There have been ten leaders of the Liberal Party and its successor the Liberal Democrats since 1945 as follows. I have resisted the temptation to rank them 1 – 10, but my top three are revealed later. The roll of honour is as follows;
Clement Davies 1945 -56
A reluctant leader who led a depleted parliamentary party in a chamber dominated by Labour. He was credited with keeping organised Liberalism alive during one of our darkest periods.
Jo Grimond 1956 -67
A youthful breath of fresh air who oversaw a mini-revival with famous by-election victories at Torrington and Orpington. Ultimately his vision of a non-socialist progressive alternative to the Conservatives would falter with the return to power of Labour under Harold Wilson.
Jeremy Thorpe 1967 -76
Flamboyant and energetic. At the February 1974, General Election with the country polarised and the powerful miners on strike led the party to an amazing 20% of the vote but only 14 seats due to FPTP. Eventually, scandal affecting his personal life would force his resignation.
David Steel 1976 -88
Pitched into battle very quickly when the struggling Labour government sought a deal to stay in office through the Lib/Lab pact. David went on to play a leading role in forming the alliance with the SDP and stepped down when the two parties merged.
Paddy Ashdown 1988 -99
The first leader of the Liberal Democrats revived fortunes after merger dramas and grew the parliamentary party by rigid targeting. The party got close to New Labour but was unable to achieve the coveted electoral reform from a treacherous Tony Blair.
Charles Kennedy 1999-06
Built on Ashdown’s targeting strategy and led the opposition to the Iraq War. Charles achieved a post-war record of 63 MPs in the 2005 General Election but had to step down soon after due to a serious health problem.
Ming Campbell 2006 -07
Steadied the ship (as it were), stepping up from the deputy leadership. Ultimately, he was a victim of ageism in a period when the leaders of the Tories and Labour parties were considerably younger.
Nick Clegg 2007-15
The original ‘Orange Booker’ who won the 2010 General Election debates and took the party into government. Pledge on university tuition fees came back to bite him with the electorate punishing us at the polls. Nick stepped down after a heavy defeat in 2015.
Tim Farron 2015-17
Promised to ‘March his troops toward the sound of gunfire’ and succeeded in overseeing a minor recovery in the 2017 General Election. Dogged by questions over his attitude to gay sex which eventually led him to step down.
Vince Cable 2017 to date
Stepped into the breach having been at the top of the party for a number of years. Vince is a safe pair of hands who has plans to open up our ranks to registered supporters and widen the franchise for future leadership elections. An elder statesman who is widely respected across the political spectrum.
Whatever you think of them as individuals all of these men were or are conviction politicians who chose Liberalism over careerism. My top three and it was a difficult choice are:
Charles Kennedy, Jo Grimmond and Clement Davies.
Who are yours?
* David is a member of Horsham and Crawley Liberal Democrats