On This Day

18 December 2007

Nick Clegg is elected leader of the Liberal Democrats

The contest between the two candidates to succeed Menzies Campbell, Clegg and Chris Huhne rarely caught fire but was notable for some personal spats, the most notorious of which was the “Calamity Clegg” dossier leaked to the media by the Huhne camp. Clegg the front runner fought a cautious campaign to the frustration of some of his supporters. Huhne the outsider was more aggressive and finished strongly so that when the result was announced, Clegg’s majority was just over 500 votes.