London Liberal Democrats | |
|---|---|
| Leader in the London Assembly | Hina Bokhari |
| Preceded by | Progressive Party (1888–1926) Liberal Party (1926–1988) |
| Headquarters | 8–10 Great George Street, London,SW1[1] |
| Youth wing | London Young Liberals |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre[7][8] to centre-left[3][9][10] |
| National affiliation | Liberal Democrats |
| Colours | Orange[11] |
| London House of Commons seats | 6 / 75 |
| London Assembly | 2 / 25 |
| Councillors[12] | 182 / 1,817 |
| Council control in London | 3 / 32 |
| Website | |
| londonlibdems.org.uk/ | |
TheLondon Liberal Democrats are the regional party of theLiberal Democrats that operates inGreater London. The organisation is a part of theEnglish Liberal Democrats.
In 2008,Brian Paddick became the first openlyLGBT candidate to run for a mainstream political party for the role of Mayor of London.[13]
| Election | Candidate | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Susan Kramer | |
| 2004 | Simon Hughes | |
| 2008 | Brian Paddick | |
| 2012 | Brian Paddick | |
| 2016 | Caroline Pidgeon | |
| 2021 | Luisa Porritt | |
| 2024 | Rob Blackie |
Since the2024 United Kingdom general election in London:
| Council | Councillors[14] | Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 0 / 51 | |
| Barnet | 0 / 63 | |
| Bexley | 0 / 63 | |
| Brent | 3 / 57 | Paul Lorber |
| Bromley | 5 / 58 | Julie Ireland |
| Camden | 4 / 55 | Tom Simon |
| Croydon | 1 / 70 | |
| Ealing | 6 / 70 | Gary Malcolm |
| Enfield | 0 / 63 | |
| Greenwich | 0 / 55 | |
| Hackney | 0 / 57 | |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 0 / 50 | |
| Haringey | 7 / 57 | Luke Cawley-Harrison |
| Harrow | 0 / 55 | |
| Havering | 0 / 55 | |
| Hillingdon | 0 / 53 | |
| Hounslow | 0 / 62 | |
| Islington | 0 / 51 | |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 2 / 50 | Linda Wade |
| Kingston upon Thames | 42 / 48 | Andreas Kirsch |
| Lambeth | 4 / 63 | Donna Harris |
| Lewisham | 0 / 54 | |
| Merton | 17 / 57 | Anthony Fairclough |
| Newham | 0 / 66 | |
| Redbridge | 0 / 61 | |
| Richmond upon Thames | 49 / 54 | Gareth Roberts |
| Southwark | 11 / 63 | Victor Chamberlain |
| Sutton | 29 / 55 | Ruth Dombey |
| Tower Hamlets | 0 / 45 | |
| Waltham Forest | 0 / 60 | |
| Wandsworth | 0 / 58 | |
| Westminster | 0 / 54 |

The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results at UK general elections since theLondon Government Act 1963 created the administrative area ofGreater London in 1965. Results between1966 and1979 are for the Liberal Party, while results between1983 and1987 are for theSDP–Liberal Alliance.[15][16][17]
| Election | Leader | Votes | Seats | Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Share | ± | No. | ± | |||
| 1966 | Jo Grimond | 356,925 | 9.3 | 1 / 92 | Opposition | ||
| 1970 | Jeremy Thorpe | 246,060 | 6.9 | 0 / 92 | Opposition | ||
| Feb-1974 | 814,239 | 20.8 | 0 / 92 | Opposition | |||
| Oct-1974 | 594,699 | 17.0 | 0 / 92 | Opposition | |||
| 1979 | David Steel | 437,521 | 11.9 | 0 / 92 | Opposition | ||
| 1983 | Roy Jenkins andDavid Steel | 853,360 | 24.7 | 2 / 84 | Opposition | ||
| 1987 | David Owen andDavid Steel | 770,117 | 21.3 | 3 / 84 | Opposition | ||
| 1992 | Paddy Ashdown | 542,733 | 15.1 | 1 / 84 | Opposition | ||
| 1997 | 486,013 | 14.6 | 6 / 74 | Opposition | |||
| 2001 | Charles Kennedy | 482,888 | 17.5 | 6 / 74 | Opposition | ||
| 2005 | 638,333 | 21.9 | 8 / 74 | Opposition | |||
| 2010 | Nick Clegg | 751,561 | 22.1 | 7 / 73 | Cons–LD | ||
| 2015 | 272,544 | 7.7 | 1 / 73 | Opposition | |||
| 2017 | Tim Farron | 336,725 | 8.8 | 3 / 73 | Opposition | ||
| 2019 | Jo Swinson | 562,564 | 14.9 | 3 / 73 | Opposition | ||
| 2024 | Ed Davey | 367,424 | 11.0 | 6 / 75 | Opposition | ||

During theUnited Kingdom'smembership of theEuropean Union (1973–2020),Greater London participated inEuropean Parliament elections, held every five years from1979 until2019.[18] The table below shows London Liberal Democrat results in elections to theEuropean Parliament. Results in 1979 are for theLiberal Party, while results in1984 are for theSDP–Liberal Alliance. From 1979 to1994, Londonmembers of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected from ten individual constituencies byfirst-past-the-post voting; from1999 to 2019, MEPs were elected from aLondon-wide regional list byproportional representation.
| Election | Leader | Votes | Seats | Pos. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | ± | No. | ± | |||
| 1979 | David Steel | 175,945 | 11.4 | N/A | 0 / 10 | N/A | 3rd |
| 1984 | David Owen andDavid Steel | 302,427 | 18.1 | 0 / 10 | |||
| 1989 | Paddy Ashdown | 98,255 | 5.3 | 0 / 10 | |||
| 1994 | 199,017 | 12.1 | 0 / 10 | ||||
| 1999 | 133,058 | 11.7 | 1 / 10 | ||||
| 2004 | Charles Kennedy | 288,790 | 15.3 | 1 / 9 | |||
| 2009 | Nick Clegg | 240,156 | 13.7 | 1 / 8 | |||
| 2014 | 148,013 | 6.7 | 0 / 8 | ||||
| 2019 | Vince Cable | 608,725 | 27.2 | 3 / 8 | |||
The table below shows the results obtained by the London Liberal Party in elections to theGreater London Council (GLC). The GLC was the top-tier local government administrative body forGreater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlierLondon County Council which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by theLocal Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. All GLC elections were conducted under thefirst-past-the-post voting system.
| Election | Leader | Votes | Seats | Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Share | ± | No. | ± | |||
| 1964 | 238,967 | 10.0 | N/A | 0 / 100 | N/A | No seats | |
| 1967 | 189,868 | 8.8 | 0 / 100 | No seats | |||
| 1970 | 103,838 | 5.4 | 0 / 100 | No seats | |||
| 1973 | Stanley Rundle | 244,703 | 12.5 | 2 / 92 | Opposition | ||
| 1977 | 174,405 | 7.8 | 0 / 92 | No seats | |||
| 1981 | Adrian Slade | 323,856 | 14.4 | 1 / 92 | Opposition | ||
The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results atLondon Assembly elections since theGreater London Authority was established in 2000. Assembly elections use theadditional member system, a form ofmixed member proportional representation, with 14 directly elected constituencies and 11 London-wide top-up seats.
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party | Total Seats | +/– | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | Seats | # | % | Seats | ||||
| 2000 | Graham Tope | 299,998 | 18.9 | 0 / 14 | 245,555 | 14.8 | 4 / 11 | 4 / 25 | N/A |
| 2004 | 332,237 | 18.4 | 0 / 14 | 316,218 | 16.9 | 5 / 11 | 5 / 25 | ||
| 2008 | Mike Tuffrey | 330,018 | 13.7 | 0 / 14 | 252,556 | 11.2 | 3 / 11 | 3 / 25 | |
| 2012 | Caroline Pidgeon | 193,842 | 8.8 | 0 / 14 | 150,447 | 6.8 | 2 / 11 | 2 / 25 | |
| 2016 | 195,820 | 7.5 | 0 / 14 | 165,580 | 6.3 | 1 / 11 | 1 / 25 | ||
| 2021 | 266,595 | 10.3 | 0 / 14 | 189,522 | 7.3 | 2 / 11 | 2 / 25 | ||
| 2024 | Hina Bokhari | 271,049 | 11.0 | 1 / 14 | 215,682 | 8.7 | 1 / 11 | 2 / 25 | |
The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results inLondon Mayoral elections since theGreater London Authority was established in 2000. Elections between2000 and2021 were conducted using the two-roundsupplementary vote system, while the2024 election used the single-roundfirst-past-the-post system. The London Liberal Democrats have never won a mayoral election or qualified for the second round of the supplementary vote system.
| Election | Candidate | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Pos. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | ± | No. | % | ± | |||
| 2000 | Susan Kramer | 203,452 | 11.9 | N/A | Eliminated | 4th | ||
| 2004 | Simon Hughes | 284,647 | 15.3 | Eliminated | ||||
| 2008 | Brian Paddick | 235,585 | 9.8 | Eliminated | ||||
| 2012 | 91,774 | 4.2 | Eliminated | |||||
| 2016 | Caroline Pidgeon | 120,005 | 4.6 | Eliminated | ||||
| 2021 | Luisa Porritt | 111,716 | 4.4 | Eliminated | ||||
| 2024 | Rob Blackie | 145,184 | 5.8 | |||||
The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results atLondon borough council elections since theLondon Government Act 1963 created the administrative area ofGreater London in 1965. Results between1964 and1978 are for the Liberal Party, while results between1982 and1986 are for theSDP–Liberal Alliance.[19] All borough council elections use thefirst-past-the-post voting system.
| Election | Leader | Votes | Councillors | Councils | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | ± | Seats | ± | Majorities | ± | ||
| 1964 | Jo Grimond | N/A | 16 / 1,859 | N/A | 0 / 32 | N/A | ||
| 1968 | Jeremy Thorpe | 387,181 | 7.3 | 10 / 1,863 | 0 / 32 | |||
| 1971 | 253,255 | 4.2 | 9 / 1,863 | 0 / 32 | ||||
| 1974 | 244,725 | 13.1 | 27 / 1,867 | 0 / 32 | ||||
| 1978 | David Steel | 150,298 | 7.1 | 30 / 1,908 | 0 / 32 | |||
| 1982 | Collective SDP Leadership andDavid Steel | 530,340 | 24.6 | 124 / 1,914 | 0 / 32 | |||
| 1986 | David Owen andDavid Steel | 539,848 | 24.0 | 249 / 1,914 | 3 / 32 | |||
| 1990 | Paddy Ashdown | 344,125 | 14.2 | 229 / 1,914 | 3 / 32 | |||
| 1994 | 490,259 | 22.0 | 323 / 1,917 | 3 / 32 | ||||
| 1998 | 362,913 | 20.8 | 301 / 1,917 | 2 / 32 | ||||
| 2002 | Charles Kennedy | 353,833 | 20.6 | 307 / 1,861 | 3 / 32 | |||
| 2006 | Menzies Campbell | 443,772 | 20.7 | 316 / 1,861 | 3 / 32 | |||
| 2010 | Nick Clegg | 835,217 | 22.4 | 246 / 1,861 | 2 / 32 | |||
| 2014 | 267,769 | 10.6 | 116 / 1,861 | 1 / 32 | ||||
| 2018 | Vince Cable | 323,074 | 13.0 | 152 / 1,861 | 3 / 32 | |||
| 2022 | Ed Davey | 335,415 | 13.7 | 180 / 1,817 | 3 / 32 | |||
The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats' best election results for each London borough council, as well as the party's current seat totals.[20]
| Borough | Election | Best seats | Role in council | Current seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 1986 | 5 / 48 | Opposition | 0 / 51 |
| Barnet | 1964 | 6 / 63 | 3rd Party | 0 / 63 |
| Bexley | 1994 | 14 / 62 | 3rd Party | 0 / 45 |
| Brent | 2006 | 27 / 63 | Joint control with Conservatives | 3 / 57 |
| Bromley | 1998 | 27 / 60 | Joint control with Labour | 5 / 58 |
| Camden | 2006 | 20 / 54 | Joint control with Conservatives | 6 / 55 |
| Croydon | 2002 | 1 / 70 | 3rd Party | 1 / 70 |
| Ealing | 2022 | 6 / 70 | Opposition | 7 / 70 |
| Enfield | 1974 | 1 / 60 | 3rd Party | 0 / 63 |
| Greenwich | 1986 | 5 / 62 | 3rd Party | 0 / 55 |
| Hackney | 1998 | 17 / 60 | 3rd Party | 0 / 57 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 1982 | 2 / 50 | 3rd Party | 0 / 50 |
| Haringey | 2006 | 27 / 57 | Opposition | 7 / 57 |
| Harrow | 1994 | 29 / 63 | Minority | 0 / 100 |
| Havering | 1990 | 6 / 63 | 4th Party | 0 / 55 |
| Hillingdon | 1986 | 6 / 63 | 3rd Party | 0 / 53 |
| Hounslow | 1994 | 5 / 60 | 3rd Party | 0 / 62 |
| Islington | 2002 | 38 / 48 | Overall control | 0 / 51 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 2010 | 2 / 50 | 3rd Party | 2 / 50 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 2022 | 44 / 48 | Overall control | 42 / 48 |
| Lambeth | 2002 | 28 / 63 | Joint control with Conservatives | 4 / 63 |
| Lewisham | 2002 | 17 / 54 | Opposition | 0 / 54 |
| Merton | 2022 | 17 / 57 | Opposition | 16 / 57 |
| Newham | 1982 | 6 / 60 | Opposition | 0 / 66 |
| Redbridge | 2006 | 9 / 62 | Opposition | 0 / 63 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 1986 | 49 / 52 | Overall control | 49 / 54 |
| Southwark | 2002 | 30 / 63 | Joint control with Conservatives | 11 / 63 |
| Sutton | 2002 | 47 / 56 | Overall control | 29 / 55 |
| Tower Hamlets | 1990 | 30 / 50 | Overall control | 0 / 45 |
| Waltham Forest | 2006 | 19 / 60 | Opposition | 0 / 60 |
| Wandsworth | 1982 | 1 / 61 | 3rd Party | 0 / 58 |
| Westminster City | 2010 | 0 / 61 | No presence | 0 / 54 |