1976 Liberal Party (UK) leadership election the only time it was ever used to elect a Liberal leader. The election was won by David Steel, who served as leader of the Liberal Party until merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1988, forming the Liberal Democrats. David Steel later served as interim leader of the Liberal Democrats (jointly with Bob Maclennan of the SDP) for the duration of the 1988 leadership election which eventually elected Paddy Ashdown as the new party's first permanent leader. 1976 Liberal Party (UK) leadership election The 1976 Liberal Party (UK) leadership election was called following the resignation of Jeremy Thorpe
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