The Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for administering the whipping system in the party which ensures that members attend and vote in parliament when the party leadership requires a majority vote. Whips, of which two are appointed in the party, a member of the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords, also help to organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. On some occasions, the party leadership may allow MP's to have a free vote based on their own conscience rather than party policy, of which the chief whip is not required to direct votes.
This is a list of people who have served as Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and of its predecessor parties. The Liberal Party was formed in 1859, but through its roots in the Whig Party dates back to the late 1670s. In 1988, the Liberals merged with the Social Democratic Party, formed by dissident Labour Party members in 1981, to create the Liberal Democrats.
| Post: | Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats |
| Insignia: | House of Commons of the United Kingdom logo 2018.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 220px |
| Incumbent: | Wendy Chamberlain MP |
| Incumbentsince: | 31 August 2020 |
| Leader: | Ed Davey MP |
| Appointer: | Leader of the Liberal Democrats |
| Formation: | circa 1830 (as Chief Whip of the Whig Party) 1988 (in current form) |
| Inaugural: | Edward Ellice (Whigs) James Wallace (Liberal Democrats) |
| Year | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | John Roper | Farnworth | |
| 1983 | John Cartwright | Woolwich |
| Year | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Jim Wallace | Orkney and Shetland | |
| 1992 | Archy Kirkwood | Roxburgh and Berwickshire | |
| 1997 | Paul Tyler | North Cornwall | |
| 2001 | Andrew Stunell | Hazel Grove | |
| 2006 | Paul Burstow | Sutton and Cheam | |
| 2010 | Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | |
| 2013 | Don Foster | Bath | |
| 2015 | Tom Brake | Carshalton and Wallington | |
| 2017 | Alistair Carmichael | Orkney and Shetland | |
| 2020 | Wendy Chamberlain | North East Fife |
| Post: | Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats |
| Insignia: | House of Lords logo 2020.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 220px |
| Incumbent: | The Lord Stoneham of Droxford |
| Incumbentsince: | 2016 |
| Leader: | Tim Farron MP Vince Cable MP |
| Appointer: | Leader of the Liberal Democrats |
| Formation: | circa 1837 (as Chief Whip of the Whig Party) 1988 (in current form) |
| Inaugural: | The Viscount Falkland (Whigs) The Lord Tordoff (Liberal Democrats) |
| Year | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1837 | The Viscount Falkland | |
| 1840 | none1 | |
| 1846 | The Viscount Falkland | |
| May 1848 | The Earl of Bessborough |
| Year | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1859 | The Earl of Bessborough | |
| Jan 1880 | The Lord Monson (created Viscount Oxenbridge in 1886) | |
| Aug 1892 | The Lord Kensington | |
| Oct 1896 | The Lord Ribblesdale | |
| May 1907 | The Lord Denman | |
| 1911 | The Lord Colebrooke | |
| 1922 | none2 | |
| 1924 | The Lord Stanmore | |
| 1944 | The Viscount Mersey | |
| 1949 | The Marquess of Willingdon | |
| 1950 | The Lord Moynihan | |
| 1950 | The Lord Rea | |
| 1955 | The Lord Amulree | |
| 1977 | The Lord Wigoder | |
| 1984 | The Lord Tordoff3 |
| Year | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Lord Kennet | |
| 1983 | The Lord Kilmarnock | |
| 1986 | The Baroness Stedman |
| Year | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Lord Tordoff | |
| 1994 | The Lord Harris of Greenwich[1] | |
| 2001 | The Lord Roper | |
| 2005 | The Lord Shutt of Greetland | |
| 2012 | The Lord Newby | |
| 2016 | The Lord Stoneham of Droxford[2] |
| Year | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Neil James Archibald Primrose | Wisbech | |
| 1916 | Freddie Guest | East Dorset | |
| 1921 | Charles McCurdy | Northampton | |
| 1922 | Edward Hilton Young | Norwich |
| Year | Name | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Alec Glassey | East Dorset | |
| 1931 | Geoffrey Shakespeare | Norwich | |
| 1932 | James Blindell (knighted in 1936) | Holland with Boston | |
| 1937 | Charles Kerr | Montrose Burghs | |
| 1940 | Herbert Holdsworth | Bradford South | |
| 1945 | Herbert Butcher (knighted in 1953; created a Baronet in 1960) | Holland with Boston |