British Liberal Democrats
|
Liberal Democrats
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Tim Farron |
| President | Baroness Brinton |
| Lords Leader | Lord Newby |
| Founded | 3 March 1988 |
| Merger of |
Liberal Party Social Democratic Party |
| Headquarters | 8–10 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AE |
| Youth wing | Young Liberals |
| Membership (2017) |
 100,000 |
| Ideology |
Liberalism Social liberalism Classical liberalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre to Centre-left |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| European Parliament group | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| Colours | Amber (Yellow/Orange) |
| House of Commons |
9 / 650
|
| House of Lords |
102 / 802
|
| European Parliament |
1 / 73
|
| London Assembly |
1 / 25
|
| Scottish Parliament |
5 / 129
|
| Welsh Assembly |
1 / 60
|
| Local government |
1,859 / 20,690
|
| Directly-elected Mayors |
2 / 17
|
|
Devolved Seats
|
|
|---|---|
| London Assembly |
1 / 25
|
| Scottish Parliament |
5 / 129
|
| Welsh Assembly |
1 / 60
|
The Liberal Democrats (often referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom.
The party was formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a splinter group from the Labour Party. The two parties had formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance for the previous seven years.
At the 2010 general election, led by Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats won 57 seats, making them the third-largest party in the House of Commons, behind the Conservatives with 306 and Labour with 258. With no party having an overall majority, the Lib Dems agreed to join a coalition government with the Conservatives, with Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister and other party members taking up ministerial positions. At the 2015 general election, the party was reduced to eight MPs (which later became nine, following the Richmond Park by-election). Consequently, Clegg resigned as leader and was replaced by Tim Farron, who was elected in the leadership election.
The Liberal Democrats were formed on 3 March 1988 by a merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party, which had formed a pact nearly seven years earlier as the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The Liberal Party, founded in 1859, were descended from the Whigs, Radicals and Peelites, while the SDP were a party created in 1982 by former Labour members, MPs and cabinet ministers, but also gained defections from Conservatives.
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