Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats British political party created in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal party with the Social Democratic party ; the party was initially called the Social and Liberal Democratic party. The Social Democratic party, which was formed in 1981 by politically centrist members of the Labour party , joined with the Liberals in 1981 in an electoral alliance, and in 1983 they won 23 seats in the House of Commons. In 1987 the alliance won 22 seats, and the next year the parties merged. In the 2001 and 2005 parliamentary elections the Liberal Democrats won 52 and 62 seats respectively. The 2005 result was the largest number won by the group since the predecessor Liberals gained 158 seats in 1924. Nonetheless, the party remains a minor party in British politics, its centrist position threatened by Tony Blair 's movement of the Labour party away from socialist positions in the 1990s. Nick Clegg has been party leader since Dec., 2007.

Liberal Democrats (LD) (officially Social and Liberal Democrats) British political party formed in March 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Its first leader (1988–99) was Paddy Ashdown. In the 1998 elections, it returned 20 MPs. The smallest of the three main political parties, it vigorously campaigned for proportional representation (PR). In the 1997 and 2001 general elections, they returned 46 MPs and 52 MPs respectively. Charles Kennedy succeeded Ashdown in 1999.

Liberal Democrats British political party founded in 1988 from the merging of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Liberal Party, following the disappointing performance of the two parties' alliance at the 1987 general election. The increasing popularity of party leader Paddy Ashdown enabled the Liberal Democrats to recoup much of the support that had been lost. The party, with a strong commitment to Europe, won 46 seats at the general election of 1997.