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
Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) since their formation: 1979, 1993, 1997 and 2018. The 1970 election marked the beginning of democratic proportional representation (one vote, one value), which ended decades of pro-rural electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander. The "Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division)" was formed in 1974 as a reorganisation and rebranding of the Liberal and Country League (LCL). Bruce Eastick, the last leader of the LCL, became the first leader of the new party. The LCL was preceded by the Liberal Federation (1923–1932) and the Liberal Union (1910–1923) with the latter created from a tri-merger between the Liberal and Democratic Union