1976 Liberal Party leadership election

August 2019 1976 Liberal Party leadership election presidential no 1967 Liberal Party leadership election 1967 1988 Social and Liberal Democrats leadership election 1988 (SLD) 7 July 1976 File:David Steel 1985 (cropped).jpg 160x160px David Steel ffd700 12,541 64.1% No image.svg 100x100px John Pardoe ffd700 7,032 35.9% Leader Jeremy Thorpe David Steel The 1976 Liberal Party leadership election was called following the resignation of Jeremy Thorpe in the wake of allegations which would eventually lead to Thorpe's trial and acquittal for conspiracy to murder in 1979. Background There were two candidates, David Steel and John Pardoe, who were elected by a ballot of an electoral college made up of representatives of the various constituency associations, with their vote "weighted" by the strength of the Liberal vote at the previous general election. This electoral system was devised by Michael Steed, and this election proved to be 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. Results CandidateVotes% David Steel 12,541 64.1 John Pardoe 7,032 35.9 References David Boothroyd http://www.election.demon.co.uk/libleaders.html Liberal Party Leaders 2006-01-16 12 January 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060112011529/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/libleaders.html dead expanded Category:1976 elections in the United Kingdom Category:Liberal Party (UK) leadership elections Liberal Party leadership election