1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election

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1999 Liberal Democrats leadership election
  1988 9 August 1999 2006  
  Charles Kennedy MP (cropped).jpg Simon Hughes MP Liverpool cropped.jpg Official portrait of Lord Bruce of Bennachie crop 2.jpg
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
  David Rendel - Newbury declaration.jpg
Candidate Jackie Ballard David Rendel
First pref.3,978 (7.8%)3,428 (6.7%)
Final pref.EliminatedEliminated

Leader before election

Paddy Ashdown

Elected Leader

Charles Kennedy

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 balloted using the Alternative Vote preference system. The election was won by Charles Kennedy, who served as leader until his resignation in 2006.

Contents

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:

Withdrew from the contest

The following Liberal Democrat politicians initially stood but subsequently withdrew from the election:

Supporters included:

Results

First round
CandidateChangeVotes%
Charles Kennedy 22,72444.6
Simon Hughes 16,23331.8
Malcolm Bruce 4,6439.1
Jackie Ballard 3,9787.8
David Rendel 3,4286.7
Turnout51,00662
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
CandidateChangeVotes%
Charles Kennedy +89523,61946.5
Simon Hughes +1,14517,37834.2
Malcolm Bruce +5985,24110.3
Jackie Ballard +6274,6059.1
David Rendel 3,428
Not transferable+163163
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
CandidateChangeVotes%
Charles Kennedy +1,54525,16449.7
Simon Hughes +1,98219,36038.3
Malcolm Bruce +8276,06812.0
Jackie Ballard 4,605
Not transferable+251414
Bruce eliminated, fourth 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
CandidateChangeVotes%
Charles Kennedy +3,26128,42556.6
Simon Hughes +2,47321,83343.4
Malcolm Bruce 6,068
Not transferable+334748
Charles Kennedy elected

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References

  1. Hurst, Greg (2006). Chales Kennedy: A Tragic Flaw (First ed.). Politicos. p. 104. ISBN   1-84275-176-X.