Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from 1974 to 1979. She was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981 and, at the time of her retirement from politics, was a Liberal Democrat.
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Baroness Tonge is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park in London from 1997 to 2005. In June 2005 she was made a life peer as Baroness Tonge, of Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which entitled her to a seat in the House of Lords.
Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer PC is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010. A member of the Liberal Democrats, she was their Treasury Spokesperson from 2015 to 2017 and 2017 to 2019.
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg is a British media executive and former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017. An "Orange Book" liberal, he has been associated with both socially liberal and economically liberal policies. In 2018, Clegg became vice‑president of global affairs and communications at Facebook Inc, before being promoted in 2022 to president for global affairs.
Christopher John Rennard, Baron Rennard, is a British life peer in the House of Lords, appointed to the Liberal Democrats' benches in 1999. He was Director of Campaigns & Elections for the Liberal Democrats from 1989 to 2003, and Chief Executive of the party from 2003 to 2009.
Sir Daniel Grian Alexander is a former politician who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency from 2005 until the general election in May 2015. In his first parliamentary term (2005–2010), Alexander was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Work and Pensions (2007–2008), the Chief of Staff to party leader Nick Clegg, and Chair of the Liberal Democrat Manifesto Group (2007–2010).
Jennifer Elizabeth Randerson, Baroness Randerson is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is a former junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the Cameron–Clegg coalition. Prior to her peerage she was an Assembly Member for Cardiff Central from 1999 to 2011 when she served in the Welsh Labour-Lib Dem administration of the 2000–2003 Welsh Assembly Government.
Matthew Alan Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, is a British investment manager and member of the House of Lords, formerly sitting in Parliament as a Liberal Democrat.
The 2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the resignation of Sir Menzies Campbell as leader on 15 October 2007, after 19 months as leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom. Vincent Cable, the deputy leader of the parliamentary party, was acting leader until the conclusion of the leadership election. The result was announced on 18 December 2007 with Nick Clegg winning by a narrow margin of 1.2%.
The United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, also known as the UK-wide referendum on the Parliamentary voting system was held on Thursday 5 May 2011 in the United Kingdom (UK) to choose the method of electing MPs at subsequent general elections. It occurred as a provision of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement drawn up in 2010 and also indirectly in the aftermath of the 2009 expenses scandal. It operated under the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and was the first national referendum to be held under provisions laid out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general election on 6 May. It was the UK's first coalition government since the Churchill caretaker ministry in 1945.
The list that follows is the Liberal Democrats Frontbench Team/Shadow Cabinet led by Menzies Campbell from 2006 to 2007.
The list that follows is the Liberal Democrats Frontbench Team/Shadow Cabinet led by Vince Cable, who was acting leader between 15 October and 18 December 2007, following the resignation of Menzies Campbell and prior to the election of Nick Clegg.
Jonathan Oates, Baron Oates is a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords. A past chief of staff to the former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, Nick Clegg, he was previously the director of policy and communications at the Liberal Democrats.
Kathryn Jane Parminter, Baroness Parminter is a Liberal Democrat life peer, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.
The events surrounding the formation of the United Kingdom's government in 2010 took place between 7 May and 12 May 2010, following the 2010 general election, which failed to produce an overall majority for either of the country's two main political parties. The election, held on 6 May, resulted in the first hung parliament in the UK in 36 years, sparking a series of negotiations which would form the first coalition government since the Second World War.
Out4Marriage is a 'multi-platform' political campaign that was started on 8 May 2012 in response to the British Government's consultation concerning the legalisation of same-sex marriage in England and Wales. It centres on YouTube—and other social media—videos in which those filmed give their views on why they support marriage for same-sex individuals, with each video finishing with the tagline "And that's why I'm out for marriage. Are you?". Creators of the videos have included members of the public, Members of Parliament, peers and celebrities.
The 2015 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held on 16 July 2015 following the resignation of Nick Clegg as leader on 8 May 2015, after almost eight years as leader of the Liberal Democrats, following the party's poor performance at the 2015 general election.
British prime minister David Cameron reshuffled the Conservative members of his coalition government on 15 July 2014. The reshuffle, intended to strengthen his party's position in advance of the 2015 general election, had been long anticipated, as Cameron had maintained an unusually high level of stability amongst the senior ranks of his government, with only one prior reshuffle of significance, and many ministers having remained in place since their election in 2010. The reshuffle also featured the appointment of a new European Commissioner representing the United Kingdom, as the term of Lady Ashton was set to expire later in 2014.
Liberal Reform is a group of members of the British Liberal Democrats. Membership of the group is open to any Liberal Democrat member, and is free of charge. It was launched on 13 February 2012, and describes itself as a broadly centrist group that seeks to promote 'four-cornered liberalism' within the party. Each 'corner' consists respectively of economic, social, personal and political liberalism, mirroring the opening chapter of The Orange Book by David Laws. It states that it accepts that virtually all Liberal Democrats believe in four-cornered liberalism, but emphasises its belief that economic liberalism, consisting of the promotion of open markets, competition and free trade, "has to be a key component of modern liberalism". Liberal Reform organises a number of fringe events at the twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference.
