Liberal Dinglecrats
His Majesty’s… no. The Republic’s Official Opposition. Centrists, civil libertarians and, by their own account, the only people on the island who ever ask what anything costs.
The party at a glance
- Seats
- 38 of 175
- Leader
- Lenny Pengar MHP
- Position
- Official Opposition
- Previous leader
- Tony Sheffield MHP (to 2029)
- Politics
- Centrist, liberal
- Known as
- The Lib Dings
The Liberal Dinglecrats are the second-largest party in the House Purple and form the Official Opposition. Their leader speaks first after the Government in every major debate, by convention, and leads the scrutiny of the Prime Minister each sitting week.
The Lib Dings stand for two things above all. The first is human rights without exception: Title Four, they argue, is not who Scousers are when it is convenient, it is who they are full stop. The second is value for money. They believe public services that face no competition have no reason to keep costs down, and they have spent years warning that the island spends nothing at all on its own security.
The party went into the general election of 3 May 2029 under Tony Sheffield and came out of it badly. Mr Sheffield lost his constituency seat and returned on the party list, and Lenny Pengar was elected leader unopposed.
The current Speaker of the House Purple, Beatrice Pugh, sat as a Liberal Dinglecrat until her election to the Chair, when Article 57 required her to leave the party.
Members of the House Purple
LP
Lenny Pengar MHP
Leader of the Opposition · Egg Berth: Walrussia
Lenny Pengar became Leader of the Liberal Dinglecrats, and with it Leader of the Opposition, after the 2029 general election. Nobody stood against him. He describes it as a wound, not a mandate, and says he intends to earn the second.
A tall, broad-shouldered figure, usually seen in a cream trench coat with his reading glasses folded into the pocket, he is a calm and persuasive speaker who can bring Members of other parties to their feet. His central argument is that the Republic cannot keep its socialist promises if it has nothing with which to defend them, and that it must never defend them by abandoning human rights.
TS
Tony Sheffield MHP
Former Leader · No. 1, Port Ringo City Region list
Tony Sheffield was born in Liverpool and built a long political career in Britain, as an adviser, a Member of Parliament and a Cabinet minister, and finally as Mayor of Chester and the west of the county, before taking up his Right of Scouse Settlement and moving to Dingle.
He led the Liberal Dinglecrats into the 2029 general election, which did not go well. He lost his constituency seat and returned to the House Purple at the top of the party’s list, and stood down as leader in favour of Lenny Pengar. He remains one of the island’s best-known politicians, and his thick black-framed glasses one of its best-known pairs of spectacles. He is married with three children.
JL
Jack Little MHP
Spokesperson for International Law · Future Brighton West
Jack Little speaks for the Liberal Dinglecrats on international law and human rights. His view is that no domestic workaround changes the Republic’s obligations abroad, and that a small country with no army depends more than anyone on the rules everyone else is meant to keep.
He is a regular voice for the Geneva Conventions in debates on security, and an equally regular reminder to the Government that a debate about principles should not be turned into a debate about the budget.
JF
Julie Forrest MHP
Backbench MHP · Huyton de Ma City Region (list)
Julie Forrest is a Liberal Dinglecrat list Member for the Huyton de Ma City Region. She is a keen croquet player and a stickler for parliamentary procedure, and is often among the Members who volunteer to help the Speaker with ceremonial duties when the President attends the House.
This directory lists Members holding ministerial or party office and others in the public eye. Profiles of all 38 Liberal Dinglecrat Members are being updated following the general election of 3 May 2029.
Page last reviewed: 29 October 2029