Changes

The Liberal Democrats (or "Lib Dems") were formed in 1988 by the merger of the old centrist Liberal Party with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). Their current leader is the Scottish trial lawyer Sir [[Menzies Campbell]], who took over when his predecessor, [[Charles Kennedy]], was publicly exposed as an alcoholic in early 2006.

The Liberal Democrats (or "Lib Dems") were formed in 1988 by the merger of the old centrist Liberal Party with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). Their current leader is the Scottish trial lawyer Sir [[Menzies Campbell]], who took over when his predecessor, [[Charles Kennedy]], was publicly exposed as an alcoholic in early 2006.

The Liberal Democrats were opposed to the [[Iraq War]], and have capitalized on Tony Blair's waning popularity to reiterate and strengthen its anti-war position.

The Liberal Democrats are divided between a relatively left-wing faction (to which Campbell and Kennedy belong), which has taken positions to the left of the Labour Party on a number of issues, and a more right-wing, pro-[[free market]] faction (several of whose members contributed to a controversial collection of essays published in 2004 called ''The Orange Book'').

=== Scotland ===

=== Scotland ===