Talk:Leader of the Liberal Democrats

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.

Biography: Politics and Government

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
	This article is supported by the politics and government work group.

Politics of the United Kingdom High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics of the United Kingdom, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Politics of the United Kingdom on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Politics of the United KingdomWikipedia:WikiProject Politics of the United KingdomTemplate:WikiProject Politics of the United KingdomPolitics of the United Kingdom articles
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Deputy Leader[edit]

Needs to be updated —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.214.127.117 (talk) 16:27, 11 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Cable[edit]

Should Vince Cable really be in this list, given a number, as he wasn't an actual leader? --William Quill (talk) 15:04, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

My view, when I first set up this list, was that interim leaders should be included. As long as it is made clear that the person was an interim leader, then a casual observer can see who was leading or acting as leader at any given date. I suppose an alternative would be to have two tables, one for elected leaders and another for those who carried out the job on an interim basis whem the leadership was vacant. --Gary J (talk) 15:23, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd sugguest leaving Cable in the list, unnumbered and perhaps in italics. --William Quill (talk) 16:15, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That seems a sensible compromise. --Gary J (talk) 16:19, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dates[edit]

Liberal Democrats states the merged party didn't come into existence until March 3 1988 - should we not use that date for Steel and Maclennan? It feels odd to be using dates from the time of negotiations (I presume the date for Steel is the all member ballot result, which wasn't actually the legal instrument in its own right), especially since that might technically make David Owen eligible for the list. Timrollpickering (talk) 23:48, 31 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Leadership after 8 May 2015[edit]

Nick Clegg's letter to party members refers to an "intention to resign", not that he has actually resigned. I would take that to mean that Mr Clegg will continue as leader until the leadership election is completed. In any event as the deputy leadership is vacant, following Sir Malcolm Bruce's retirement, there ois no one else who could be interim leader of the party. --Gary J (talk) 15:58, 11 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Requested move[edit]

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: page moved. Propaniac (talk) 17:16, 9 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

List of United Kingdom Liberal Democrat leaders → List of leaders of the Liberal Democrats — There is only one party known as the Liberal Democrats, whereas many political parties worldwide are known as the Liberal Democratic Party, both of which are shortened to "Liberal Democrat". Using this formulation removes the ambiguity that makes it necessary to have "United Kingdom" as part of the title. 84.92.117.93 (talk) 16:48, 30 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Names[edit]

It seems bizarre to use formal titles for former leaders, when they are far better known by their common names. It makes Wikipedia less accessible to people who do not already know who got which title, and it smacks of a needless snobbery. DuncanHill (talk) 22:32, 8 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I agree; also Leader of the Conservative Party (UK) does not use formal titles etc. It also goes by style of address at the time of office (so uses "John Major" rather than "Sir John Major"). I have reflected this, except for the case of Vince Cable who had been knighted between his two terms of office. MIDI (talk) 16:56, 22 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Ed Davey acting leader[edit]

According to the article, it states that the Deputy Leader, in this case Ed Davey, becomes acting leader until an election can be held. Is Ed Davey now acting leader? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Comrade TruthTeller (talk • contribs) 06:10, 13 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Brinton and Pack as acting leader[edit]

Now that Ed Davey has been elected leader in his own right, how do people feel about removing Brinton and Pack from the list and adding them as footnotes? Whilst they were co-acting leaders I feel their presence along with a photo distracts from the main list. Just a thought. Littlemonday (talk) 11:19, 27 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I agree! Arrivisto (talk) 17:28, 24 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I agree too. A footnote is the best pay to record Brinton and Pack. Davey was very much the frontman in this period the other two were far more background. Kalamikid (talk) 15:59, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Timeline is inaccurate[edit]

The timeline is inaccurate, overstating Campbell's length in office, and understating Kennedy's and Clegg's. I regret I can't see how to correct it. Any ideas? Arrivisto (talk) 17:31, 24 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]