Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats
Year Name Constituency
1830 Edward Ellice Coventry
1830 Charles Wood Great Grimsby
1834 Francis Thornhill Baring Portsmouth
1835 Edward John Stanley North Cheshire
1841 Richard More O'Ferrall Kildare
1846 Henry Tufnell Plymouth Devonport
1850 William Goodenough Hayter Wells
House of Commons -- Whigs
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 partys 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.