London Liberal Democrats

The London Liberal Democrats are the regional party of the Liberal Democrats that operates in Greater London. The organisation is a part of the English Liberal Democrats. The party holds 6 of the 75 seats representing London in the House of Commons, 2 of the 25 seats in the London Assembly, and 244 of the 1,817 London borough councillors. Additionally, the party controls 3 of the 32 London borough councils.

Current representatives

Members of Parliament The London Liberal Democrats won 6 of 75 London seats in the House of Commons at the 2024 United Kingdom general election. The table below shows the party's current Members of Parliament (MPs).

Constituency First elected Majority Ed Davey Kingston and Surbiton 1997, 2017 17,235 34.1% Bobby Dean Carshalton and Wallington 2024 7,905 16.9% Paul Kohler Wimbledon 2024 12,610 22.9% Sarah Olney Richmond Park 2016, 2019 17,155 33.3% Luke Taylor Sutton and Cheam 2024 3,801 8.0% Munira Wilson Twickenham 2019 21,457 40.0%

London Assembly members The London Liberal Democrats won 2 of 25 seats in the London Assembly at the 2024 London Assembly election. The table below shows the party's current Assembly Members (AMs).

Constituency First elected Majority Hina Bokhari Additional member 2021 N/A N/A Gareth Roberts South West 2024 16,019 7.8%

Councillors The London Liberal Democrats won 243 of 1,817 borough seats and majority control of 3 of 32 boroughs at the 2026 London local elections. The party currently has 244 councillors and controls 3 boroughs, as shown in the table below.

Council Councillors Leader Role in Council Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Anton Georgiou Bromley Julie Ireland Camden Tom Simon Croydon Ealing Gary Malcolm Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Luke Cawley-Harrison Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Linda Wade Kingston upon Thames Andreas Kirsch Lambeth Donna Harris Lewisham Merton Anthony Fairclough Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Gareth Roberts Southwark Victor Chamberlain Sutton Ruth Dombey Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster

Electoral performance UK general elections

The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results at United Kingdom (UK) general elections since the London Government Act 1963 created the administrative area of Greater London in 1965. Results between 1966 and 1979 are for the Liberal Party, while results between 1983 and 1987 are for the SDP–Liberal Alliance.

All UK general elections use first-past-the-post voting.

The party's best result was at the 2005 general election, when it won 8 of 74 seats in London. The London Liberal Democrats won 6 of 75 seats at the most recent general election in 2024.

Election Leader Votes Seats Status 1966 Jo Grimond 356,925 9.3 3.1 1970 Jeremy Thorpe 246,060 6.9 2.4 1 Feb-1974 814,239 20.8 13.8 Oct-1974 594,699 17.0 3.8 1979 David Steel 437,521 11.9 5.1 1983 Roy Jenkins and David Steel 853,360 24.7 12.8 2 1987 David Owen and David Steel 770,117 21.3 3.4 1 1992 Paddy Ashdown 542,733 15.1 6.2 2 1997 486,013 14.6 0.5 5 2001 Charles Kennedy 482,888 17.5 2.9 2005 638,333 21.9 4.4 2 2010 Nick Clegg 751,561 22.1 0.2 1 2015 272,544 7.7 14.4 6 2017 Tim Farron 336,725 8.8 1.1 2 2019 Jo Swinson 562,564 14.9 6.1 2024 Ed Davey 367,424 11.0 3.9 3

European Parliament elections

During the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union (1973–2020), Greater London participated in European Parliament elections, held every five years from 1979 until 2019. The table below shows London Liberal Democrat results in elections to the European Parliament. Results in 1979 are for the Liberal Party, while results in 1984 are for the SDP–Liberal Alliance. From 1979 to 1994, London members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected from ten individual constituencies by first-past-the-post voting; from 1999 to 2019, MEPs were elected from a London-wide regional list by proportional representation. The party's best result was at the final election in 2019, when it won 3 of 8 seats in London.

Election Leader Votes Seats 1979 David Steel 175,945 11.4 N/A N/A 3rd 1984 David Owen and David Steel 302,427 18.1 6.7 3rd 1989 Paddy Ashdown 98,255 5.3 12.9 4th 1994 199,017 12.1 6.9 3rd 1999 133,058 11.7 0.5 1 3rd 2004 Charles Kennedy 288,790 15.3 3.6 3rd 2009 Nick Clegg 240,156 13.7 1.6 3rd 2014 148,013 6.7 7.0 1 5th 2019 Vince Cable 608,725 27.2 20.5 3 1st

Regional elections

Greater London Council elections The table below shows the results obtained by the London Liberal Party in elections to the Greater London Council (GLC). The GLC was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. All GLC elections were conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. The party's best result was at the 1973 GLC election, when it won 2 of 92 seats.

Election Leader Votes Seats Status 1964 238,967 10.0 N/A N/A 1967 189,868 8.8 1.2 1970 103,838 5.4 3.4 1973 Stanley Rundle 244,703 12.5 7.1 2 1977 174,405 7.8 4.7 2 1981 Adrian Slade 323,856 14.4 6.6 1

London Assembly elections

The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results at London Assembly elections since the Greater London Authority was established in 2000. Assembly elections use the additional member system, a form of mixed member proportional representation, with 14 directly elected constituencies and 11 London-wide top-up seats.

The party's best result was at the 2004 London Assembly election, when it won 5 of 25 seats. The London Liberal Democrats won 2 of 25 seats at the most recent London Assembly election in 2024, including the first constituency seat ever won by a party other than Labour or the Conservatives (South West).

Election Leader Constituency Party Total Seats Seats Seats 2000 Graham Tope 299,998 18.9 245,555 14.8 N/A 2004 332,237 18.4 316,218 16.9 1 2008 Mike Tuffrey 330,018 13.7 252,556 11.2 2 2012 Caroline Pidgeon 193,842 8.8 150,447 6.8 1 2016 195,820 7.5 165,580 6.3 1 2021 266,595 10.3 189,522 7.3 1 2024 Hina Bokhari 271,049 11.0 215,682 8.7

London Mayoral elections

The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results in London Mayoral elections since the Greater London Authority was established in 2000. Elections between 2000 and 2021 were conducted using the supplementary vote system, which allowed voters to transfer votes from first to second preference candidates. The 2024 election used the first-past-the-post system.

The London Liberal Democrats have never won a London mayoral election. The party's best result was at the 2004 London mayoral election, when it won 15.3% of the first preference vote. The party won 5.8% of the vote at the most recent election in 2024.

Election Candidate 1st Round 2nd Round Result 2000 Susan Kramer 203,452 11.9 N/A Eliminated 2004 Simon Hughes 284,647 15.3 3.5 Eliminated 2008 Brian Paddick 235,585 9.8 5.6 Eliminated 2012 91,774 4.2 5.6 Eliminated 2016 Caroline Pidgeon 120,005 4.6 0.4 Eliminated 2021 Luisa Porritt 111,716 4.4 0.2 Eliminated 2024 Rob Blackie 145,184 5.8 1.4

Local elections

The table below shows the London Liberal Democrats results at London borough council elections since the London Government Act 1963 created the administrative area of Greater London in 1965. Results between 1964 and 1978 are for the Liberal Party, while results between 1982 and 1986 are for the SDP–Liberal Alliance. All borough council elections use the first-past-the-post voting system.

The party's best result was at the 2006 London local elections when it won 316 of 1,861 seats and control of 3 of 32 boroughs. The London Liberal Democrats won 243 seats and control of 3 boroughs at the most recent elections in 2026.

Election Leader Votes Councillors Councils Seats Majorities 1964 Jo Grimond N/A N/A N/A 1968Jeremy Thorpe 387,181 7.3 6 1971 253,255 4.2 3.0 1 1974 244,725 13.1 8.9 18 1978David Steel 150,298 7.1 6.0 3 1982Collective SDP Leadership and David Steel 530,340 24.6 17.5 94 1986David Owen and David Steel 539,848 24.0 0.6 125 3 1990Paddy Ashdown 344,125 14.2 9.8 20 1994 490,259 22.0 7.8 94 1998 362,913 20.8 1.2 22 1 2002Charles Kennedy 353,833 20.6 0.2 6 1 2006Menzies Campbell 443,772 20.7 0.1 9 2010Nick Clegg 835,217 22.4 1.7 70 1 2014 267,769 10.6 11.8 130 1 2018Vince Cable 323,074 13.0 2.5 36 2 2022Ed Davey 335,415 13.7 0.7 28 2026 12.4 1.3 63

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.

+Best historic result by boroughBoroughElectionBest seatsRole in councilCurrent seats Barking and Dagenham 1986 Barnet 1964 Bexley 1994 Brent 2006 Bromley 1998 Camden 2006 Croydon 2026 Ealing 2026 Enfield 1974 Greenwich 1986 Hackney 1998 Hammersmith and Fulham 1982 Haringey 2006 Harrow 1994 Havering 1990 Hillingdon 1986 Hounslow 1994 Islington 2002 Kensington and Chelsea 2026 Kingston upon Thames 2022 Lambeth 2002 Lewisham 2002 Merton 2026 Newham 1982 Redbridge 2006 Richmond upon Thames 2026 Southwark 2002 Sutton 2026 Tower Hamlets 1990 Waltham Forest 2006 Wandsworth 1982 Westminster City 2010

See also English Liberal Democrats

References

External links