1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election

The 1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election was called following the resignation of Paddy Ashdown as Leader of the Liberal Democrats. There were five candidates and all members of the party were ballotted using the Alternative Vote preference system. The election was won by Charles Kennedy, who served as leader until his resignation in 2006.

1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election
9 August 1999
 
Candidate Charles Kennedy Simon Hughes Malcolm Bruce
First pref. 22,724 (44.6%) 16,233 (31.8%) 4,643 (9.1%)
Final pref. 28,425 (56.6%) 21,833 (43.4%) Eliminated
 
Candidate Jackie Ballard David Rendel
First pref. 3,978 (7.8%) 3,428 (6.7%)
Final pref. Eliminated Eliminated
Leader before election

Paddy Ashdown

 Elected Leader

Charles Kennedy

The chief issue in the election was whether the party should continue its partial collaboration with the Labour Party, which had seen Ashdown and other senior Liberal Democrats appointed to a joint Cabinet committee on electoral reform. Most of the candidates were to various degrees sceptical about this approach, with Simon Hughes the most hostile and Charles Kennedy the strongest defender of Ashdown. The campaign was almost entirely free of bitterness and outspoken comments. Kennedy was generally favoured by the press because of his name recognition, which derived from his frequent appearances on light-hearted panel games on television.

Candidates

Jackie Ballard

Supporters included:

Malcolm Bruce

Supporters included:

Simon Hughes

Supporters included:

Charles Kennedy

Supporters included:

David Rendel

Supporters included:

Results
First round
Candidate Change Votes %
Charles Kennedy — 22,724 44.6
Simon Hughes — 16,233 31.8
Malcolm Bruce — 4,643 9.1
Jackie Ballard — 3,978 7.8
David Rendel — 3,428 6.7
Turnout 51,006 62
Rendel eliminated, second count required

As a result of the first round, Rendel was eliminated. Those of his votes that includes further preferences were redistributed (transferred) to the remaining four candidates.

Second round
Candidate Change Votes %
Charles Kennedy +895 23,619 46.5
Simon Hughes +1,145 17,378 34.2
Malcolm Bruce +598 5,241 10.3
Jackie Ballard +627 4,605 9.1
David Rendel −3,428 — —
Not transferable +163 163 —
Ballard eliminated, third count required

As a result of the second round, Ballard was eliminated. Those of her votes that includes further preferences were redistributed to the remaining three candidates.

Third round
Candidate Change Votes %
Charles Kennedy +1,545 25,164 49.7
Simon Hughes +1,982 19,360 38.3
Malcolm Bruce +827 6,068 12.0
Jackie Ballard −4,605 — —
Not transferable +251 414 —
Bruce eliminated, forth count required

As a result of the third round, Bruce was eliminated. Those of his votes that includes further preferences were redistributed to the remaining two candidates.

Final round
Candidate Change Votes %
Charles Kennedy +3,261 28,425 56.6
Simon Hughes +2,473 21,833 43.4
Malcolm Bruce −6,068 — —
Not transferable +334 748 —
Charles Kennedy elected
gollark: Oh yes, I forgot people are terrible and do that.
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gollark: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/495792649090105354/761692185690374144/fools.png?width=325&height=421
gollark: I mean, it's not a very sensible reason, but neither is "divine right" or "heroic deed".
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References
  • Colin Rosenstiel. "All-member ballot results". Liberal Democrats' election results 1998-2004. Archived from the original on 20 February 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2006.
  • David Boothroyd. "Liberal Party Leaders". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 11 January 2006.
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