The Liberal Democrats (often referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which had formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance for the previous seven years. At the 2015 general election, the party was reduced to eight MPs. Nick Clegg resigned as leader and Tim Farron won the subsequent leadership election.