English Liberal Democrats

English Liberal Democrats
ChairBaroness Caroline Pidgeon
Founded1988
Headquarters66 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AU
Youth wingEnglish Young Liberals
IdeologyLiberalism
Social liberalism
Classical liberalism
Pro-Europeanism
Political positionCentre to centre-left
National affiliationLiberal Democrats
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
International affiliationLiberal International
Colours  Orange
House of Commons (English Seats)
65 / 543
London Assembly
2 / 25
Local government in England
3,209 / 16,635
Website
www.englishlibdems.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The English Liberal Democrats, constitutionally the Liberal Democrats in England, is the state party within the Liberal Democrats that operates in England. It is a federation of the eleven regional parties in England and the English branch of the youth and student organisation. The regions are further divided into local parties. The party currently holds 65 of the English seats in the House of Commons and two seats on the London Assembly.

Organisation

English Assembly

The English Assembly, known as the English Council before 2026, is the sovereign body of the English party. It consists of the chairs of regional parties, representatives elected by regional party members, and representatives of the organisation representing youth and student members within the English party.

English Party Board

The English Party Board, known as the English Council Executive before 2026, manages the running of the English party between English Assembly meetings. The board consists of the chairs of the 11 English regional parties, additional members elected from the English Assembly and the chair of the English Young Liberals. English Representatives to federal bodies also attend. The English board meets 6 times a year.

The English Party Board has four sub-committees; A Finance and Administration Sub-Committee which is chaired by a Treasurer manages the finances of the English party, the Regional Parties Committee, the Joint Policy Group of the Regions and the English Candidates Committee.

The English Party Board is elected annually in November, and takes office on 1 January each year. The current Board consists of:

RoleName
ChairCaroline Pidgeon
Vice-Chair (Regional Parties Committee Chair)Brian Orrell
Vice-Chair (Regional Development)James Read
TreasurerRichard Flowers
English Candidates Committee Chair Margaret Joachim
English Young Liberals ChairJoe Norris
English Executive Members Prue Bray
Richard Cole
Kian Hearnshaw
Brian Orrell
Iain Donaldson
Fergus Ustianowski
James Read
Oliver Jones-Lyons
William Houngbo
Mark Johnston
Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey
Simon Pike
RoleName
English Representatives to the Federal CouncilPrue Bray, Richard Flowers, Pete Dollimore
English Representative to Federal Policy CommitteeSally Burnell
English Representative to Federal Conference CommitteeDarryl Smalley
English Representative to the Federal Campaigns and Elections CommitteeIain Donaldson
English Representative to the Federal People Development CommitteePete Dollimore
English Representative to the Federal International Relations CommitteeSean Bennett

Regional parties

The English Liberal Democrats is a federation of the eleven regional parties which follow the boundaries of the English Regions, with the exception of South East England and South West England which are each divided into two regional parties. Each regional party is governed by a conference and AGM held in the autumn of every year. The conference elects a Regional Executive, led by a Regional Chair. The regional executive includes all Liberal Democrat members of parliament representing constituencies within the region, all members of the House of Lords who are members of the regional party, ordinary party members elected from within the region, and additional members co-opted by the executive.

The regional parties within the English party are:

English Young Liberals

The English Young Liberals operates as a federation of regional parties, with each having a level of independence, though working within the overall English wing. Regional branches, led by their Chair, are responsible for organising and supporting local branches and societies and co-ordinating activities to recruit and expand membership in their region.

Policy and functions

The English party has responsibilities for the organisation of local parties, co-ordination of the activities of regional parties, resolution of disputes between regional parties, selection of English representatives to federal bodies and establishing the rules for selection of party candidates.

The English Party constitution states that the Liberal Democrats in England "shall determine the policy of the Party on matters affecting England which fall outside the remit of the Federal Party" This can be achieved by structures established by the English Council. As no policy making structures are currently in place, policy making has been passed up to federal level and English policies discussed at federal party conferences.

English devolution

In 2021 the Liberal Democrats adopted a policy motion, "A Framework for England in a Federal UK", which called for the establishment of elected regional assemblies throughout England. The regional assemblies would nominate members to concurrently serve on an "English National Chamber" to legislate at an all-England level with England being a single legal jurisdiction within a federal United Kingdom.

The English regional assemblies would have the following competencies:

The English National Chamber would have the following competencies:

Elected representatives

Members of Parliament

Constituency Name Majority (vote) Majority (%)
1 Bath Wera Hobhouse 11,218 23.3
2 Bicester and Woodstock Calum Miller 4,958 9.9
3 Carshalton and Wallington Bobby Dean 7,905 16.9
4 Cheadle Tom Morrison 12,235 24.1
5 Chelmsford Marie Goldman 4,753 9.4
6 Cheltenham Max Wilkinson 7,210 14.6
7 Chesham and Amersham Sarah Green 5,451 10.0
8 Chichester Jess Brown-Fuller 12,172 23.4
9 Chippenham Sarah Gibson 8,138 16.4
10 Didcot and Wantage Olly Glover 6,233 11.4
11 Dorking and Horley Chris Coghlan 5,391 10.8
12 Eastbourne Josh Babarinde 12,204 26.8
13 Eastleigh Liz Jarvis 1,546 3.3
14 Ely and East Cambridgeshire Charlotte Cane 495 0.9
15 Epsom and Ewell Helen Maguire 9,957 19.4
16 Esher and Walton Monica Harding 12,003 22.3
17 Frome and East Somerset Anna Sabine 5,415 11.6
18 Glastonbury and Somerton Sarah Dyke 6,611 13.9
19 Guildford Zöe Franklin 8,429 17.5
20 Harpenden and Berkhamsted Victoria Collins 10,708 19.7
21 Harrogate and Knaresborough Tom Gordon 8,238 15.8
22 Hazel Grove Lisa Smart 6,500 14.1
23 Henley and Thame Freddie van Mierlo 6,267 11.8
24 Honiton and Sidmouth Richard Foord 6,700 13.2
25 Horsham John Milne 2,517 4.5
26 Kingston and Surbiton Ed Davey 17,235 34.0
27 Lewes James MacCleary 12,624 23.7
28 Maidenhead Joshua Reynolds 2,963 5.9
29 Melksham and Devizes Brian Mathew 2,401 4.7
30 Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade 1,352 2.7
31 Mid Sussex Alison Bennett 6,662 12.5
32 Newbury Lee Dillon 2,377 4.9
33 Newton Abbot Martin Wrigley 2,246 4.7
34 North Cornwall Ben Maguire 9,957 19.4
35 North Devon Ian Roome 6,744 13.1
36 North East Hampshire Alex Brewer 634 1.1
37 North Norfolk Steffan Aquarone 2,585 5.5
38 North Shropshire Helen Morgan 15,311 30.9
39 Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran 14,894 32.4
40 Richmond Park Sarah Olney 17,155 32.9
41 South Cambridgeshire Pippa Heylings 10,641 19.4
42 South Cotswolds Roz Savage 4,973 9.5
43 South Devon Caroline Voaden 7,127 14.5
44 St Albans Daisy Cooper 19,834 38.4
45 St Ives Andrew George 13,786 28.7
46 St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire Ian Sollom 4,621 8.7
47 Stratford-on-Avon Manuela Perteghella 7,122 13.4
48 Surrey Heath Al Pinkerton 5,640 11.8
49 Sutton and Cheam Luke Taylor 3,801 8.0
50 Taunton and Wellington Gideon Amos 11,939 23.7
51 Tewkesbury Cameron Thomas 6,262 12.9
52 Thornbury and Yate Claire Young 3,014 5.6
53 Tiverton and Minehead Rachel Gilmour 3,507 7.4
54 Torbay Steve Darling 5,349 11.6
55 Tunbridge Wells Mike Martin 8,687 16.0
56 Twickenham Munira Wilson 21,457 40.0
57 Wells and Mendip Hills Tessa Munt 11,121 22.1
58 West Dorset Edward Morello 7,789 14.8
59 Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron 21,472 43.3
60 Wimbledon Paul Kohler 12,610 22.9
61 Winchester Danny Chambers 13,821 24.2
62 Witney Charlie Maynard 4,339 8.6
63 Woking Will Forster 11,246 23.4
64 Wokingham Clive Jones 8,345 15.5
65 Yeovil Adam Dance 12,268 25.1

London Assembly members

Directly elected mayors

Appointments

House of Lords

PeerEnnobledNotes
Dominic Hubbard, 6th Baron Addington1986 (Hereditary)
Lord Allan of Hallam2010
Lord Alliance2004
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville2013
Lord Beith2015
Baroness Benjamin2010
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury2004
Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted2015
Lord Bradshaw1999
Baroness Brinton2011
Lord Burnett2006
Baroness Burt of Solihull2015
Lord Chidgey2005
Lord Clement-Jones1998
Lord Cotter2006
Lord Dholakia1997
Baroness Doocey2010
Baroness Featherstone2015
Lord Foster of Bath2015
Lord Fox2014
Baroness Garden of Frognal2007
Lord Goddard of Stockport2014
Baroness Grender2013
Baroness Hamwee1991
Baroness Harris of Richmond1999
Lord Hussain2011
Baroness Hussein-Ece2010
Baroness Janke2014
Baroness Jolly2011
Lord Jones of Cheltenham2005
Baroness Kramer2010
Lord Lee of Trafford2006
Baroness Ludford1997
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames2011
Lord McNally1996
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer1998
Lord Newby1997
Baroness Northover2000
Lord Oates2015
Lord Paddick2013
Lord Palmer of Childs Hill2011
Baroness Parminter2011
Baroness Pinnock2014
Lord Razzall1997
Lord Redesdale2000
Lord Rennard1999
Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank1992
Baroness Scott of Needham Market2000
Lord Scriven2014
Lord Sharkey2010
Baroness Sheehan2015
Lord Shipley2010
Baroness Smith of Newnham2014
Lord Stephen2011
Lord Stoneham of Droxford2011
Lord Storey2011
Lord Strasburger2011
Lord Stunell2015
Baroness Suttie2013
Lord Taverne1996
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor2010
Lord Teverson2006
Baroness Thomas of Winchester2006
Baroness Thornhill2015
Lord Tope1994
Lord Tyler2005
Baroness Tyler of Enfield2011
Lord Verjee2013
Lord Wallace of Saltaire1995
Baroness Walmsley2000
Lord Watson of Richmond1999
Lord Willis of Knaresborough2010
Lord Wrigglesworth2013

List of chairs of the English Liberal Democrats

Baroness Caroline Pidgeon has been chair of the English Liberal Democrats since January 2025.

Chairs are elected in November and take office on 1 January the following year for a two-year term. They are eligible to stand for re-election, but must not serve as Chair for more than four years in a six-year period.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics [2 volumes]: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8.
  2. ↑ Alistair Clark (2012). Political Parties in the UK. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 86–93. ISBN 978-0-230-36868-2.
  3. ↑ Andrew Heywood (2011). Essentials of UK Politics. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 126–128. ISBN 978-0-230-34619-2.
  4. ↑ "Brexit". Liberal Democrats. 17 April 2018.
  5. ↑ Elgot, Jessica (28 May 2017). "Tim Farron: Lib Dems' pro-European strategy will be proved right". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ "Brand". Liberal Democrats.
  7. ↑ "UK election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Open Council Data (England)". Jon Lawson. 22 August 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "London Assembly Liberal Democrats". Glalibdems.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "The Constitutions of the Liberal Democrats" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2012.
  11. 1 2 "The English Party welcomes careful, and discreet, participants…". Libdemvoice.org. 8 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "If English Council meets and nobody knows, did it really meet?". Libdemvoice.org. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "The English Council - English Liberal Democrats".
  14. ↑ http://member.libdems.org.uk/~members/liberaldemocrats/node/25?tid=19[permanent dead link]
  15. ↑ "North West Liberal Democrats " Lib Dems in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside". Cix.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
  16. ↑ "English Young Liberals - Young Liberals". www.youngliberals.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  17. ↑ Valladares, Mark (18 October 2009). "The view from Creeting St Peter: Game on for leadership of the English Liberal Democrats". Liberalbureaucracy.blogspot.com. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ "The Liberal Democrats, How We Make Policy". Libdems.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  20. ↑ https://www.libdems.org.uk/conference/motions/autumn-2021/f21
  21. 1 2 3 "CIX site migration". Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
Regional parties within England