Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006

In the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election, Sir Menzies Campbell

Menzies Campbell

Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...

was elected to succeed Charles Kennedy

Charles Kennedy

Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....

as Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom.

On 5 January 2006, following a period of heavy speculation about both his leadership and his personal life, party leader Charles Kennedy

Charles Kennedy

called for a leadership contest to allow party members to decide if his leadership should continue. On 7 January 2006, following public pressure from many prominent Liberal Democrats to stand down, including twenty-five Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

who publicly announced they would refuse to serve on the party's frontbench if he did not stand aside, Kennedy announced that he would not be standing in the leadership election, resigning as party leader with immediate effect.

Four candidates declared their intention to stand: Campbell, then interim leader; home affairs

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

spokesman Mark Oaten

Mark Oaten

Mark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...

; the party's President, Simon Hughes

Simon Hughes

Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...

; and treasury

HM Treasury

HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...

spokesman Chris Huhne

Chris Huhne

Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...

. Oaten garnered little support from colleagues and withdrew from the contest, confessing two days later to a sexual relationship with a male prostitute. Nominations for the leadership closed on 25 January 2006, and Campbell was announced as the winner on 2 March 2006, having won 45 percent of the first preference votes cast. This rose to 58 percent when votes cast for third-placed Hughes were excluded and his voters' second preferences were counted.

For a timeline of events from Charles Kennedy's initial statement on 5 January 2006, see: Timeline of events in the Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006
Timeline of events in the Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006
This timeline of events in the Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006 lists the events covering the period from Charles Kennedy's initial call for a leadership election with the Liberal Democrats to the conclusion of the Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006.-5 January :*The media...

.

Results

First round
class="wikitable">
Candidate		Votes	%
	Sir Menzies Campbell Menzies Campbell Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...	23,264	44.7
	Chris Huhne Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...	16,691	32.1
	Simon Hughes Simon Hughes Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...	12,081	23.2
Turnout		52,036	72.2

class="wikitable"> Second round Candidate Transfers Votes % Sir Menzies Campbell

Menzies Campbell

+6,433 29,697 57.1 Chris Huhne

Chris Huhne

+4,937 21,628 41.6 Not transferable +711 711 1.4
Note: if non-transferable votes are discounted, the percentage of the vote won by Campbell was 57.9% and that won by Huhne was 42.1%. Simon Hughes's second preferences split as follows: Campbell 53.2%, Huhne 40.9%, non-transferable (i.e., no second preference given) 5.9%.

The downfall of Charles Kennedy

In the wake of the 2005 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

, Kennedy's leadership came under increased criticism from those who felt that the Liberal Democrats could have done even better at a time when, arguably, the Official Opposition, the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

, were in a relatively weak position and the Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Government remained unpopular in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Leadership speculation was renewed in later 2005. After the election of David Cameron

David Cameron

David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

as Leader of the Conservative Party in December 2005, it was widely reported that senior members of the Liberal Democrats had told Kennedy that he must either "raise his game" or resign.

A number of issues led to the pressure on Kennedy. There was concern behind the scenes about his problems with alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

, how he was addressing them and their effects on his performance. Kennedy's leadership style — more a chairman than a leader — was criticised. Many in the party felt Kennedy had failed to resolve debates within the party about future direction (particularly in the wake of Cameron bringing the Conservatives closer to the centre ground). Many of his critics came from the right wing of the party, who wished the Liberal Democrats to, as they saw it, modernise.

The final few weeks

On 13 December 2005, the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Political Editor, Nick Robinson

Nick Robinson

Nicholas Anthony "Nick" Robinson is a British journalist and political editor for the BBC. Robinson was interested in politics from a young age, and went on to study a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree at Oxford University, where he was also President of the Oxford University Conservative...

, claimed that there were briefings against the leader, with members of his party unhappy at what they saw as "lack of leadership" from Kennedy. A "Kennedy Must Go" petition was started by The Liberal
The Liberal
The Liberal is a UK-based online magazine "dedicated to promoting liberalism around the world". The publication explores liberal attitudes to a range of cultural issues, and encourages a dialogue between liberal politics and the liberal arts...

magazine, a publication which is not formally affiliated with the Liberal Democrats, but which espouses liberal ideas, has an editor who is a Liberal Democrat activist, and which prints articles by many leading Liberal Democrat MPs. This petition was allegedly signed by over 3,300 party members, including 386 local councillors and two MPs by the end of 2005, although these figures were not independently verified. A round robin letter signed by Liberal Democrat MPs rejecting Kennedy's leadership received 23 signatures. In retrospect, much of the expressed unhappiness at Kennedy's performance as leader concerned his problems with alcohol.

On 5 January 2006, Kennedy was informed that ITN would be reporting that he had received treatment for alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

, and called a sudden news conference to make a personal statement confirming the story. He stated clearly that over the past eighteen months he had been coming to terms with a drink problem, but has sought ongoing professional help. He told reporters that recent questions among his colleagues about his suitability as leader were partly as a result of the drink problem, but stated that he had been dry for the past two months and would be calling a leadership contest to resolve the issues surrounding his authority once and for all. It was later claimed that the source for ITN's story was his former press secretary turned ITV News

ITV News

ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...

correspondent, Daisy McAndrew

Daisy McAndrew

Daisy McAndrew is an English journalist currently employed by ITN as a special correspondent for the ITV News at Ten.-Biography:...

.

Responses to Kennedy's statement focused on his previous denials of any problems with alcohol. As recently as 18 December 2005, on ITV1

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...

programme, when asked, "Has it been a battle to stay off the booze, have you had to have medical support in any way at all?" Kennedy had replied, "No, no, no, that is not the case, it is a matter on all fronts — if there's something my doctor really wants me to do over this holiday period as a matter of fact, is give up smoking

Tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...

and I think he's right."

Resignation

Following Kennedy's admission, a letter from twenty-five Liberal Democrat MPs was delivered to him on January 6. It stated that the signatories would not serve as frontbench speakers under his leadership, and gave a deadline of Monday January 9 for him to make a decision before those on the front bench resigned. Despite a combative interview in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

in which Kennedy described a decision to resign as a "dereliction of duty", a large number of senior Liberal Democrats stated on January 6 that his position was untenable. Chris Davies

Chris Davies

Christopher Graham Davies is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is a former Member of Parliament, and since 1999 he has been a Member of the European Parliament.- Biography :...

, then leader of Liberal Democrat Members of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, described him as "a dead man walking". A survey for the BBC's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....

programme found that more than half of Liberal Democrat MPs thought he should resign or that his position was untenable, and only seventeen out of sixty-two MPs positively wanted him to stay, while eleven spokepersons from his twenty-three-strong frontbench wanted him to leave. Among those who thought he should go were Norman Lamb

Norman Lamb

Norman Peter Lamb is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and Chief Parliamentary and Political Adviser and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.He is the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk....

and Andrew George, who had both served as his Parliamentary Private Secretary

Parliamentary Private Secretary

A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

, and Matthew Taylor, the chairman of his 1999 leadership campaign.

On January 7 Kennedy called a press conference for 15:00 GMT at which he announced that he was buoyed by the supportive messages he had received from grassroots members, but felt that he could not continue because of the lack of confidence of his MPs. He said he would not be a candidate in the leadership election, and that he would stand down as leader "with immediate effect", with Deputy Leader Menzies Campbell

Menzies Campbell

acting as interim leader until a successor had been elected. Kennedy's leadership had lasted six years. He also confirmed in his resignation speech that he did not have any expectations to remain on the frontbench, pledging his loyalty to a new leader "as a backbench" MP, but saying that he wished to remain active in the party and in politics.

The rules of the contest

A postal ballot was held of all members of the Liberal Democrats. Voting was limited to those who were current members of the party on January 25 or whose membership subscriptions were due within three months of that date. Voting was conducted under the Alternative Vote

Instant-runoff voting

Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...

system, the single-winner version of the Single Transferable Vote

Single transferable vote

The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...

. MPs wishing to stand required the support of 10% of the Parliamentary Party, i.e. seven MPs in the then House of Commons, plus 200 party members drawn from at least 20 constituency parties. However, MPs could nominate more than one candidate.

Simon Hughes, in his role as party President, said on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

News shortly after Kennedy's statement that he would, with the Federal Executive, see whether it was possible to postpone the leadership campaign until after the local elections

United Kingdom local elections, 2006

Local government elections took place in England on Thursday 4 May 2006. Polling stations were open between 7:00 and 22:00.All London borough council seats were up for election, as well as a third of the seats on each of the metropolitan borough councils, and a third of some unitary authorities...

in England in May 2006. Following Kennedy's resignation, he continued to moot the possibility of this arrangement. The party's Federal Executive met on the evening of 9 January 2006 to discuss the leadership election and opted for an early vote.

Opening of the campaign

When Kennedy called the election, no-one else declared themselves as candidates, with several possible contenders explicitly saying they would not stand against him. However, within an hour of Kennedy's resignation and withdrawal from the contest, Menzies Campbell declared his intention to stand and rapidly garnered support from party heavyweights. Early speculation surrounded the positions of the two other favourites, Simon Hughes and Mark Oaten, both of whom had initially declined to say whether they would enter the contest. Most of the other candidates given serious consideration by the media said they were not standing. John Hemming

John Hemming (politician)

John Alexander Melvin Hemming is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley and Group Chair of the Liberal Democrats on the city council of Birmingham, England....

, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said he was contemplating standing to prevent a "coronation", but was considered a rank outsider — he later dropped out and backed Campbell.

After Kennedy's withdrawal, there was also speculation as to whether the Parliamentary party would seek a single candidate to avoid a contest, an option initially mooted by Mark Oaten, or whether a leadership campaign would be a good thing for the party. Campbell was soon seen as the most likely person to be a unity candidate.

Although Kennedy had decried in his resignation speech the simplification of debates within the party as being solely between left and right, each candidate was seen to draw support from one area of the party. Hughes was identified with the left of the party and was described as being more popular with activists than his fellow MPs. Oaten was seen to be on the right of the party, associated with the Orange Book group. Campbell was seen as more centrist, but identified by those on the right as being sympathetic to them; he was the bookmakers' favourite on the evening of January 7 and remained in pole position for most of the contest. Being older, Campbell was seen as a possible shorter-term leader who would vacate the post after the next General Election, which would suit the leadership ambitions of some younger and newer members of the Parliamentary party.

The election of David Cameron

David Cameron

as leader of the Conservatives focused questions on Campbell's age: old enough to be Cameron's father, was he too old for modern politics or did his seniority give him an advantage, a welcome contrast to Cameron? Another issue early in the campaign was the extent to which the potential candidates had conspired to bring about Kennedy's downfall.

Campbell's backers stressed his authority, his experience and how respected he was even beyond the party. He was described as a unity candidate who could lead the party out of a troubled period. His detractors pointed out that his experience was largely in foreign affairs

Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...

and described him as an unknown when it came to domestic policy. The implication was that he would lead the party in a more market liberal direction, especially given that his support included prominent figures on the right of the party like David Laws

David Laws

David Anthony Laws is a British politician. He is Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Yeovil and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury....

and Nick Clegg

Nick Clegg

Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...

. His detractors also questioned whether he was sufficiently supportive of Kennedy prior to the resignation. Hughes's supporters also stressed his Parliamentary experience (he had been an MP longer than Campbell), charisma and his very large majority (over Lembit Öpik

Lembit Öpik

Lembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...

) in the poll of party members for the post of President two years previously. In policy terms, Hughes's opposition to any role for the market in health and education was cited. Oaten was also seen to be to the right and talked of modernising the party. He attacked the "nanny state" instincts of the Labour government. However, the bookmakers favoured Campbell and Hughes over him. Oaten subsequently withdrew having gained minimal support amongst MPs. Chris Huhne

Chris Huhne

, an MP since 2005 but a Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

for six years prior to that, entered the contest last, stressing his green

Green politics

Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...

policies. He soon gathered support, overtaking Oaten in the betting markets.

Subsequent to his withdrawal from the contest, it was revealed by a newspaper that Oaten had repeatedly visited a male prostitute. Oaten resigned his frontbench position.

From close of nominations to end of voting

Three candidates remained at the close of nominations on 25 January 2006: Campbell, Hughes and Huhne.

At the beginning of the campaign, the expectation had been that the leadership campaign would reflect debates within the party between social liberals (represented by Hughes) and market liberals (represented by Oaten). However, as events unfolded, the campaign became dominated by personal issues. This trend continued when Hughes was pressured into admitting to previously having had homosexual as well as heterosexual relationships, after having previously denied being gay. Hughes also apologised for elements of homophobic campaigning in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election

Bermondsey by-election, 1983

A by-election was held in the Bermondsey constituency in South London, on 24 February 1983, following the resignation of Labour MP Robert Mellish, who had represented the constituency and its predecessors in the House of Commons since 1946...

which had brought him into the Commons. His defeated rival then, Peter Tatchell

Peter Tatchell

Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...

, praised Hughes's apology and recommended that Liberal Democrat party members vote for him. Hughes slipped back in the betting markets.

Shortly after voting papers were posted to party members, a series of polls and quasi-polls suggested that the campaign was now a close run affair between Campbell and Huhne. With Huhne emerging as the (or a) favourite having been previously little known, media coverage in this period focused on Huhne. The final days before the result was announced then saw a surge for Campbell on the betting markets. The result produced a decisive win for Campbell.

Campbell's victory automatically resulted in the Deputy Leadership becoming vacant; he was succeeded by Vincent Cable

Vincent Cable

Dr. John Vincent "Vince" Cable is a British Liberal Democrat politician and economist who is currently the Business Secretary in the coalition cabinet of David Cameron. He has been Member of Parliament for Twickenham since 1997....

. See: Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election, 2006
Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election, 2006
The 2006 Liberal Democrats deputy leadership election began on March 2, 2006, when the sitting Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell, was elected leader of the party. Campbell had been deputy leader since February 2003....

.

Standing

At the close of nominations on 25 January 2006, the following had been successfully nominated.

Sir Menzies "Ming" Campbell
Menzies Campbell
Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...

Supporters included:

MPs: Paul Burstow
Paul Burstow
Paul Kenneth Burstow , British politician, is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Health.-Early life:...

(agent), Danny Alexander
Danny Alexander
Daniel Grian Alexander is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2010. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency since 2005....

, Norman Baker
Norman Baker
Norman John Baker is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewes in East Sussex since 1997. Since May 2010 he has been Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department for Transport....

, John Barrett, Tom Brake
Tom Brake
Thomas Anthony Brake, known as Tom Brake, British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington.-Early life:Tom Brake was born in Melton Mowbray, moving to France when he was eight...

, Colin Breed
Colin Breed
Colin Edward Breed is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall from 1997 until he stood down at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...

, Jeremy Browne
Jeremy Browne
Jeremy Richard Browne is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane since 2005 and a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 2010.-Early life and education:...

, Malcolm Bruce
Malcolm Bruce
Malcolm Gray Bruce, MP is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Gordon. He has been the chairman of the International Development Select Committee since 2005.-Early life:...

, Vincent Cable
Vincent Cable
Dr. John Vincent "Vince" Cable is a British Liberal Democrat politician and economist who is currently the Business Secretary in the coalition cabinet of David Cameron. He has been Member of Parliament for Twickenham since 1997....

, Alistair Carmichael
Alistair Carmichael
Alexander Morrison "Alistair" Carmichael is a Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Scottish seat of Orkney and Shetland since the 2001 general election.-Early life:...

, Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...

, Ed Davey, Don Foster, Andrew George, Julia Goldsworthy
Julia Goldsworthy
Julia Anne Goldsworthy is a Special Adviser in HM Treasury to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander. She was the Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne from 2005 until she lost her seat by 66 votes to George Eustice, the Conservative candidate in the 2010 general election in...

, Nick Harvey
Nick Harvey
Nicholas Barton "Nick" Harvey is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North Devon and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces.-Early life and education:...

, John Hemming
John Hemming (politician)
John Alexander Melvin Hemming is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley and Group Chair of the Liberal Democrats on the city council of Birmingham, England....

, Paul Keetch
Paul Keetch
Paul Stuart Keetch is an English Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Hereford from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...

, Norman Lamb
Norman Lamb
Norman Peter Lamb is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and Chief Parliamentary and Political Adviser and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.He is the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk....

, David Laws
David Laws
David Anthony Laws is a British politician. He is Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Yeovil and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury....

, Michael Moore
Michael Moore (UK politician)
Michael Kevin Moore is a British Liberal Democrat politician, currently the Secretary of State for Scotland in the UK coalition government, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk....

, John Pugh
John Pugh
John David Pugh is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is Member of Parliament for Southport...

, Alan Reid, Dan Rogerson
Dan Rogerson
Daniel John Rogerson is a Cornish Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for North Cornwall since the 2005 General election.-Early life:...

, Adrian Sanders
Adrian Sanders
Adrian Mark Sanders is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon.-Personal life:...

, Sir Robert Smith
Sir Robert Smith, 3rd Baronet
Sir Robert Hill Smith, 3rd Baronet is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine since 1997.-Early life:...

, Jo Swinson
Jo Swinson
Jo Swinson is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire constituency, a suburban and semi-rural area to the north of Glasgow in Scotland, and is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats...

, Matthew Taylor, Sarah Teather
Sarah Teather
Sarah Louise Teather is a British Liberal Democrat politician, Member of Parliament for Brent Central, Minister of State at the Department for Education, and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay....

, John Thurso, Jenny Willott
Jenny Willott
Jennifer Nancy Willott is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central since the 2005 general election. She is the first woman and the first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat....

Lords: Lord McNally
Thomas McNally, Baron McNally
Tom McNally, Baron McNally, PC is a British politician and the current Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and a Minister of State for Justice.-Early life:...

(Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords), Baroness Williams of Crosby
Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby
Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby PC is a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party in 1981...

, Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope
Sir Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, PC is a politician in the United Kingdom.-Education:Lord Kirkwood was educated at Cranhill School in Cranhill, Glasgow and studied Pharmacy at Heriot-Watt University, gaining a BSc in 1971...

(who is working on Campbell's campaign), former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....

, former Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

leader Lord Steel of Aikwood
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...

, Lord Addington
Dominic Hubbard, 6th Baron Addington
Dominic Bryce Hubbard, 6th Baron Addington is a British politician, one of ninety elected hereditary peers currently sitting in the House of Lords. He is a member of the Liberal Democrats....

, Lord Avebury
Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury
Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, PC is an English politician. A Liberal Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1970, he succeeded as Baron Avebury in 1971...

, Baroness Barker
Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker
Elizabeth Jean Barker, Baroness Barker is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.Educated at Dalziel High School and the University of Southampton,Barker worked for Age Concern between 1983 and 2007...

, Lord Carlile of Berriew
Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew
Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, QC is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.-Early life and career:...

, Lord Chidgey
David Chidgey, Baron Chidgey
David Chidgey, Baron Chidgey is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. A former Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, he now sits in the House of Lords.-Early life:...

, Lord Dholakia
Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia
Navnit Dholakia, Baron Dholakia OBE PC DL is a British Liberal Democrat politician and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Lord Dholakia is one of the most senior Asian politicians in Britain.-Education:...

, Lord Dykes
Hugh Dykes, Baron Dykes
Hugh John Maxwell Dykes, Baron Dykes, born 17 May 1939 to Richard and Doreen Dykes is a British politician. He is a Foreign Affairs Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords.-Education:...

, Lord Ezra
Derek Ezra, Baron Ezra
Derek Ezra, Baron Ezra MBE is a Liberal Democrat life peer in the United Kingdom House of Lords and former chairman of the National Coal Board...

, Baroness Falkner of Margravine
Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine
Kishwer Falkner, Baroness Falkner of Margravine is a British Liberal Democrat politician and Life Peer. She is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice in the House of Lords....

, Lord Fearn
Ronnie Fearn, Baron Fearn
Ronald Cyril Fearn, Baron Fearn OBE is a British politician and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.He was educated at King George V Grammar School, Southport and had a career in banking. He is also a Sefton Metropolitan Borough councilor and a former Merseyside county councilor...

, Lord Glasgow
Patrick Boyle, 10th Earl of Glasgow
Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle, 10th Earl of Glasgow DL is a British peer, politician and the current chief of Clan Boyle. The family seat is Kelburn Castle in Ayrshire...

, Lord Goodhart, Lord Holme of Cheltenham
Richard Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham
Richard Gordon Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham PC was a British Liberal Democrat politician.Educated at University of Oxford and Harvard Business School, Holme joined the Liberal Party in 1959, and was elected as the party's President in 1980 and 1981...

, Lord Hooson, Lord Jacobs, Lord Jones of Cheltenham
Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham
Nigel David Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...

, Lord Lester of Herne Hill
Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill
Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC is a British politician and member of the House of Lords, and a member of the Liberal Democrats....

, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone
Veronica Linklater
Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone , is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Her career indicates her interests in children’s welfare, education and special needs, and prison reform...

, Baroness Ludford
Sarah Ludford, Baroness Ludford
Sarah Ann Ludford, Baroness Ludford is a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament and a nonvoting member of the House of Lords ....

(also an MEP), Lord Mackie of Benshie
George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie
George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO DFC is a former British Liberal Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland in 1964. He lost his seat in 1966, when he was defeated by Labour candidate Robert Maclennan. Maclennan eventually became a...

, Lord Mar
James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar
James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie, DL is a British peer and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords....

, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
Emma Harriet Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne is a British politician. Formerly the Conservative then Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Torridge and West Devon she is a now life peer, and a former Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for South East England.-Early...

(also an MEP), Lord Phillips of Sudbury
Andrew Phillips, Baron Phillips of Sudbury
Andrew Wyndham Phillips, Baron Phillips of Sudbury, OBE is a solicitor and Liberal Democrat politician.-Education and Law Practice:...

, Lord Shutt of Greetland
David Shutt, Baron Shutt of Greetland
David Trevor Shutt, Baron Shutt of Greetland, OBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician, currently serving as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard and Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords.-Career:...

, Lord Smith of Clifton, Lord Thomas of Gresford
Martin Thomas, Baron Thomas of Gresford
Donald Martin Thomas, Baron Thomas of Gresford, OBE, QC is a British Liberal Democrat politician.Educated at Grove Park Grammar School, Wrexham, and at Peterhouse, Cambridge University, he graduated with an LLB in Law and an MA in Classics. He practiced as a solicitor in Wrexham from...

, Baroness Tonge
Jenny Tonge
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Baroness Tonge is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Richmond Park in London from 1997 to 2005.-Early life:...

, Lord Tordoff
Geoffrey Tordoff, Baron Tordoff
Geoffrey Johnson Tordoff, Baron Tordoff is a British businessman and politician.The son of Stanley Acomb Tordoff, he was educated at Manchester Grammar School and the University of Manchester. Tordoff worked for Shell from 1950 to 1983, first as marketing executive of Shell Chemicals, then as...

, Lord Tyler, Lord Watson of Richmond
Alan Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond
Alan John Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond, CBE is a broadcaster, politician and advertising executive.-Early life:Lord Watson of Richmond is the son of the Rev. John William Watson and Edna Mary Peters. He was educated at the Diocesan College, Cape Town in South Africa and Kingswood School in Bath...

.

MEPs
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

: Chris Davies
Chris Davies
Christopher Graham Davies is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is a former Member of Parliament, and since 1999 he has been a Member of the European Parliament.- Biography :...

, Andrew Duff
Andrew Duff
Andrew Duff OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician, president of the Union of European Federalists, and a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region of the UK....

, Fiona Hall, Sajjad Karim
Sajjad Karim
Sajjad Haider Karim also known as Saj is a Member of the European Parliament for North West England.Karim was the first British Muslim elected to the European Parliament on 4 June 2004. He was re-elected in June 2009.-Early life:...

, Baroness Ludford (see above), Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (see above), Diana Wallis
Diana Wallis
Diana Paulette Wallis is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber. Wallis was first elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and in 2009....

, Graham Watson
Graham Watson
Sir Graham Robert Watson is a European politician from the United Kingdom. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament for South West England since 1994 and was leader of the liberal group in Parliament for seven years between 2002 and 2009.-Early life:Graham Watson was born in Rothesay...

MSPs
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...

: Andrew Arbuckle
Andrew Arbuckle
Andrew Arbuckle is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and a former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid Scotland and Fife region. He is a Fife councillor....

, Tavish Scott
Tavish Scott
Tavish Hamilton Scott MSP is a Scottish politician and MSP for Shetland. He was Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011...

, Iain Smith, Jamie Stone
Jamie Stone
James "Jamie" Stone is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was a member of the Scottish Parliament for the constituency of Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross, which is the northern-most mainland Scotland constituency and one of the largest constituencies in Britain...

AMs
Members of the National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members...

: Kirsty Williams
Kirsty Williams
Victoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...

AMs (GLA)
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...

: Dee Doocey
Dee Doocey
Elizabeth Deirdre Doocey, Baroness Doocey OBE is a British Liberal Democrat politician and businesswoman, and a former Chair of the London Assembly. She was born Elizabeth Deirdre O'Keefe in Drumcondra, Dublin...

Newspapers: The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...

Supporters included:

MPs: Paul Holmes
Paul Holmes (politician)
Paul Robert Holmes is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Chesterfield, previously held by Tony Benn, from 2001 to 2010.-Early life:...

(campaign manager), Annette Brooke
Annette Brooke
Annette Lesley Brooke is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She has been the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole since 2001.-Early life:...

, Evan Harris
Evan Harris
Evan Leslie Harris is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservative Nicola Blackwood....

, Mike Hancock, Tim Farron
Tim Farron
Timothy James Farron is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is currently Member of Parliament for the constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale...

, Mark Hunter
Mark Hunter (politician)
Mark James Hunter is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is the current Member of Parliament for Cheadle.-Education and background:...

, Bob Russell, Paul Rowen
Paul Rowen
Paul John Rowen is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Rochdale from 2005 until the 2010 general election, when he was defeated by Labour Party candidate Simon Danczuk.-Early life and career:...

, Steve Webb
Steve Webb
Steven John Webb, better known as Steve Webb , is an English Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Thornbury & Yate and the Minister of State for Pensions.-Background:...

, Phil Willis
Phil Willis
George Philip Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, and was Member of Parliament for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until retiring at the 2010 general election...

, Richard Younger-Ross
Richard Younger-Ross
Richard Alan Younger-Ross is a politician in England. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Teignbridge from 2001 to 2010, having contested the seat in 1992 and 1997, finally winning in the 2001 election...

.

Lords: Lord Garden, Lord Glenconner
Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner
Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner was a Scottish noble. He was the son of Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner and Pamela Winefred Paget...

, Lord Greaves, Lord Roberts

MSPs
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...

: Robert Brown
Robert Brown (Scottish politician)
Robert E. Brown is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and former MSP for Glasgow Region.-Career:A graduate of University of Aberdeen, he was Depute Procurator Fiscal of Dumbarton 1972-1974 and has since been a partner & consultant with a Glasgow firm of solicitors...

, Mike Pringle, Mike Rumbles
Mike Rumbles
Mike Rumbles is a former Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine until defeated at the 2011 election in the successor constituency of Aberdeenshire West.-Background:...

AMs
Members of the National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members...

: Peter Black
Peter Black (Welsh politician)
Peter Black is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of the Welsh Assembly for the South Wales West Region.-Background:...

Other notable supporters: Former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith
Cyril Smith
Sir Cyril Smith, MBE, was a British politician who served as Liberal and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochdale from 1972 until his retirement in 1992.-Early life:...

, Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...

(member of the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...

)

Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...

Supporters included:

MPs: Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Choona Featherstone , is a British Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green....

and Sandra Gidley
Sandra Gidley
Sandra Julia Gidley is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Member of Parliament for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, when she lost her seat to Conservative MP Caroline Nokes.-Biography:...

(campaign co-managers), Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams (politician)
Stephen Roy Williams is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Bristol West in the 2005 general election, being re-elected with an increased majority in May 2010...

(agent), Lorely Burt
Lorely Burt
Lorely Jane Burt is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Solihull.-Early life:She went to University College, Swansea, achieving a BSc in Economics...

, Martin Horwood
Martin Horwood
Martin Charles Horwood is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Cheltenham constituency. He is the founder and current Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples.-Early life:He was born in St. Paul’s, Cheltenham, in 1962. His parents...

, David Howarth
David Howarth
David Ross Howarth is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005 to 2010.- Education and academic career :...

, Susan Kramer
Susan Kramer
Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was Member of Parliament for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010, having been an unsuccessful candidate in the London mayoral election in 2000....

, John Leech
John Leech (politician)
John Sampson Macfarlane Leech is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington since 2005...

, Greg Mulholland
Greg Mulholland
Gregory Thomas Mulholland is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom, and is the Member of Parliament for Leeds North West. He was first elected at the 2005 general election, winning the seat from Labour and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 2010 general election. Before...

, Mark Williams
Mark Williams (politician)
Mark Fraser Williams is a British Welsh Liberal Democrat politician and the Member of Parliament for the Ceredigion constituency, a seat he gained from Plaid Cymru in 2005...

, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (UK politician)
Roger Hugh Williams is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire since the 2001 general election.-Early life:...

, Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...

Lords: Lord Bradshaw, Lord Clement-Jones
Timothy Clement-Jones, Baron Clement-Jones
Timothy Francis Clement-Jones, Baron Clement-Jones CBE, is a Liberal Democrat Peer and their spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport in the House of Lords.-Political career:...

, Viscount Falkland
Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland
Lucius Edward William Plantagenet Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland is a Liberal Democrat politician and peer. He is the elder son of Lucius Cary, 14th Viscount Falkland and Constance Mary Berry.Cary was educated at Wellington College....

, Baroness Hamwee, Baroness Harris of Richmond, former Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...

leader Lord Maclennan
Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart
Robert Adam Ross "Bob" Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart PC is a British Liberal Democrat life peer. He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party , serving during the negotiations that led to its merger with the Liberal Party in 1988...

, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
Susan Miller, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer
Susan Elizabeth Miller, Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.She married firstly John Miller and secondly Humphrey Temperley, both of whom were active in political life as Liberal Democrats...

, Baroness Neuberger
Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger
Julia Babette Sarah Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, DBE is a rabbi, social reformer and member of the House of Lords, where she takes the Liberal Democrat whip, although she will be resigning from the party and joining the Crossbenches from September 2011, once she becomes the full-time Senior...

, Lord Newby, Baroness Northover, Lord Oakeshott, Lord Redesdale, Lord Rodgers
William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank
William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC , usually known as William Rodgers but also often known as Bill Rodgers, was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior British Labour Party politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party...

, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, Lord Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, QC, is an English politician, who is one of the small number of members of the British House of Commons elected since the Second World War who was not the candidate of a major political party...

, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood, Lord Tope (also a London AM), Baroness Walmsley

MEPs: Sharon Bowles
Sharon Bowles
Sharon Margaret Bowles is a Liberal Democrat politician and Member of the European Parliament for the South East England region of the United Kingdom...

, Liz Lynne
Liz Lynne
Elizabeth Lynne, known as Liz Lynne, is a British politician, and has been a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands for the Liberal Democrats since her election at the 1999 European election...

, Bill Newton Dunn
Bill Newton Dunn
William "Bill" Newton Dunn is a British politician. He is a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands for the Liberal Democrats.-Early life:...

MSPs: John Farquhar Munro
John Farquhar Munro
John Farquhar Munro is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was the MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until his retirement in 2011....

, Jeremy Purvis
Jeremy Purvis
Jeremy Purvis is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale from 2003 to 2011.-Background:...

, Nora Radcliffe
Nora Radcliffe
Nora Radcliffe is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon, first elected in 1999...

, Euan Robson
Euan Robson
Euan Robson is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was Member of the Scottish Parliament for Roxburgh and Berwickshire from 1999 to 2007...

, Margaret Smith
Margaret Smith (Scottish politician)
Margaret Smith is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and former MSP for Edinburgh West, a seat she held from the 1999 election until the 2011 election. She was the Scottish Liberal Democrats' Education Spokesperson....

AMs
Members of the National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is composed of 60 members known as AMs or Assembly Members...

: Graham Tope (also a Lord)

Newspapers: The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

, The Independent on Sunday

Other notable supporters: Rosie Boycott
Rosie Boycott
Rosel Marie Boycott , better known as Rosie Boycott, is a British journalist and feminist.-Journalism career:Daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Boycott née Le Sueur, Rosel Boycott was born in St Helier, Jersey and was educated at the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College and read...

, former Liberal MP Sir Clement Freud
Clement Freud
Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...

, Claire Rayner
Claire Rayner
Claire Berenice Rayner OBE was an English nurse, journalist, broadcaster and novelist, best known for her role for many years as an agony aunt.-Early life:...

, Sandi Toksvig
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...

, Polly Toynbee
Polly Toynbee
Polly Toynbee is a British journalist and writer, and has been a columnist for The Guardian newspaper since 1998. She is a social democrat and broadly supports the Labour Party, while urging it in many areas to be more left-wing...

Withdrew from the contest

The following Liberal Democrat politicians initially stood but subsequently withdrew from the election:

Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....

He was subsequently reported as backing Oaten, before Oaten's withdrawal, although Kennedy's office denied this. The support of his close aide Lord Newby for Chris Huhne was interpreted by the press as an indication that Kennedy was backing Huhne.

Mark Oaten
Mark Oaten
Mark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...

Campaign manager: Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...

. Nominators: Öpik, Mike Hancock, John Hemming, Paul Keetch, John Leech, Paul Rowen and Bob Russell. Various media outlets reported that Oaten had the tacit backing of Charles Kennedy, although this was denied by Kennedy's office. His nominators included several MPs who were prepared to nominate any serious challenger to ensure a wide contest: Mike Hancock (who was supporting Hughes), John Hemming, Paul Keetch (who was supporting Campbell), and Paul Rowen (who was supporting Hughes). Öpik remained the only MP to publicly declare his support, with Baroness Ludford the only peer.

Opinion polls (leadership candidates)

Opinion Polls of Liberal Democrat Members
Candidate		Jan 6–8 (with Kennedy)	Jan 6–8 (without Kennedy)	Jan 10–13 (Campbell v. Hemming)	Feb 6 (at Cardiff hustings)	Feb 7–9	Feb 23 (at London hustings)	Feb 23 (at London hustings)
	Sir Menzies Campbell Menzies Campbell Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...	27%	49%	79%	24.5%	34%	29%	51%
	Chris Huhne Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...	not given	not given	not given	30.5%	38%	36%	18%
	Simon Hughes Simon Hughes Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...	13%	21%	not given	19%	27%	21%	31%
	Mark Oaten Mark Oaten Mark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...	7%	13%	not given	not given	not given	not given	not given
	Charles Kennedy Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....	27%	not given	not given	not given	not given	not given	not given
	John Hemming John Hemming (politician) John Alexander Melvin Hemming is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley and Group Chair of the Liberal Democrats on the city council of Birmingham, England....	not given	not given	7%	not given	not given	not given	not given
	Someone Else	18%	not given	not given	not given	not given	not given	not given
	Don't Know	8%	16%	13%	26%	16%	14%	0%
Pollster		YouGov YouGov YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...	YouGov	YouGov	The Times The Times The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...	YouGov	The Guardian The Guardian The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...	The Independent The Independent The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
Link

Opinion Polls of Liberal Democrat Voters
Candidate		Jan 6–8 (with Kennedy)	Jan 6–8 (without Kennedy)	Jan 18–22	Feb 9–10
	Sir Menzies Campbell Menzies Campbell Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...	14%	26%	18%	21%
	Simon Hughes Simon Hughes Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...	11%	20%	62%	34%
	Chris Huhne Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...	not given	not given	20%	13%
	Mark Oaten Mark Oaten Mark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...	3%	8%	not given	not given
	Charles Kennedy Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....	31%	not given	not given	not given
	Someone Else	8%	not given	not given	not given
	Don't Know	33%	47%	not given	33% (approx.)
Pollster		YouGov	YouGov	ICM	YouGov
Link

Opinion Polls of All Voters
Candidate		Jan 18–22	Jan 19–23	Feb 9–10
	Sir Menzies Campbell Menzies Campbell Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...	29%	19%	18%
	Simon Hughes Simon Hughes Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...	51%	18%	16%
	Chris Huhne Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...	20%	2%	10%
	Mark Oaten Mark Oaten Mark Oaten is a former British Liberal Democrat politician. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winchester from 1997 to 2010, and was his party's Home Affairs spokesperson from 2003 to 2006...	not given	3%	not given
	Other	not given	13%	not given
	Don't Know	not given	46%	56%
Pollster		ICM	MORI MORI Ipsos MORI is the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdom, formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI, two of the Britain's leading survey companies in October 2005...	YouGov
Link

External links

Menzies Campbell official campaign website
Chris Huhne official campaign website
Full text of Kennedy's January 7 resignation statement (from Liberal Democrats website)
Full text of Kennedy's January 5 statement (from BBC News website)
The Lib Dem leadership options (from BBC News website)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Results

The downfall of Charles Kennedy

The final few weeks

Resignation

The rules of the contest

Opening of the campaign

From close of nominations to end of voting

Standing

Simon HughesSimon HughesSimon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...

Chris HuhneChris HuhneChristopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...

Withdrew from the contest

Opinion polls (leadership candidates)

External links

Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...

Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...