Liberal Democrats (UK)

The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a social liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the short lived Social Democratic Party (the two parties had already been in an alliance for some years).

Leaders of the Liberal Democrats, 1988-Present

• David Steel and Robert Maclennan 1988 (interim)
• Paddy Ashdown 1988-1999
• Charles Kennedy 1999-present