The 1976 Liberal Party leadership election was called following the resignation of

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...

in the wake of allegations which would eventually lead to Thorpe's trial and acquittal for conspiracy to murder in 1979.

Background

There were two candidates,

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

and John Pardoe, who were elected by a ballot of an electoral college made up of representatives of the various constituency associations, with their vote "weighted" by the strength of the Liberal vote at the previous general election. This electoral system was devised by

Michael Steed Michael Steed is a British psephologist, political scientist, broadcaster, activist and Liberal Democrat politician. He was born in 1940 in Kent, where his father was a farmer. He has written extensively on political parties and elections. Educ ...

, and this election proved to be the only time it was ever used to elect a Liberal leader. The election was won by

, who served as leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

until merger with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SDP) in 1988, forming the Liberal Democrats. David Steel later served as interim leader of the Liberal Democrats (jointly with

Bob Maclennan Robert Adam Ross Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart, (26 June 1936 – 18 January 2020) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and life peer. He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), serving during the negotiations th ...

of the SDP) for the duration of the 1988 leadership election which eventually elected

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internati ...

as the new party's first permanent leader.

Results

References

* Political party leadership elections in the United Kingdom 1976 elections in the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) Liberal Party leadership election {{UK-election-stub