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
Senior Whip of the Liberal Party Senior Whip of the Liberal Party The Liberal Party's Senior Whip was a political post with the task of administering the "whipping in" system attempting to ensure that party MPs attend and vote according to the party leadership's wishes. All Liberal whips were members of the House of Representatives with none coming from the Legislative Council. The position held high esteem in the Liberal caucus and it was not uncommon for whips to move in to higher positions later on. Two (William MacDonald and George Forbes) would later serve as party leader. Forbes also served as Prime Minister from 1930