentary democracy within

9088-537: The College of Europe. Between 1992 and 1993, he was employed by GJW Government Relations Ltd, which lobbied on behalf of Libya . In 1993, Clegg won the inaugural Financial Times ' David Thomas Prize, in remembrance of an FT journalist killed on assignment in Kuwait in 1991. He was later sent to Hungary, where he wrote articles about the mass privatisation of industries in the former communist bloc . He took up

9230-545: The Conservatives in terms of seats. The Liberal Democrats gained Tunbridge Wells council and Dorset Council . They notably added more council seats than any other party over the last parliament, gaining more than 750 in the last five years, largely in southern England . The Liberal Democrats entered the 2024 general election with its manifesto policies including reforming Carer's Allowance , free personal care in England, votes at 16 and proportional representation . After

9372-813: The East Midlands. As an MEP, Clegg co-founded the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, which led calls for reforms to expenses, transparency and accountability in the European Parliament. He was made Trade and Industry spokesman for the European Liberal Democrat and Reform group (ELDR). In December 2000, Nick Clegg became the Parliament's Draftsman on a complex new EU telecoms law relating to " local loop unbundling "—opening-up telephone networks across Europe to competition. Clegg decided to leave Brussels in 2002, arguing in an article in The Guardian newspaper that

9514-470: The European Union. In December 2018, the MP for Eastbourne , Stephen Lloyd , resigned the Liberal Democrat Whip, saying that his party's position on Brexit was inconsistent with his pledge to his constituency that he would "respect the result" of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum . Although Lloyd remained a Liberal Democrat member, this took the number of sitting Liberal Democrat MPs down to 11. The party gained 76 councillors in

9656-401: The Labour and Conservative parties of indulging in "childish games" over the "c-word". On 29 April 2009 the Liberal Democrats proposed in the House of Commons to offer all Gurkhas an equal right of residence; the motion resulted in a defeat for the Government by 267 votes to 246. It was the only first day motion defeat for a government since 1978. On speaking about the result Clegg said "this

9798-440: The Labour government's decision to go to war, the Lib Dems were the only major party opposing it. In following years, Lib Dem MPs increasingly voted against the Labour government on a range of issues. Much of this Lib Dem opposition to the government came from their members in the House of Lords. In the 2003 local elections , the party secured about 30% of the vote, its highest ever result. In 2004, The Orange Book anthology

9940-439: The Lib Dems' public support. 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). In March 2006, Menzies Campbell succeeded Kennedy as party leader. Campbell

10082-422: The Liberal Democrats grant all members attending its Conference the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system. The party also allows its members to vote online for its policies and in the election of a new leader. In 1981, an electoral alliance was established between the Liberal Party , a group which descended from the 18th-century Whigs , and the Social Democratic Party (SDP),

10224-517: The Liberal Democrats gained councillors in all countries of Great Britain, with the largest gain of any party in England with 194 new councillors. One month later, the Liberal Democrats contested and won the Tiverton and Honiton by-election with its candidate Richard Foord , overturning a majority of over 24,000 and breaking the record for the biggest overturning of a majority in British by-election history. The Liberal Democrats saw considerable gains in

10366-412: The Liberal Democrats had transcended left and right-wing politics and described the party as radical centrist . He supported reduced taxes, electoral reform, cuts on defence spending and an increased focus on environmental issues. As a result of the 2010 general election , Clegg's Liberal Democrats found themselves with 57 seats in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party , which failed to receive

10508-492: The Liberal Democrats is Leonard Hobhouse , and there is substantial overlap between the party's platform and the form of social democracy advocated by Anthony Crosland in The Future of Socialism . The party's egalitarianism is based on the concept of equality of opportunity . The party has been sceptical of positive discrimination , including in its process for selecting political candidates. The party has frequently debated

10650-520: The Liberal Democrats on the Third Age , which focused on the importance of ending the cliff-edge of retirement and providing greater opportunities for older people to remain active beyond retirement. The group developed initial proposals on transforming post offices to help them survive as community hubs, in particular for older people. He served on Charles Kennedy 's policy review, "Meeting the Challenge", and

10792-475: The Liberal Democrats were junior partners in David Cameron 's Conservative-led coalition government , in which Clegg served as deputy 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 the 2015 general election , which relegated them to fourth-largest party in the House of Commons. Under

10934-503: The Liberal Democrats' decision to abandon their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees, which had previously been a key issue that won the party support from students. During the party's time in coalition, the Liberal Democrats saw a significant drop in support, and the 2015 general election left the party with just 8 seats, which resulted in Clegg's ousting as Deputy Prime Minister and his resignation as party leader. In 2016, following

11076-567: The Liberal Democrats, Clegg called for more choice for patients on waiting lists in the National Health Service (NHS), giving them the option to go private and to be funded by the NHS if they wish; a substantial tax cut to "put more money back into the pockets of people", better action on the environment, the abandonment of Britain's Trident missile-defence system, fixed-term parliaments ; devolving more power to local councils; giving constituents

11218-489: The Post being chosen over Alternative Vote by approximately two-thirds of voters. In May 2011, Clegg revealed plans to make the House of Lords a mainly elected chamber, limiting the number of peers to 300, 80% of whom would be elected with a third of that 80% being elected every five years by single transferable vote . In August 2012, Clegg announced that attempts to reform the House of Lords would be abandoned due to opposition for

11360-595: The SDP, Jenkins, Rodgers, Williams, and the MP Charles Kennedy supported the idea; Owen and the MPs Rosie Barnes and John Cartwright opposed it. 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 by Bob Maclennan . A Liberal conference in September found delegates providing a landslide majority for the merger. Formal negotiations launched that month and in December it produced

11502-515: The September 1988 conference it adopted the short form name "the Democrats" and in October 1989 changed its name to "Liberal Democrats". The bird of liberty was adopted as its logo. 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 . This

11644-572: The Speaker's decision a constitutional "outrage". Just moments earlier, frontbench foreign affairs spokesman for the party Ed Davey had been expelled from the chamber by the Speaker's deputy, Sir Michael Lord , for further challenging the ruling. In November 2008, Clegg suffered more allegations of difficulties with the front bench following an article in the Daily Mirror that reported that Clegg had criticised senior members of his front bench whilst on

11786-470: The UK's first televised party leaders debate; he was generally considered to have performed well, with pundits referring to an ensuing "Cleggmania". In the election, the Lib Dems secured 23% of the vote and 57 seats; the Conservatives were the largest party but lacked a majority. The Conservatives and Lib Dems formed a coalition government, with Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister. Four other Lib Dems—Cable, Huhne, Danny Alexander , and David Laws —entered

11928-570: The United States and became vice‑president of global affairs and communications at Facebook, Inc. (renamed Meta Platforms in 2021), before being promoted in 2022 to president for global affairs. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for political and public service. [REDACTED] Nick Clegg was born in Chalfont St Giles , Buckinghamshire, the third of four children of Hermance van den Wall Bake and Nicholas Peter Clegg , chairman of United Trust Bank and

12070-554: The University of Cambridge. Clegg worked closely with Allan throughout the campaign in Sheffield Hallam—including starring in a local pantomime—and won the seat in the 2005 general election with over 50% of the vote, and a majority of 8,682. This result represents one of the smallest swings away from a party in a seat where an existing MP has been succeeded by a newcomer (4.3%). He also served as treasurer and secretary of

12212-568: The WTO system. In 1998, Clegg was selected as the lead Liberal Democrat candidate for the European Parliament in the East Midlands constituency; the following year, Paddy Ashdown was first to tip him as a politician to watch. On his election in 1999, he was the first Liberal parliamentarian elected in the East Midlands since Ernest Pickering was elected MP for Leicester West in 1931, and

12354-544: The admission by Clegg did nothing to reduce and resulted in a rebuke by some of his frontbench colleagues. This followed a report from Kevin Maguire in the New Statesman that Clegg had failed to hide his disloyalty to Campbell's leadership. Campbell eventually resigned on 15 October 2007, saying that questions about his leadership were "getting in the way of further progress by the party". After Campbell's resignation, Clegg

12496-455: The autumn of 2009 began also focusing on David Cameron and the Conservatives. Clegg rejected an appeal from Cameron for their two parties to work together. Clegg argued that the Conservatives were totally different from his party, and that the Lib Dems were the true "progressives" in UK politics. At the 2009 party conference in Bournemouth, he accused the Conservatives of "simply believing it

12638-528: The battle to persuade the public of the benefits of Europe was being fought at home, not in Brussels. In 2004, Clegg explained to the Select Committee on European Union that the aim of MEPs like himself, who had been active in the debate on the EU's negotiating mandate, was to obtain the right to ratify any major WTO deal entered into by the European Union. That same year he chaired a policy working group for

12780-494: The best way to solve economic problems. Most were against either further privatisation or further nationalisation, although they were overwhelmingly favourable to increasing taxation and government spending. The membership was also heavily against additional restrictions on trade unions. Liberal Democrat policy has generally been favourable to social welfare spending. During the 2000s, the party made pledges for major investment into health, education, and public services. In 1995,

12922-418: The change from the first past the post electoral system to an alternative vote top-up system . This was not the Lib Dems preferred option—they wanted full proportional representation —although Ashdown hailed it as "a historic step forward". Many Lib Dems were concerned by Ashdown's growing closeness with Labour; aware of this, he stepped down as party leader in 1999. Before he did so, the party took part in

13064-509: The coalition Cabinet. Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement, with former party leader Charles Kennedy and Manchester Withington MP John Leech both rebelling against. Many Lib Dems opposed the move, with some favouring a coalition deal with Labour. As part of the coalition agreement, the Conservatives agreed to Lib Dem demands to introduce elected health boards, put forward

13206-602: The development of a transport corridor for Europe, the Caucasus and Asia. Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan then offered him a job in his private office, as a European Union policy adviser and speechwriter. As part of this role, Clegg was in charge of the EC negotiating team on Chinese and Russian accession talks to the World Trade Organization . Clegg has written extensively, publishing and contributing to

13348-642: 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 her East Dunbartonshire constituency to the Scottish National Party's Amy 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. Deputy Leader Ed Davey and Party President Sal Brinton then jointly assumed

13490-542: The first time since 2015. A centrist to centre-left political party, the Liberal Democrats ideologically draw upon both liberalism and social 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 the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), and Liberal International . It calls for constitutional reform, including

13632-455: The former minister, Chris Huhne . The party's candidate, Mike Thornton , had been a local councillor for the party, and held the seat. In eighteen other by-elections held throughout the 2010 to 2015 Parliament, the party lost its deposit in 11; in the Rochester and Strood by-election held on 20 November 2014, it came fifth polling 349 votes or 0.9% of the total votes cast, the worst result in

13774-713: The history of the party. In the 2013 local elections , the Liberal Democrats lost over 100 council seats. In the 2014 local elections , they lost another 307 council seats and ten of their eleven seats in the European Parliament in the 2014 European elections . In the 2015 general election , the party lost 48 seats in the House of Commons, leaving them with only eight MPs. 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. Clegg then announced his resignation as party leader. The party lost over 400 council seats in

13916-556: The introduction of all-women shortlists in selection, but not implemented them. 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 regions of England . The party supported devolution to Scotland and Wales enacted by the Labour government under Tony Blair . The party has consistently supported electoral reform to produce more proportional results. On social issues,

14058-534: The late winter and spring which saw many politicians infected, the party's board initially pushed the leadership election back to May 2021. The decision was reversed in May 2020 to hold the leadership election in July 2020. On 27 August 2020, Ed Davey was elected as leader of the party, by a margin of almost 18,000 votes. On 13 September 2020, Daisy Cooper was announced as the party's new Deputy Leader. In September 2020, it

14200-449: The leaderships of Tim Farron , Vince Cable and Jo Swinson , the party was refocused as a pro-Europeanist party opposing Brexit . In the 2019 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. However, the party gained hundreds of seats on local councils under the leadership of Ed Davey , being especially successful in

14342-432: The minds of the public." The Lib Dems calls for devolution or home rule for Scotland and Wales were enacted by Blair's Labour government in the late 1990s. The 1993 conference also called for the introduction of a bill of rights into the British constitution. Its 2001 manifesto included a commitment to lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. In 2013, an internal pressure group in the party called Liberal Democrats for

14484-448: The party advocated continued membership of the European single market and a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement , the Liberal Democrats' vote share dropped 0.5% to 7.4%, its lowest percentage ever, but produced a net gain of four seats. Farron then resigned; in July 2017 Vince Cable was elected leader unopposed . He called for a second referendum on the UK's relationship with

14626-471: The party announced a plan to put £2 billion into education, including nursery places for under fives, while its 2005 manifesto included a commitment to use £1.5 billion to decrease class sizes in schools. In the 2000s, the party also pledged to abolish tuition fees for university students, 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. In 2004, it pledged to add £25

14768-530: The party as centre-left, though during the Cameron–Clegg coalition they were seen as centrist. On economic issues, the party has usually been positioned between the Conservatives and the Labour Party , though typically closer to the Labour Party. There is a degree of ideological diversity among members of the Liberal Democrats, with a wide range of opinions on most subjects. A key ideological influence on

14910-525: The party had taken "big knocks" due to a perception that the coalition government had returned to the Thatcherism of the 1980s. As part of the deal that formed the coalition, it was agreed to hold a referendum on the Alternative Vote , in which the Conservatives would campaign for First Past the Post and the Liberal Democrats for Alternative Vote . The referendum, held on 5 May 2011, resulted in First Past

15052-566: The party has advocated for the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union. The party supports liberal interventionism , and supported the war in Afghanistan , later opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq due to its lack of support from the United Nations . The party has also faced internal division over the issue of nuclear weapons . The party has a number of factions representing different strains of liberal thought. Although

15194-571: The party is Ed Davey . They are the third-largest party in the United Kingdom , with 72 members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons . They have 78 members of the House of Lords , four members of the Scottish Parliament , one member in the Welsh Senedd , and more than 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference , at which party policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents' rules,

15336-519: The party is a member of the Liberal International and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party , with its MEPs formerly affiliated to the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. The Liberal Party had existed in different forms for over 300 years. During the 19th and early 20th century, it had been one of the United Kingdom's two dominant political parties, along with

15478-493: The party is liberal and progressive. It has consistently supported LGBT rights and drug reform. The party is internationalist and pro-European. They have consistently supported policies of European integration, including long-term advocacy of the United Kingdom adopting the euro , though they have opposed the establishing of a European army . Both before and after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum ,

15620-432: The party polled well, with one poll showing the party with 20% (within 4% of Labour) as late as 28 October. Nonetheless, during the campaign period the party's fortunes dwindled, and leader Jo Swinson received negative reviews. 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,

15762-438: The party put forward plans for the introduction of fixed term parliaments , something it would later secure in the coalition government of 2010 to 2015. Also in 1993, it proposed state funding for political parties. The Liberal Democrats have long included a commitment to proportional representation in their manifestos. According to the New Statesman , this is the "one policy with which the Liberal Democrats are identified in

15904-583: The party underwent a period of consolidation, particularly on local councils. In the 1994 local elections , it came second, pushing the Conservatives into third place. In the 1994 European Parliament elections , it gained two Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). In 1993, the party was damaged by allegations of racism on the Liberal Democrat-controlled council in Tower Hamlets; it faced additional problems as its distinctive centrist niche

16046-523: 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. 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. Clegg later made

16188-764: The party's Youth and Student League put forward a motion calling for the abolition of the monarchy and the introduction of an elected head of state . The 2000 party conference produced a call for the 1701 Act of Settlement to be reformed so as to allow the heir to the throne to marry a Roman Catholic, while the party's 2001 manifesto called for the disestablishment of the Church of England. The party's endorsement of secularism dates back to 1990, with standing policy favouring total separation of church and state . 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

16330-495: The party's conference approved plans for a local income tax of 3.5 pence in the pound that would replace council tax ; the party believed that this would result in 70% of the population paying less tax. In 2006, the party abandoned its plans for a 50% tax on the highest earners, and also put forward plans to cut income tax but balance the books by increasing tax on air travel and introducing a carbon tax. Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967)

16472-500: The party's federal executive and federal policy committees. In 2001, Kennedy suspended the Joint Cabinet Committee with Labour. The media characterised him as "Inaction Man" and accused him of lacking a clear identity and political purpose; later criticism also focused on his alcoholism. In the 2001 general election , the party fielded 639 candidates and made a net gain of 6, bringing its total of seats to 52. Following

16614-448: 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

16756-463: The positions of acting co-leaders of the party. Brinton was at the end of the year (31 December 2019) replaced by Mark Pack as Party President and acting co-leader while Mike Dixon remains the party CEO. 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. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom in

16898-554: The power to force a by-election if their MP was found responsible for serious wrongdoing; and a slimming of government across the board. Clegg campaigned to cut spending on defence projects such as Eurofighter as well as the UK Trident programme . As regards public spending, at the party's 2009 conference in Bournemouth Clegg argued for "savage" spending cuts and said politicians need to treat voters "like grown ups" whilst accusing

17040-470: The principle of collective responsibility is maintained." The resignations happened not long after Michael Martin , the Speaker of the House of Commons , had on 26 February 2008 blocked calls by the Liberal Democrats for an "in or out" referendum on Britain's EU membership. The Speaker's authority was called into question when, led by Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats marched out of the House of Commons, calling

17182-409: The proposals by backbench Conservative 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. The Lib Dem Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne in 2011 announced plans for halving UK carbon emissions by 2025 as part of the "Green Deal" which

17324-519: The running of public services to parents, pupils and patients; and protecting the environment. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live on the morning after his election to the leadership, Clegg stated that he does not believe in God, but that he has "an immense amount of respect for people of faith ". In 2010, Clegg elaborated on this question, stating: "I was asked a question once in one of those questions where you're only allowed to answer 'yes' or 'no', and I

17466-643: The social liberals, represented by the Social Liberal Forum (often abbreviated to the SLF), are the majority, factions that advocate for more economically liberal positions include Liberal 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 minister Nick Clegg , who contributed to it, along with former Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable and incumbent leader Ed Davey . Additionally, there

17608-420: The start, it claimed 19 MPs, 3,500 local councillors, and 100,000 members. In its first leadership election, Paddy Ashdown defeated Alan Beith . 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. At

17750-429: The then Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam , announced his intention to stand down from the House of Commons. Clegg was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate. He took up a part-time teaching position in the politics department of the University of Sheffield , combining it with ongoing EU consultancy work with GPlus. He also gave a series of seminar lectures in the international relations Department of

17892-465: Was able to clarify "people were completely relaxed". Under Davey, the Liberal Democrats seized the traditional Conservative constituency of Chesham and Amersham in a by-election in which Sarah Green overturned a 16,000 majority in June 2021 and then repeated a similar feat in North Shropshire in December 2021 when Helen Morgan overturned a 23,000 majority. In the 2022 local elections ,

18034-745: Was active in the student theatre, acting in a production of The Normal Heart under the director Sam Mendes . He was also captain of his college's tennis team, and campaigned for the human rights organisation Survival International . Clegg spent the summer of 1989 as an office junior in Postipankki bank in Helsinki . It has been alleged that Clegg joined the Cambridge University Conservative Association between 1986 and 1987. Clegg has maintained he has "no recollection of that whatsoever". However, Conservative MP Greg Hands has

18176-589: Was announced on 18 December that he had won. Clegg was appointed to the Privy Council (PC) on 30 January 2008, and affirmed his membership on 12 March 2008. In his acceptance speech upon winning the leadership contest, Clegg declared himself to be "a liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing" and that he believes "Britain [is] a place of tolerance and pluralism ". He has stated that he feels "a profound antagonism for prejudice of all sorts". He declared his priorities as: defending civil liberties; devolving

18318-583: Was asked 'Do you believe in God?' As it happens I don't know whether God exists. I'm much more of an agnostic." Clegg resigned as the leader of the Liberal Democrats after the 2015 general election . He said the results were "immeasurably more crushing and unkind than he feared". He was succeeded by Tim Farron after a leadership election . In March 2008, GQ magazine ran with an interview conducted by Piers Morgan in which Clegg admitted to sleeping with "no more than 30" women. Senior Lib Dem MPs defended his comments; Lembit Öpik said it showed "you can be

18460-626: Was asked about his own expenses by Andrew Neil of the BBC. Clegg allegedly claimed the full amount permissible under the Additional Cost Allowance, including claims for food, gardening and redecorating his second home. The Telegraph also said Clegg claimed £80 for international call charges, a claim he said he would repay. Clegg aimed to modernise the Liberal Democrat Party at the same time as maintaining its traditions of political and philosophical liberalism . In 2011, he told

18602-501: Was credited with helping to significantly boost the Liberal Democrat poll rating in the region in the six months after his election. Clegg worked extensively during his time as an MEP to support the party in the region, not least in Chesterfield where Paul Holmes was elected as MP in 2001 . Clegg helped persuade Conservative MEP Bill Newton Dunn to defect to the Liberal Democrats, with Newton Dunn subsequently succeeding him as MEP for

18744-685: Was educated at Westminster School before going on to study at the University of Cambridge , University of Minnesota and College of Europe . He worked as a journalist for the Financial Times before becoming a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 1999. After his election to the House of Commons in 2005, Clegg served in a variety of leadership roles in the Liberal Democrats , most notably as spokesperson for Home Affairs , before being elected to succeed Menzies Campbell as party leader in 2007 . During his tenure as leader, Clegg said that

18886-473: Was in his late sixties; in October he resigned and Vince Cable became acting leader. In December 2007, Nick Clegg narrowly beat Chris Huhne to take the party's leadership. Clegg's reshuffle of the leadership team was seen by many as a shift to the right; under Clegg, the party moved away from the social democratic focus it displayed previously. It rebranded itself as a party that would cut rather than raise taxes and dropped its hard pro-EU position. In

19028-537: Was in the 2010 Liberal Democrat manifesto. 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. In June 2012, it was reported that membership of the party had fallen by around 20% since joining the coalition. In February 2013, the party won a by-election in Eastleigh , the Hampshire constituency that had previously been held by

19170-536: Was not popular with voters and faced a resurgent Conservative Party under new leader David Cameron ; in the May 2007 local elections , the party experienced a net loss of nearly 250 seats. In that year's Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) secured the largest vote and the Lib Dem/Labour coalition ended. Campbell was frustrated at the constant media focus on the fact that he

19312-508: 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. In the 2005 general election , the Lib Dems secured 62 seats, the most the Liberals had had since 1923. 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

19454-461: Was regarded by much of the media as front-runner in the leadership election . The BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson stated the election would be a two-horse race between Clegg and Chris Huhne who had stood against Campbell in the 2006 election. On Friday 19 October 2007, Clegg launched his bid to become leader of the Liberal Democrats. Clegg and Huhne clashed in the campaign over Trident but were largely in agreement on many other issues. It

19596-524: Was retained as the main Treasury spokesperson. Media commentators noted that the Clegg-Huhne-Cable triumvirate provided the Liberal Democrats with an effective political team for the coming years. On 5 March 2008, Clegg suffered a real test following the resignation of three of his front bench team. David Heath , Alistair Carmichael and Tim Farron had been told to abstain in the vote for a referendum on

19738-468: Was revealed by the party's new campaigning chief that the Liberal Democrats had started planning a four-year drive to woo "soft conservatives ". 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 under Boris Johnson . When Davey was asked by Andrew Marr about

19880-483: Was the first SDP leader, and Steel. The new alliance initially did well in opinion polls. 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 . At the 1983 general election , the Liberals gained five additional seats although the SDP lost many that they had previously inherited from Labour. After

20022-658: Was the worst election result for an established third party since the 1950s. Its prospects were buoyed after it won the 1990 Eastbourne by-election , followed by-election victories in Ribble Valley and Kincardine and Deeside . In the 1991 local elections it secured a net gain of 520 seats. 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. Between 1992 and 1997,

20164-408: Was threatened by the rise of Tony Blair and New Labour , a project which pushed Labour to the centre. At the 1997 general election , it fielded 639 candidates, securing 46 MPs, the greatest number that the Liberals had had since 1929. These were concentrated in Southwest England, Southwest London, and areas of Scotland. Although Blair's Labour won a landslide victory in 1997 and did not require

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