The Liberal Party was formally established in 1859 and existed until merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to create the Liberal Democrats.
Leadership selection 1859–1969 Before the adoption of the 1969 constitution of the party, the party was led by the prime minister or the most recent politically active prime minister from the party. In the absence of one of these, the leaders in the House of Lords and House of Commons were of equal status and jointly led the party.
When a new leader was required, with the party in government, the monarch selected him by appointing someone as prime minister. However, in 1916 David Lloyd George, with the support of a minority of the Liberal MPs, formed a coalition government. H. H. Asquith, the former prime minister, remained as Liberal Party leader. Asquith retained the leadership until his health failed in 1926, including periods when he was not in the Commons or was a peer. He was the last leader of the whole party under the original arrangements for leadership.
When no overall party leader was a member of a House and a new leader was required in opposition, a leader emerged and was approved by party members in that House. From 1919 onward, the Chairman of the Liberal Parliamentary Party, elected by MPs, functioned as the leader in the House of Commons. This required all the leaders after Asquith to retain their seat in order to continue as leader. After 1926 the leader in the House of Commons was clearly pre-eminent over the leader in the House of Lords.
In 1931 Lloyd George was leader in the House of Commons, but he was ill when negotiations led to the formation of the National Government. Sir Herbert Samuel, who had been the deputy leader, was effectively the leader of the mainstream party from the time when he entered the government. This was made formal after the 1931 general election.
Leadership selection 1969–1988 Under the original provisions of the 1969 party constitution, the MPs elected one of their number to be Leader of the Liberal Party. This was the same system as that used for the last MP only contested leadership election in 1967, when Jeremy Thorpe became leader after a vote split between three candidates of 6-3-3.
As the number of Liberal MPs was very small (between 6 and 14 during the period the MPs retained the sole power of election) party members argued for a wider franchise. Prior to the leadership election of 1976, all members were given a vote in an electoral college based on allocating electoral votes to constituency associations (which were then divided proportionately to the votes of the members of the association). The candidates were required to be members of the House of Commons, nominated by a quarter of the MPs. The electoral college system was only used once, when David Steel was elected leader.
Lists of Liberal Party leaders
Leaders of the Liberal Party Name Portrait Constituency/Title Took office Left officePrime MinisterHenry John Temple,3rd Viscount PalmerstonPalmerston was appointed Prime Minister a few days after the meeting at Willis's Rooms on 6 June 1859, which formally created the Liberal Party. He was an Irish peer and a member of the House of Commons. He died in office. Tiverton12 June 185918 October 1865 himselfJohn Russell,1st Earl Russell1st Earl Russell29 October 186525 December 1867Russell did not formally retire, but indicated to Gladstone at Christmas 1867 his decision to abstain from taking office again, after which Gladstone was recognized as the overall leader of the party and led it on to the 1868 general election. See: himself 1865–66Earl of Derby 1866–68 William Ewart GladstoneGreenwich25 December 18673 February 1875 Benjamin Disraeli 1868 himself 1868–74Benjamin Disraeli 1874–80VacantGladstone retired from the leadership in 1875, when the party was in opposition. The overall leadership of the party then became vacant until Gladstone was again appointed Prime Minister.Leader of Lords 2nd Earl GranvilleLeader of Commons Marquess of Hartington 3 February 1875 23 April 1880 William Ewart GladstoneMidlothian23 April 18802 March 1894 himself 1880–85 Marquess of Salisbury 1885–86 himself 1886 Marquess of Salisbury 1886–92 himself 1892–94Archibald Primrose,5th Earl of Rosebery5th Earl of Rosebery5 March 18946 October 1896 himself 1894–95Marquess of Salisbury 1895–1902VacantRosebery resigned the leadership when the party was in opposition. The overall leadership of the party became vacant until the formation of the next Liberal government in 1905.Leader of Lords 1st Earl of Kimberley 1897–1902; 5th Earl Spencer 1902–05Leader of Commons William Vernon Harcourt 1896–98; Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1898–19056 October 18963 December 1905 Arthur Balfour 1902–05Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Stirling Burghs5 December 19053 April 1908 himselfH. H. AsquithEast Fife5 April 190825 November 1918 himself 1908–16David Lloyd George 1916–22Sir Donald MacleanMaclean was elected Chairman of the Liberal Parliamentary Party. In the absence from Parliament of Asquith, who had lost his seat in the 1918 general election, he acted as leader of the Liberal MPs opposed to the Lloyd George coalition. Although this was a smaller group than the Parliamentary Labour Party, Maclean also performed the functions of Leader of the Opposition.(interim leader) Peebles and South Midlothian3 February 191912 February 1920H. H. AsquithPaisley (1920–1924);1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1925–1926)12 February 192015 October 1926 Bonar Law 1922–23 Stanley Baldwin 1923–24 Ramsay MacDonald 1924Stanley Baldwin 1924–29Leaders of the Liberal Party in the House of CommonsAsquith resigned the leadership when the party was in opposition. The overall leadership of the party became vacant until the adoption of the 1969 party constitution.David Lloyd GeorgeLloyd George was elected Chairman of the Liberal Parliamentary Party. In the absence from Parliament of Asquith he acted as leader of the Liberal MPs. When Asquith became a peer in 1925, Lloyd George became leader in the House of Commons. When Asquith retired then from 14 October 1926, Lloyd George became the leading figure in the party.Caernarvon Boroughs2 December 19247 October 1931Ramsay MacDonald 1929–35Sir Herbert SamuelSamuel deputised for the ill Lloyd George during the summer of 1931 and took office in the National Government on 24 August 1931. Following Lloyd George's move to complete opposition to the National Government in October, Samuel effectively acted as party leader. However he did not receive the formal title until after the 1931 general election. He lost his seat in the 1935 general election. Darwen4 November 193125 October 1935Sir Archibald Sinclair, BtSinclair lost his seat in the 1945 general election.Caithness and Sutherland26 November 193526 July 1945 Stanley Baldwin 1935–37 Neville Chamberlain 1937–40 Winston Churchill 1940–45Clement DaviesMontgomeryshire2 August 19455 November 1956 Clement Attlee 1945–51 Winston Churchill 1951–55Anthony Eden 1955–57Jo GrimondOrkney and Shetland5 November 195617 January 1967 Harold Macmillan 1957–63 Alec Douglas-Home 1963–64Harold Wilson 1964–70Jeremy ThorpeNorth Devon18 January 19671969Leaders of the Liberal Party elected under the 1969 ConstitutionThorpe was the first Leader of the Liberal Party under the 1969 constitution.Jeremy ThorpeNorth Devon196910 May 1976 Edward Heath 1970–74 Harold Wilson 1974–76Jo GrimondGrimond was appointed interim leader by the parliamentary party, between the resignation of Thorpe and the election of Steel.(interim leader) Orkney and Shetland12 May 19767 July 1976James Callaghan 1976–79David SteelSteel was the last party leader. He became one of the joint interim leaders of the Liberal Democrats on the merger in 1988.Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (1967–1983);Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (1983–1988)7 July 19763 March 1988 Margaret Thatcher 1979–90
Leaders of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons NameConstituencyTook officeLeft officeHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonTiverton12 June 185918 October 1865William Ewart GladstoneGreenwich29 October 18653 February 1875Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of HartingtonRadnor3 February 187523 April 1880William Ewart GladstoneMidlothian23 April 18802 March 1894Sir William HarcourtDerby (1894–1895);West Monmouthshire (1895–1898)5 March 189414 December 1898Sir Henry Campbell-BannermanStirling Burghs6 February 18993 April 1908H. H. AsquithAsquith became Prime Minister on 5 April although British Political Facts considers him to be leader from 30 April 1908. He lost his seat in the 1918 United Kingdom general election.East Fife5 April 190825 November 1918Sir Donald MacleanPeebles and South Midlothian3 February 191912 February 1920H. H. AsquithAsquith was elected in a by-election and sat until he lost his seat in the 1924 United Kingdom general election.Paisley12 February 19209 October 1924David Lloyd GeorgeCaernarvon Boroughs2 December 19247 October 1931Sir Herbert SamuelDarwen4 November 193125 October 1935Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th BaronetCaithness and Sutherland26 November 193515 June 1945Clement DaviesMontgomeryshire2 August 19455 November 1956Jo GrimondOrkney and Shetland5 November 195617 January 1967Jeremy ThorpeNorth Devon18 January 196710 May 1976Jo GrimondOrkney and Shetland12 May 19767 July 1976David SteelRoxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (1967–1983);Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (1983–1988)7 July 19763 March 1988
Leaders of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords NameTook officeLeft officeGranville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville18591865John Russell, 1st Earl Russell18651868Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville18681891John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley18911894Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery18941896John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley18971902John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer19021905George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon19051908Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Earl of Crewe(Marquess of Crewe from 1911)19081923Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon19231924William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp19241931Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading19311935Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe19361944Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel19441955Philip Rea, 2nd Baron Rea19551967Frank Byers, Baron Byers19671984Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear19841988
Notes
See also List of United Kingdom Whig and allied party leaders, 1801–1859 Leader of the Liberal Democrats Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords Liberalism in the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom
References David Butler and Gareth Butler, Twentieth-Century British Political Facts 1900–2000 (8th edition). Macmillan, 2000. . John Campbell, Lloyd George: The Goat in the Wilderness 1922–1931. Jonathan Cape, 1977. . Chris Cook, A Short History of the Liberal Party, 1900–2001 (6th edition). Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002. . Roy Douglas, History of the Liberal Party 1895–1970. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1971. . Roy Jenkins, Asquith. Collins, (paperback edition) 1988. . Roy Jenkins, Gladstone. Macmillan, 1995. . Jonathan Parry, The Rise and Fall of Liberal Government in Victorian Britain. Yale, 1993..
External links Liberal Democrat History Group