Rennard announced that he would be standing down as chief executive of the Liberal Democrats in May 2009. He indicated that he had discussed standing down some time earlier with the party leader, Nick Clegg, and that this was for family and health reasons, saying that he had "struggled to maintain good diabetic control with the rigours of a very demanding lifestyle". Clegg subsequently conceded that sexual harassment allegations against Rennard from multiple women also contributed to Rennard's resignation, stating that "He left on health grounds but of course the issues of his inappropriate behaviour were in the background."