The oddest story involving a Liberal Party leader and a dog
In the late 1970s, the then Liberal Party leader David Steel presented the Communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, with a labrador puppy. … Read the full post »
David Steel
Read about the former Liberal and then Liberal Democrat MP and party leader, David Steel. He left the party and the House of Lords in 2020.
The failure of David Steel’s Lords reform measure is good news
The attitude of former Liberal Party leader David Steel to Nick Clegg’s House of Lords reform proposals has been lukewarm at best. … Read the full post »
David Steel, bombing Greenland and regulating cats
It being over four years since I last read David Steel’s speech to the Liberal Party Assembly of 1976, I thought it was time I did so again. … Read the full post »
The concessions behind the 1911 Parliament Act
The opening of the 1911 Parliament Act, which clipped the House of Lords’ powers, promised it was only an interim measure. … Read the full post »
Lords reform: the Liberal Democrat trio announced
Over the weekend Mark Valladares blogged about the three Liberal Democrats being appointed to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny on Lords reform. … Read the full post »
Paul Tyler versus David Steel on House of Lords reform
The Guardian ran an exchange on House of Lords reform between Liberal Democrats Lord Steel and Lord Tyler … Read the full post »
House of Lords reform: taking a look at the proposed details
Yesterday Nick Clegg unveiled the Government’s proposals for reforming the House of Lords, an idea that David Cameron is on record as fully backing. … Read the full post »
Electoral reform news: peers don’t like democracy, but Labour candidate who lost on vote transfers backs AV
In 2002 the Labour favourite George Stevenson lost out on becoming directly elected mayor by 314 votes – despite winning the most first votes. … Read the full post »
Jeremy Thorpe interview
Jeremy Thorpe was elected as leader of the Liberal Party in January 1967, at a time when the party’s support seemed to be stuck at no more than 10%. … Read the full post »
The Alliance: a chronology
Here’s a full chronology of the rise and fall of the SDP and its alliance with the Liberal Party through the 1980s. … Read the full post »