Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords

The Liberal Democrat peers elect the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Until the election of Lord Wallace of Tankerness in October 2013, all previous leaders had been members of the Labour Party who left to form the Social Democratic Party in 1981 before merging with the Liberal Party in 1988.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
Incumbent The Lord Purvis of Tweed since 25 July 2025
Inaugural holder	The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Formation	3 March 1988

List of Liberal Democrat Leaders in the House of Lords

Leader in the House of Lords

#	Leader		Took office	Left office
1	The Lord Jenkins of Hillhead (Roy Jenkins)		16 July 1988	19 December 1997
2	The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank (William Rodgers)		19 December 1997	7 June 2001
3	The Baroness Williams of Crosby (Shirley Williams)		7 June 2001	24 November 2004
4	The Lord McNally (Tom McNally)		24 November 2004	15 October 2013
5	The Lord Wallace of Tankerness (Jim Wallace)		15 October 2013	13 September 2016
6	The Lord Newby (Dick Newby)		13 September 2016	24 July 2025
6	The Lord Purvis of Tweed (Jeremy Purvis)		25 July 2025

See also

• List of United Kingdom Whig and allied party leaders, 1801–1859
• Leader of the Liberal Party (UK)
• Leader of the Liberal Democrats

External links

• Liberal Democrat History Group