Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords

The Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords is the leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary group in the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
Incumbent The Lord Purvis of Tweed since 25 July 2025
Appointer	Liberal Democrat peers
Inaugural holder	The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Formation	3 March 1988
Deputy	The Baroness Pinnock The Lord Storey
Website	www.libdems.org.uk/peers

The leader is elected by Liberal Democrat peers and is responsible for leading the party's work in the Lords. The office was created following the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. The current holder of the office is Lord Purvis of Tweed, elected in July 2025.

Role

The leader has overall responsibility for coordinating Liberal Democrat parliamentary activity in the Lords, including legislative scrutiny, debate participation, and relations with other parliamentary groups. The leader also represents the Lords group within the wider Liberal Democrats organisation, and works closely with the Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, currently Lord Stoneham of Droxford (appointed in 2016). The office is distinct from the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, who leads the party nationally.

History

The office was established in 1988 following the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which created the Liberal Democrats. Several early holders of the office, including Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank and Baroness Williams of Crosby, had previously been senior members of the Labour Party before leaving to establish the SDP in 1981. The office became more prominent during the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government from 2010 to 2015, when Liberal Democrat peers formed part of the governing coalition in the Lords.

Deputy leaders

The Liberal Democrat peers also elect deputy leaders within their parliamentary group in the House of Lords, with the structure of the role varying over time, including periods in which peers have served jointly as co-deputy leaders. Baroness Seear served as the first Deputy Leader following the party's formation in 1988. Other peers who have held deputy leadership roles in the Liberal Democrat Lords group include Lord Dholakia, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, Baroness Walmsley, Lord Alderdice, and Baroness Parminter.

Baroness Pinnock (elected in October 2024) and Lord Storey (elected in September 2025) are the current Co-Deputy Leaders of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. The office is distinct from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

List of leaders

Leaders of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords

No.	Portrait	Leader	Took office	Left office	Party leader(s)
1		The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead (Roy Jenkins)	16 July 1988	19 December 1997	Paddy Ashdown
2		The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank (William Rodgers)	19 December 1997	7 June 2001	Paddy Ashdown Charles Kennedy
3		The Baroness Williams of Crosby (Shirley Williams)	7 June 2001	24 November 2004	Charles Kennedy
4		The Lord McNally (Tom McNally)	24 November 2004	15 October 2013	Charles Kennedy Menzies Campbell Vince Cable (acting) Nick Clegg
5		The Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Jim Wallace)	15 October 2013	13 September 2016	Nick Clegg Tim Farron
6		The Lord Newby (Dick Newby)	13 September 2016	24 July 2025	Tim Farron Vince Cable Jo Swinson Ed Davey
7		The Lord Purvis of Tweed (Jeremy Purvis)	25 July 2025	Incumbent	Ed Davey

See also

• Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• Leader of the Liberal Party UK

• Leader of the House of Lords
• Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team
• House of Lords
• Liberal Democrats

External links

• Liberal Democrat History Group

pl:Liberalni Demokraci#Liderzy liberalnych demokratów