Alan Beith

Beith was appointed to the BBC Advisory Council in 1974, and served as a member until 1984. On the election of David Steel as Liberal Leader in 1976, Beith became the Party's Chief Whip in the Commons.[7] After the 1983 general election, he was appointed Liberal Spokesman for Constitutional Affairs. He was elected as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1985, in both cases continuing his duties as a Commons Chief Whip.

After the 1987 general election, Beith concentrated his efforts as Liberal Spokesman for Treasury Affairs and stood down from being Liberal Chief Whip after eleven years in post. In 1988, the Liberal and Social Democratic parties merged, initially as the Social and Liberal Democrats.

Beith stood against Paddy Ashdown in the first leadership election in 1988, an election which Ashdown won by a large margin. Beith stayed on as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the 1992 general election under Ashdown until 2003, and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1992. In 1994, he became the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson and continued in post under Charles Kennedy's leadership. After the 2001 general election he briefly became Lib Dem spokesperson for the Lord Chancellor's Department, but left the Lib Dem frontbench in 2002, though remaining its Deputy Leader until the following year.

After standing down from the Lib Dem frontbench he chaired the Commons Constitutional Affairs, and Justice Committees. Following Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation as Leader of the Liberal Democrats on 15 October 2007, Beith was encouraged to stand as a prospective compromise candidate for the Lib Dem leadership. However, via his personal website, he announced his decision not to stand for election as party leader.

On 19 May 2009, Beith was the first MP to declare his candidacy to succeed Speaker Michael Martin, who stood down from the position on 21 June 2009. Beith pledged he was "willing to take on the task of leading reform" were he elected as Commons Speaker.[8] Conservative MP John Bercow won, becoming the 23rd Speaker of the House Commons of the United Kingdom.[9]

Insignia of a Knight Bachelor

Beith was knighted in the 2008 Birthday Honours.[10]

On 22 May 2009, Beith was reported by The Daily Telegraph to have claimed £117,000 in second home allowances while his wife, Baroness Maddock, claimed £60,000 Lords expenses for sharing the same address.[11]

Replying in writing on both their behalf to The Telegraph journalist's exposé: "It would be quite wrong for the taxpayer to pay twice for the same costs, so we have shared the costs, either by sharing the cost of rent, or by my wife using her allowance towards costs incurred (she normally claims only half the Lords' overnight allowance)", he argued in defence.[12]

At the May 2010 general election he was returned as MP for Berwick; however, his majority was reduced by a substantial swing to the Conservatives.

Beith served as Chairman of the Commons Justice[13] and of the Liaison Select Committees until retiring in 2015.

He was one of only four Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.[14] He was the only Liberal Democrat MP to oppose recognising Palestine as a state in the Commons vote on 13 October 2014.[15][16]

Beith campaigned throughout his years in the House of Commons for the A1 road to be made a dual carriageway in Northumberland.[17]

On 7 August 2013, Beith announced that he would retire as an MP at the next election, having at that point represented Berwick-upon-Tweed for 42 years.[18] He was announced as a life peer in the 2015 Dissolution Honours and was created Baron Beith, of Berwick-upon-Tweed in the County of Northumberland on the afternoon of 19 October.[19]

Beith has only voted for reducing VAT once, on 13 December 2008; from then on he voted for raising it.[20] Beith supports higher taxes for alcohol.[21] He always voted against a mansion tax.[22] He also has voted for reducing capital gains tax[23] and corporation tax. He has voted for raising the threshold for paying income tax.

He voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 in its third reading.[24] Beith also voted for smoking bans[25] and against a hunting ban.[26] He supports lowering the voting age to 16.[27] The Liberal Democrats generally support assisted dying; he has voted against it.[28]