Liberal Democrats facts for kids

Jo Swinson was elected as the leader of the party in July 2019 and left office five months later

Vince Cable led the party from July 2017 to July 2019.

Nick Clegg was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He was also the Deputy Prime Minister from May 2010 to May 2015.

The Liberal Democrats, often called the Lib Dems, are a political party in the United Kingdom. They promote liberal ideas, which means they focus on individual freedom and fairness. The party was formed on 2 March 1988.

It was created when two older parties joined together: the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. These two parties had already been working together for seven years before they officially merged.

The Liberal Democrats strongly support the European Union. They also care a lot about the environment. They want to see more renewable energy and less greenhouse gas emissions. They also believe in a different way of electing members to the House of Commons, called proportional representation. This system aims to make sure that the number of seats a party gets matches the number of votes they receive.

The party was part of a coalition government with the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2015. During this time, their former leader, Nick Clegg, was the Deputy Prime Minister. This partnership ended after the general election in May 2015.

What Do the Liberal Democrats Believe In?

The Liberal Democrats have several key beliefs and policies. Most members agree on these important points:

• They believe the House of Commons should be elected using proportional representation. This means that if a party gets 20% of the votes, they should get about 20% of the seats.
• They think that members of the House of Lords should be elected by the public, instead of being appointed.
• They want to increase the use of renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power. They also want to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions to protect the planet.
• They strongly believe that the United Kingdom should be a member of the European Union.

Who Has Led the Party?

Many people have led the Liberal Democrats since the party was formed. Here are some of the past leaders:

• Paddy Ashdown (July 1988 – August 1999)
• Charles Kennedy (August 1999 – January 2006)
• Menzies Campbell (January 2006 – October 2007)
• Vince Cable (October 2007 – December 2007)
• Nick Clegg (December 2007 – May 2015)
• Tim Farron (July 2015 – June 2017)
• Vince Cable (July 2017 – July 2019)
• Jo Swinson (July 2019 – December 2019)

If a leader's name has an asterisk (*), it means they were an interim leader. This means they temporarily took over the leadership role after the previous leader resigned.