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
Liberal Party of Canada candidates in the 1968 Canadian federal election party in the 1940s and 1950s and was later a New Democratic Party parliamentarian in the House of Commons of Canada. Winch broke with his family's political background, and ran as a candidate of the Liberal Party in 1969. He was forty-five years old and had several years of experience as a senior magistrate and family court judge; it was his first bid for political office. He was endorsed by Larry Giovando, a former Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He received 12,897 votes (37.28%), finishing second against New Democratic Party leader Tommy Douglas. Liberal Party