Social and Liberal Democrats leadership election, 1988
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David Steel and Robert Maclennan
The 1988 Social and Liberal Democrats leadership election was called in the United Kingdom following the formation of the then Social and Liberal Democrats (later shortening their name to "Liberal Democrats"). It was intended to replace the two interim leaders, David Steel and Robert Maclennan, with a single figurehead better able to represent both the former members of the Liberal Party and of the Social Democratic Party.
There were two candidates and all members of the party were balloted using the Alternative Vote preference system. The election was won by Paddy Ashdown, who served as leader until his stepping down in 1999. The campaign occurred in a party which was still coping with the merger and saw a vituperative attack on Ashdown in a letter written by Alex Carlile, a Beith-supporting MP.
The build-up to the leadership campaign began as soon as the party was formally merged in March 1988 — David Steel had made it clear that he did not want to continue as leader after the struggles of the Alliance days, and David Owen had entered the political wilderness. At that stage in the party’s development, there were still serious divisions between former Liberals and former SDP members.
Potential candidates for the leadership were identified almost immediately. Paddy Ashdown was already well known in the party before he became an MP in 1983, mainly as a result of the Youth Charter he formulated as a result of his experience of working with unemployed youngsters. His unusual background (for a Liberal) as a soldier and diplomat also attracted attention. Once elected, he quickly made a name for himself as someone who was not scared to say what he thought, frequently got into trouble as a result of indiscreet conversations with the press, and displayed boundless, indefatigable energy. He was widely recognised within and outwith the party as someone to keep a (wary) eye on.
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