Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats (often referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The two parties had previously formed the electoral SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years prior.

From their first UK General Election in 1987 until the election of 2015, the Liberal Democrats were the third party in the House of Commons winning between 46 and 62 MPs. At the 2010 general election, under the leadership of Nick Clegg who had been elected leader in 2007, the Liberal Democrats won 57 seats, again making them the third-largest party in the House of Commons behind the Conservatives with 307 and Labour with 258. However, with no party having an overall majority, the Liberal Democrats agreed to join a coalition government with the Conservative Party with Clegg becoming Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats taking up ministerial positions.

At the 2015 general election, the party was reduced to just eight Members of Parliament, being replaced as third party by the Scottish National Party which had 56 MPs elected. Nick Clegg resigned as leader and Tim Farron won the subsequent leadership election.

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党, Jiyū-Minshutō), frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a major conservativepolitical party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the world, having continuously been in power since its foundation in 1955, with the exception of a brief 11-month period between 1993 and 1994, and from 2009 to 2012. In the 2012 election it regained control of government. It holds 295 seats in the lower house and 115 seats in the upper house. Just like current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe many present and former LDP ministers are also members of the openly revisionist organization Nippon Kaigi.

The LDP is not to be confused with the now-defunct Liberal Party (自由党, Jiyūtō), which merged with the Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party, in November 2003.

History

Ideology