24/07/2019
Jo Swinson has been elected the leader of the Liberal Democrats. She is the first woman to hold the position of leader since the Liberal Democrats were formed, out of a merger between the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party, in 1988. Although the Liberal Democrats often claim a direct lineage to the classical Liberal Party of Lloyd George, Jo Grimmond and Jeremy Thorpe, the rump Liberal Party still exists and holds a handful of Council seats on a platform of fiscal and social liberalism. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Party have a strong platform of LGBT civil rights. The Liberal Democrats LGBT Forum is highly active at Pride events. The LGBT+ Liberal Democrat Forum tweeted that there was already a surge in interest in the political party following the election of Ms Swinson.