1967 Liberal Party (UK) leadership election 1967 Liberal Party (UK) leadership election The 1967 Liberal Party leadership election was called following the resignation of Jo Grimond, in the wake of disappointing results in the 1966 general election. There were three candidates (Jeremy Thorpe, Emlyn Hooson and Eric Lubbock), who were elected by a ballot of the Liberal Parliamentary Party using Alternative Vote. Jeremy Thorpe secured the most votes in the first round, but did not win overall, as the rules said that he needed to win more than half of votes cast. Both Hooson and Lubbock's second preferences voted for one another, cancelling one another out,
Jeremy Thorpe that, Thorpe looked elsewhere, in particular to Devon and Cornwall, where the party had long-standing traditions and had polled respectably in 1950 and 1951. In these elections Thorpe had assisted the Liberal candidate for North Cornwall, Dingle Foot, whose agent recommended him to the neighbouring North Devon constituency. The Torrington local party was also anxious to adopt Thorpe as their candidate, while Foot saw him as a possible successor in North Cornwall. Thorpe chose to fight North Devon, a seat once held by the Liberals although, in 1951, the party had finished in third place behind Conservative and Labour, with