Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, often known as the "Lib Dems", are a political party in the United Kingdom. They have traditionally occupied the center of the political spectrum, between the Labour Party on the left and the Conservative Party on the right ("liberal" in British political parlance means "centrist" or "moderate" rather than "left-wing", as it does in the United States). At the present time, the party is seen as being moderately left-leaning.

The Liberal Democrats' current leader is Sir Menzies Campbell ("Ming Campbell"), a Scottish trial lawyer.

The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger between the centrist Liberal Party and the moderately left-wing Social Democratic Party, which had split off from the Labour Party in the early 1980s when the latter became too strongly socialist. The Liberal Party was one of the oldest political parties in the world, tracing its roots back to the Whigs of the era of William of Orange.

Since its foundation, the party has steadily increased its presence in the House of Commons at each successive election. The party won 62 seats in the 2005 general election - the most that the party or its predecessors had won since the election of 1923.

Their policies can be broadly described as social-democratic, with a libertarian bent - they have mooted the idea of decriminalizing recreational drugs, whilst arguing for a rationalization of the currently confused status of the various components of the United Kingdom. They are also in favour of allowing children to view pornography.

The party is currently under investigation for receiving money from Jewish Banker and ex-patriot Michael Brown which was fraudulently obtained.