Page "Liberal Party (UK)" Paragraph 50

Thorpe was subsequently forced to resign after allegations about his private life.

The party's new leader, David Steel, negotiated the Lib-Lab pact with Wilson's successor as Prime Minister, James Callaghan.

According to this pact, the Liberals would support the government in crucial votes in exchange for some influence over policy.

The agreement lasted from 1977 to 1978, but proved mostly fruitless, for two reasons: the Liberals ' key demand of proportional representation was rejected by most Labour MPs, whilst the contacts between Liberal spokespersons and Labour ministers often proved detrimental, such as between finance spokesperson John Pardoe and Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey, who were mutually antagonistic.