Jeremy Thorpe after discovery by the "Daily Mail". Bessell gave muddled accounts of his involvement with Scott, but insisted that his former chief was innocent of any wrongdoing. On 16 March 1976 Newton's trial began at Exeter Crown Court, where Scott repeated his allegations against Thorpe despite the efforts of the prosecution's lawyers to silence him. Newton was found guilty and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, but did not incriminate Thorpe. The erosion of public support for the Liberal Party continued with several poor by-election results in March, which the former leader Grimond attributed to increasing lack of confidence in Thorpe. On
Women in Canadian politics however, Grey was considered only an acting Leader of the Opposition. Three other women have served as leaders of political parties in the House of Commons: Alexa McDonough, who succeeded McLaughlin as leader of the New Democratic Party in 1995; Elsie Wayne, who served as interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives in 1998; and Elizabeth May, who entered the House of Commons in the 2011 election as the leader and first elected MP of the Green Party. Two smaller political parties which currently do not hold any seats in the House of Commons are also led by women: This dearth