The Liberal Democrat Party is one of the three leading political parties in Britain and was formed in 1988. Despite being a new party it has a long political tradition. The party was formed out of the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party can trace its roots back to the Whigs of the eighteenth century.
Further information on this subject can be found from the following links.
Liberal Democrats website
Current state of the parties
Political Parties Represented at Parliament