Menzies Campbell Leads the Liberal Democrats in 2006 and 2007

Menzies Campbell, more commonly called Ming Campbell, is a lifelong liberal who led the Liberal Democrats in 2006-2007, stepping in to fill the void left by his predecessor. Although Campbell campaigned for the position his winning the contest was not a huge surprise.

Campbell is well known in the United Kingdom. He was also a famous athlete in his day that competed as a sprinter for Britain, and captained the athletics team for a number of years.

The leadership Campbell provided came at a critical time as Charles Kennedy resigned under much scrutiny and public embarrassment for the party. Campbell came to leadership with three objectives, the first being to bring stability to the party and instil a sense of purpose and direction.

His second objective was to improve the operational effectiveness internally and restore the professionalism of the party. The perception of his predecessor was of inaction at times and many Lib Dems felt the ship was being run too loosely.

Thirdly, Campbell wanted to prepare the party for a general election. Members of the party had been openly courted by the new Conservative leader David Cameron, and Ming sought to raise the leadership of the Lib Dem Party to ward off such advances.

With the election put off by the Prime Minister, Campbell was receiving criticism that his leadership ways were too old fashioned and not what the Lib Dems needed. In the interest of his party, Campbell resigned in October of 2007 stating he had accomplished his objectives and would let others lead the way to the general election.