Editing David Steel (section)

{{short description|Retired British politician (born 1938)}}
{{about|the politician|other people named David Steel|David Steel (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Lord Steel of Aikwood
| honorific-suffix    = [[Order of the Thistle|KT]] [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]] [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|PC]]
| image               = Official portrait of The Lord Steel of Aikwood.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2020
| office              = [[Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament]]
| term_start          = 12 May 1999
| term_end            = 7 May 2003
| monarch             = [[Elizabeth II]]
| deputy              = {{ubl|[[Patricia Ferguson]]|[[George Reid (Scottish politician)|George Reid]]|[[Murray Tosh]]}}
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = George Reid
| office2             = [[Leader of the Liberal Democrats]]
| alongside2          = [[Robert Maclennan]]
| term_start2         = 3 March 1988
| term_end2           = 16 July 1988
| predecessor2        = {{ubl|''Himself'' ({{abbrlink|Lib.|Liberal Party (UK)}})|Robert Maclennan ({{abbrlink|SDP|Social Democratic Party (UK)}})}}
| successor2          = [[Paddy Ashdown]]
| office3             = [[Leader of the Liberal Party (UK)|Leader of the Liberal Party]]
| term_start3         = 7 July 1976
| term_end3           = 16 July 1988
| deputy3             = {{ubl|[[John Pardoe]] (1976–1979)|[[Alan Beith]] (1985–1988)}}
| 1blankname3         = [[President of the Liberal Party|President]]
| 1namedata3          = {{Collapsible list|[[Basil Goldstone]]|[[Gruffydd Evans]]|[[Michael Steed]]|[[Richard Holme]]|[[Viv Bingham]]|[[John Griffiths (Liberal politician)|John Griffiths]]|[[Geoff Tordoff]]|[[Alan Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond|Alan Watson]]|[[David Penhaligon]]|[[Des Wilson]]|[[Adrian Slade]]}}
| predecessor3        = [[Jo Grimond]] (acting)
| successor3          = [[Paddy Ashdown]] ([[Liberal Democrats (UK)#Foundation and early years (1987–1992)|Leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats]])
| office4             = [[Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats|Chief Whip of the Liberal Party]]
| term_start4         = 18 June 1970
| term_end4           = 7 July 1976
| leader4             = {{ubl|[[Jeremy Thorpe]]|[[Jo Grimond]]}}
| preceded4           = [[Eric Lubbock]]
| succeeded4          = [[Cyril Smith]]
{{collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary offices
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office5 = [[Member of the House of Lords]]
| status5 = [[Lord Temporal]]
| termlabel5 = [[Life peer]]age
| term_start5 = 6 June 1997
| term_end5 = 27 March 2020
| office6 = [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]]<br />for [[Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Lothians]]<br />{{nobold|(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)}}
| term_start6 = 6 May 1999
| term_end6 = 31 March 2003
| office7 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (UK Parliament constituency)|Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale]]<br />{{nobold|[[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency)|Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles]] (1965–1983)}}
| term_start7 = 24 March 1965
| term_end7 = 8 April 1997
| predecessor7 = [[Charles Edward McArthur Donaldson|Charles Donaldson]]
| successor7 = [[Michael Moore (Scottish politician)|Michael Moore]]
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_name          = David Martin Scott Steel
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1938|3|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Kirkcaldy]], Scotland
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (since 2020)
| otherparty          = {{ubl|[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] (1988–2020)|[[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] (until 1988)}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|Judith MacGregor|1962}}
| children            = 3
| parents             = [[David Steel (minister)|David Steel]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Edinburgh]]
| occupation          = 
| signature           = David Steel signature.svg
}}

'''David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood''' (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Steel of Aikwood, Baron, (David Martin Scott Steel) (born 31 March 1938)|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-36053|access-date=6 May 2021|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007 |language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u36053|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 }}</ref> Elected as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency)|Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles]], followed by [[Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (UK Parliament constituency)|Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale]], he served as the final leader of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], from 1976 to 1988. His tenure spanned the duration of [[SDP–Liberal Alliance|the alliance]] with the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]], which began in 1981 and concluded with the formation of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] in 1988.<ref name=":0" />

Steel served as a [[Member of the UK Parliament]] for 32 years, from 1965 to 1997, and as a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) from 1999 to 2003, during which time he was the parliament's [[Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament|Presiding Officer]]. He was a member of the [[House of Lords]] as a [[life peer]] from 1997 to 2020. Steel resigned from the House of Lords after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused him of an "abdication of responsibility" over his failure to investigate allegations of child sex abuse against the former Liberal MP [[Cyril Smith|Sir Cyril Smith]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 February 2020|title=David Steel quits Lib Dems after child abuse inquiry report|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/25/lord-steel-quits-lib-dems-after-child-abuse-inquiry-report|access-date=11 September 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>