Leader of the Liberal Party (UK) election) party members argued for a wider franchise. Before the leadership election of 1976, all members were given a vote in an electoral college based on allocating electoral votes to constituency associations (which were then divided proportionately to the votes of the members of the association). The candidates were required to be members of the House of Commons, nominated by a quarter of the MPs. The electoral college system was only used once, when David Steel was elected leader. Leader of the Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was formally established in 1859 and existed until merging with the Social
Alberta Liberal Party from 5 seats to 1; Swann became the party's sole MLA. In the leadership election of 2017, lawyer and former Calgary-Buffalo candidate David Khan received 54.8% of the votes, defeating one rival to become the permanent Liberal leader. He is the first openly LGBT leader of a political party in Alberta. The Alberta Liberal Party has a long heritage of adhering to liberalism, in both the classical sense and in terms of modern Liberalism (see social liberalism). The party is a centrist party that is focused on creating the conditions for a strong economy, social progressiveness, and safeguarding the environment.