Leader of the Liberal Democrats - wikipedia Leader of the Liberal Democrats Leader of the Liberal Democrats Incumbent Vince Cable since 20 July 2017 Member of Lib Dem. frontbench team Lib Dem. Federal Board Appointer Liberal Democrats membership Inaugural holder David Steel and Bob Maclennan Formation 3 March 1988 Website Official website The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrat members of Parliament also elect a Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, often colloquially referred to as the Deputy Leader. Under the federal constitution of the Liberal Democrats the leader is required to be a member of the House of Commons. Before the election of the first federal leader of the party ( the Liberal Democrats having a federal structure in their internal party organisation ), the leaders of the two parties which merged to form the Liberal Democrats, the Liberal Party and the SDP, served as joint interim leaders. In the event that the leader dies, resigns or loses his or her seat in Parliament, the deputy leader ( if there is one ) serves as interim leader until a leadership election takes place. This has occurred twice, with Menzies Campbell serving as interim leader following the resignation of Charles Kennedy ( Campbell was elected leader in the ensuing election ) and Vince Cable serving as interim leader following Campbell 's resignation. The current leader is Vince Cable, who was elected unopposed following the resignation of previous leader Tim Farron. Contents 1 Leaders in the House of Commons 1.1 Living former party leaders 2 Leaders in the House of Lords 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 5.1 Sources 6 External links Leaders in the House of Commons Leader ( Birth -- Death ) Portrait Country of birth Constituency Took office Left office Prime Minister ( term ) David Steel ( 1938 -- ) Scotland Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale 3 March 1988 16 July 1988 Thatcher 1979 -- 90 Bob Maclennan ( 1936 -- ) Scotland Caithness and Sutherland Paddy Ashdown ( 1941 -- ) British Raj Yeovil 16 July 1988 ( Elected ) 9 August 1999 Major 1990 -- 97 Blair 1997 -- 2007 Charles Kennedy ( 1959 -- 2015 ) Scotland Ross, Skye and Inverness West ( 1999 -- 2005 ) Ross, Skye and Lochaber ( 2005 -- 2006 ) 9 August 1999 ( Elected ) 7 January 2006 Menzies Campbell ( 1941 -- ) Scotland North East Fife 2 March 2006 ( Elected ) 15 October 2007 Brown 2007 -- 10 Vince Cable ( 1943 -- ) ( Acting ) England Twickenham 15 October 2007 18 December 2007 Nick Clegg ( 1967 -- ) England Sheffield Hallam 18 December 2007 ( Elected ) 16 July 2015 Cameron 2010 -- 16 Tim Farron ( 1970 -- ) England Westmorland and Lonsdale 16 July 2015 ( Elected ) 20 July 2017 May 2016 -- Sir Vince Cable ( 1943 -- ) England Twickenham 20 July 2017 ( Unopposed ) Incumbent Living former party leaders There are six living former party leaders. From oldest to youngest : Leader Term of office Date of birth The Lord Maclennan of Rogart 1988 ( 1936 - 06 - 26 ) 26 June 1936 ( age 81 ) The Lord Steel of Aikwood ( 1938 - 03 - 31 ) 31 March 1938 ( age 80 ) The Lord Ashdown of Norton - sub-Hamdon 1988 -- 1999 ( 1941 - 02 - 27 ) 27 February 1941 ( age 77 ) The Lord Campbell of Pittenweem 2006 -- 2007 ( 1941 - 05 - 22 ) 22 May 1941 ( age 77 ) Sir Nick Clegg 2007 -- 2015 ( 1967 - 01 - 07 ) 7 January 1967 ( age 51 ) Tim Farron MP 2015 -- 2017 ( 1970 - 05 - 27 ) 27 May 1970 ( age 48 ) Leaders in the House of Lords Main article : Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords See also British politics portal Liberalism portal Lists portal List of United Kingdom Whig and allied party leaders ( 1801 -- 59 ) Leader of the Conservative Party ( UK ) Leader of the Labour Party ( UK ) Leader of the Liberal Party ( UK ) Notes Jump up ^ Joint acting leader, as the last leader of the Liberal Party before the merger. Jump up ^ Joint acting leader, as the last leader of the Social Democratic Party before the merger. Jump up ^ Acting leader between the resignation of Charles Kennedy on 7 January 2006 and his own election as leader on 2 March 2006. Jump up ^ Acting leader between the resignation of Menzies Campbell on 15 October 2007 and the election of a new leader on 18 December 2007. Jump up ^ Deputy Prime Minister as part of the Coalition with the Conservative Party ; resigned on 8 May 2015 following the 2015 general election, but formally retained leadership until a successor was chosen. References Jump up ^ `` Farron quits as Lib Dem leader over clash between faith and politics ''. BBC News. 14 June 2017. Lay summary. Jump up ^ `` Nick Clegg resigns as Lib Dem leader ''. The Guardian. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Every major British political party -- except the Conservatives -- currently led by a woman ''. The Independent. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015. Sources Federal Constitution of the Liberal Democrats External links Liberal Democrat History Group Liberal, Social Democrat and Liberal Democrat leadership elections Liberals 1967 1976 SDP 1982 Liberal Democrats 1988 1999 2006 2007 2015 2017 Liberal Democrats Leadership Leaders Steel ( Liberal ) Maclennan ( SDP ) Ashdown Kennedy Campbell Clegg Farron Cable Deputy Leaders Johnston Beith Campbell Cable Hughes Bruce Swinson Leaders in the Lords Seear ( Liberal ) Diamond ( SDP ) Jenkins Rodgers Williams McNally Wallace Presidents Wrigglesworth Kennedy Maclennan Maddock Dholakia Hughes Scott Farron Brinton Leadership elections Leadership 1988 ( Ashdown ) 1999 ( Kennedy ) 2006 ( Campbell ) 2007 ( Clegg ) 2015 ( Farron ) 2017 ( Cable ) Deputy Leadership 2003 ( Campbell ) 2006 ( Cable ) 2010 ( Hughes ) 2014 ( Bruce ) 2017 ( Swinson ) Structure MPs and Frontbench Current Members of Parliament Frontbench team Chief whip Frontbench in opposition Frontbench Team of Paddy Ashdown ( 1997 -- 1999 ) Frontbench Team of Charles Kennedy ( 1999 -- 2006 ) Frontbench Team of Menzies Campbell ( 2006 -- 2007 ) First Frontbench Team of Vince Cable ( 2007 ) Frontbench Team of Nick Clegg ( 2007 -- 2010 ) Frontbench Team of Tim Farron ( 2015 -- 2017 ) Second Frontbench Team of Vince Cable ( 2017 -- ) State parties English Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrats Welsh Liberal Democrats Regional parties London Liberal Democrats Northern Ireland Liberal Democrats Committees Federal Board Federal Policy Committee Federal Conference Committee SAOs LGBT+ Liberal Democrats Young Liberals ( English Young Liberals, Scottish Young Liberals, Welsh Young Liberals / Rhyddfrydwr Ifanc Cymru ) Women Liberal Democrats Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidates Association Related organisations Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Beveridge Group Cambridge University ( Presidents / Chairs ) Christian Forum Friends of Israel Friends of Turkey History Group Liberal International British Group Liberal Reform Oxford University ( Presidents ) Social Liberal Forum History and related topics List of MPs ( past and present ) General election manifestos Home Affairs spokespeople Glee Club ( British politics ) The Land ( song ) Liberator ( magazine ) National Liberal Club Whig Party Peelites Liberal Party Scottish Liberal Party Coalition Coupon Independent Liberal Party ( Asquith ) National Liberal Party ( Lloyd George ) Independent Liberals ( Lloyd George ) National Liberal Party ( `` Simonites '' ) Lib -- Lab pact One more heave Social Democratic Party SDP -- Liberal Alliance Southport Resolution Orange Book Conservative -- Liberal Democrat coalition agreement Breakaway parties Liberal Party ( UK, 1989 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leader_of_the_Liberal_Democrats&oldid=832590804 '' Categories : Leaders of the Liberal Democrats ( UK ) Lists of leaders of political parties Hidden categories : Official website not in Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 26 March 2018, at 22 : 01 ( UTC ). 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Question: first name of the leader of britains lib dems
Answer: Vince Cable