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Lord Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leader of the Liberal Party, from 1976 to 1988. His tenure spanned the duration of the alliance with the Social Democratic Party, which began in 1981 and concluded with the formation of the Liberal Democrats in 1988. Steel served as a Member of the UK Parliament for 32 years, from 1965 to 1997, and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2003, during which time he was the parliament's Presiding Officer. He was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer from 1997 to 2020. Steel resigned from the House of Lords after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused him of an "abdication of responsibility" over his failure to investigate allegations of child sex abuse against the former Liberal MP Sir Cyril ...
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The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Australia. ''Right'' in this context is an adverb meaning 'very' or 'fully'. Grammatically, ''The Right Honourable'' is an adjectival phrase which gives information about a person. As such, it is not considered correct to apply it in direct address, nor to use it on its own as a title in place of a name; but rather it is used in the Grammatical person, third person along with a name or noun to be modified. ''Right'' may be abbreviated to ''Rt'', and ''Honourable'' to ''Hon.'', or both. ''The'' is sometimes dropped in written abbreviated form, but is ...
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Gruffydd Evans
David Thomas Gruffydd Evans, Baron Evans of Claughton, DL (9 February 1928 – 22 March 1992) was a British solicitor and Liberal politician. As Lord Evans, held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside. He was created a life peer as Baron Evans of Claughton, of Claughton in the County of Merseyside, on 24 April 1978. Evans was born in Birkenhead. His family were Welsh-speaking, originally from Anglesey. He studied at Birkenhead School and later at Liverpool University. Over a period he served on Birkenhead County Borough Council, Wirral Borough Council and finally Merseyside County Council, leading the Liberal group. He tried twice, in 1964 and 1966, to win a parliamentary seat but was unsuccessful. As President of the Liberal Party in 1977-78, he played an important role in dealing with the fall-out from the controversy relating to the activities of former party leader Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British polit ...
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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 Old Bailey on charges of conspiracy and incitement to murder his ex-boyfriend Norman Scott, a former model. Thorpe was acquitted on all charges, but the case, and the furore surrounding it, ended his political career. Thorpe was the son and grandson of Conservative MPs, but decided to align with the small and ailing Liberal Party. After studying Law at Oxford University he became one of the Liberals' brightest stars in the 1950s. He entered Parliament at the age of 30, rapidly made his mark, and was elected party leader in 1967. After an uncertain start during which the party lost ground, Thorpe capitalised on the growing unpopularity of the Conservative and Labour parties to lead the Liberals through a period of electoral success. This cu ...
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Chief Whip Of The Liberal Democrats
The Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appointed in the party, a member of the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords, also help to organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. On some occasions, the party leadership may allow MP's to have a free vote based on their own conscience rather than party policy, of which the chief whip is not required to direct votes. This is a list of people who have served as Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and of its predecessor parties. The Liberal Party was formed in 1859, but through its roots in the Whig Party dates back to the late 1670s. In 1988, the Liberals merged with the Social Democratic Party, formed by dissident Labour Party members in 1981, to create the Libera ...
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Liberal Democrats (UK)
The Liberal Democrats, colloquially known as the Lib Dems, are a Liberalism, liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based at Liberal Democrat Headquarters (UK), Liberal Democrat Headquarters, in Westminster, and the leader is Ed Davey. They are the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom, party in the United Kingdom, with 72 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. They have members of the House of Lords, 5 in the Scottish Parliament, 1 in the Welsh Senedd, and more than 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice yearly Liberal Democrat Conference, at which policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents, the Lib Dems Liberal Democrat Conference#All-member Conference voting system, grant all members attending Conference the right to vote on policy, under a one member, one vote#United Kingdom, one member, one vote system. The p ...
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Jo Grimond
Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a long-term supporter of Scottish home rule; and, during his leadership, he successfully advocated for the Liberal Party to support the abolition of Britain's nuclear arsenal. Early life Grimond was born in St Andrews, Fife, to jute manufacturer Joseph Bowman Grimond and Helen Lydia, née Richardson. He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford. He was at school and university with, among others, cricket commentator Brian Johnston and playwright William Douglas-Home. He received a first-class honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He later became a barrister, being admitted to the bar as a member of Middle Temple. Member of Parliament After serving as a major in World War II, he was selected by the Liberal Party to contest Ork ...
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Adrian Slade
Adrian Carnegie Slade (25 May 1936 – 24 January 2025) was a British Liberal and Liberal Democrat politician and advertising agency founder. Life and career Born in 1936 to George Penkivil Slade (a kinsman of Sir Benjamin Slade), he was educated at Eton College before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he became President of the Footlights, and famously recruited Peter Cook. Slade was a Liberal Party parliamentary candidate in the 1960s and 1970s, contesting Putney in 1966, February 1974 and October 1974. He stood as an SDP–Liberal Alliance candidate for Wimbledon in 1987. He scored an upset electoral victory in the 1981 elections to the Greater London Council (GLC), winning the Richmond seat from the Conservative Edward Leigh by just 115 votes. He became Leader of the SDP–Liberal Alliance group on the GLC, and remained so until the GLC's dissolution in 1986. He was the last President of the Liberal Party, from 1987 to 1988, conducting its merge ...
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Des Wilson
Des Wilson (born 5 March 1941) is a New Zealand-born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and poker player. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an activist in, and President of, the British Liberal Party. Background From a working-class family in New Zealand, Wilson attended Waitaki Boys' High School, leaving at 15 to become a reporter on the local newspaper. After periods working for the ''Otago Daily Times'' and the '' Evening Star'' in Dunedin, and the ''Melbourne Star'' in Melbourne, Australia, Wilson moved to the United Kingdom in 1960 at the age of 19. Over the next few years he took a range of jobs before becoming a journalist. He became the founding director of the housing charity Shelter in 1966, and then became a columnist for ''The Observer'' newspaper. He also spent two years as director of public affairs for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He edited the magazine ''S ...
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David Penhaligon
David Charles Penhaligon (6 June 1944 – 22 December 1986) was a British politician from Cornwall who was Liberal Member of Parliament for Truro from October 1974 until his death in 1986. He was a popular figure in all parties, and was seen by many as a potential future front-runner for the party leadership until his sudden death in a traffic collision. Background Penhaligon was born on D-Day at Truro Nursing Home and was brought up in Truro. He was a cousin of actress Susan Penhaligon. He attended Truro School, and then Cornwall Technical College where he studied mechanical engineering. Penhaligon worked for Holman Brothers in Camborne as a research and development engineer working on rock drilling. As an interesting anecdote, he was also a part-time DJ in Truro, where he once encountered 14 year old Roger Taylor, subsequently the Queen drummer. This happened at a musical event, that he compered in Truro City Hall, during 1964. By 1973 he had qualified as a Chartered Mec ...
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Alan Watson, Baron Watson Of Richmond
Alan John Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond (born 3 February 1941) is a UK-based broadcaster, Liberal Democrat politician and leadership communications consultant. Early life and education Lord Watson of Richmond is the son of the Rev. John William Watson and Edna Mary Peters. He was educated at the Diocesan College, Cape Town in South Africa and Kingswood School in Bath. He was an Open Scholar in history at Jesus College, Cambridge 1959, a State Scholar 1959 and was awarded an MA in 1963. He was the Vice-President of the Cambridge Union. Watson's German-born wife Karen is an artist: they have two sons, Stephen and Martin. Career Broadcasting Watson joined the BBC after graduating from Cambridge University in 1963, and later became a regular presenter for '' The Money Programme'' on BBC Two and ''Panorama'' on BBC One. He also reported on London Weekend Television, Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, and wrote and presented award-winning documentaries over many years. H ...
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Geoff Tordoff
Geoffrey Johnson Tordoff, Baron Tordoff (11 October 1928 – 22 June 2019) was a British businessman and politician. Biography The son of Stanley Acomb Tordoff, he was educated at Manchester Grammar School and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Tordoff worked for Shell from 1950 to 1983, first as marketing executive of Shell Chemicals, then as public affairs manager for Shell UK. Between 1986 and 1992 he was Honorary President of the British Youth Council. From 1990 to 1994 he was chair of the Middle East Committee of the Refugee Council. He was a member of the Press Complaints Commission between 1995 and 2002. As a Liberal Party candidate, Tordoff contested Northwich in the 1964 general election and Knutsford in the 1966 general election and 1970 general election. On 11 May 1981 he was created a life peer as Baron Tordoff, of Knutsford in the County of Cheshire and sat in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat Several political parties from ...
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John Griffiths (Liberal Politician)
John Charles Griffiths (born 19 April 1934) is a former British Liberal Party politician, author and media entrepreneur. Griffiths worked for Thomson Newspapers and the BBC while becoming active in the Liberal Party.John Griffiths, Esq Authorised Biography
, Debrett's People of Today
Chairman of the National League of Young Liberals.
, Asthma UK
He stood unsuccessfully in at the
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