Editing David Steel

{{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>

==Early life and education==

Steel was born in [[Kirkcaldy]], [[Fife]], the son of a [[Church of Scotland]] minister also called [[David Steel (Church of Scotland minister)|David Steel]], who would later serve as [[Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland|Moderator of the General Assembly]] of the [[Church of Scotland]]. He was brought up in Scotland and [[Kenya]], and educated at [[Dumbarton Academy]]; [[James Gillespie's High School|James Gillespie's Boys' School]], Edinburgh; the [[Prince of Wales School]], [[Nairobi]]; and [[George Watson's College]], Edinburgh,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/item_single.php?item_id=18&item=biography |title=Liberal Democrat History Group |publisher=Liberalhistory.org.uk |access-date=19 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113230134/http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/item_single.php?item_id=18&item=biography |archive-date=13 January 2014 }}</ref> followed by the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he first took an active part in Liberal politics, and was elected Senior President of the [[Edinburgh University Students' Association|Students' Representative Council]], and graduated in Law.<ref name=libdems>{{cite web |url= http://www.libdems.org.uk/david_steel |title=David Steel: Lord Steel of Aikwood |date=22 January 2014 |access-date=16 May 2014 |publisher= Liberal Democrats}}</ref>

==Political career==
{{BLP sources section|date=January 2023}}
After university, Steel worked for the Scottish Liberal Party, and then the [[BBC]], before being elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] as the MP for [[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency)|Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles]] at the [[1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election|1965 by-election]], just before his 27th birthday, becoming the "[[Baby of the House]]". He represented this seat until 1983, when he was elected in [[Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (UK Parliament constituency)|Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale]], a new constituency covering much of the same territory. From 1966 to 1970, Steel was president of the British [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]] campaign.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/AAM/Anti-Apartheid-News-WEB.pdf|title = Anti-Apartheid News Summer 2009 - ACTSA|date = Summer 2009|work = Anti-Apartheid News|access-date = 16 May 2014|page = 9|archive-date = 3 October 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121003025448/http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/AAM/Anti-Apartheid-News-WEB.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/anti-apartheid-movement-online-archive-south-africa |title=The Anti-Apartheid Movement goes online: a unique archive of the struggle |first=Jon|last=Henley|newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 March 2014 |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref>

As an MP, Steel was responsible for introducing, as a [[Private member's bill]], the [[Abortion Act 1967]], and has argued for greater liberalisation of this legislation in recent years (see [[Abortion in the United Kingdom]]).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bowditch|first1=Gillian|title=Why we need to rethink outdated laws on abortion|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/why-we-need-to-rethink-outdated-laws-on-abortion-vvptggkcd|work=The Sunday Times|date=17 January 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He also became the Liberal Party's spokesman on employment, and, in 1970, its [[Chief Whip]].

===Leader of Liberal Party===
In 1976, following the downfall of [[Jeremy Thorpe]], and a short period in which [[Jo Grimond]] acted as caretaker leader, he won the Liberal leadership by a wide margin over [[John Pardoe]]. At only 38 years old, he was one of the youngest party leaders in British history. In March 1977, he led the Liberals into the "[[Lib–Lab pact]]". The Liberals agreed to support the Labour government, whose narrow majority since the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|general election in October 1974]] had been gradually eroded and left them as a minority government, in power, in return for a degree of prior consultation on policy. This pact lasted until August 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/background/pastelec/ge79.shtml |title=BBC Politics 97 |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=3 May 1979 |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref>

Steel was criticised, both then and since, for not driving a harder bargain. However, Steel's defenders contend that the continuing scandal surrounding Thorpe left the party in a very weak state to face an early general election, and Steel was wise to buy himself some time from Prime Minister [[James Callaghan]]. At the same time, the growing unpopularity of the Labour government impaired the Liberals' performance, and Steel's first election as leader, the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]], saw a net two-seat loss for the Liberals.

===SDP–Liberal Alliance===
In 1981, a group of Labour moderates left their party to form the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]]. They were joined by the former Labour deputy leader, Chancellor and Home Secretary [[Roy Jenkins]], who had previously had discussions with Steel about joining the Liberals. Under Jenkins' leadership, the SDP joined the Liberals in the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]]. In its early days, the Alliance showed so much promise that for a time, it looked like the Liberals would be part of a government for the first time since 1945. Opinion polls were showing Alliance support as high as 50% by late 1981. Steel was so confident that he felt able to tell delegates at the Liberal Assembly that year: "Go back to your constituencies, and prepare for government."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3185313.stm | work=BBC News | title=Conference season's greatest hits | date=10 September 2003 | access-date=7 April 2010 | first=Ollie | last=Stone-Lee}}</ref> In the wake of the [[1981 Croydon North West by-election]], where Liberal candidate [[Bill Pitt (politician)|Bill Pitt]] came from third position to easily gain the Alliance's first by-election victory, Steel's reaction to the result was to state that his belief "that we are now unstoppable."<ref name="GH23October1981">{{cite news |last1=Parkhouse |first1=Geoffrey |title=Alliance triumph at Croydon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19811023&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=13 January 2022 |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=23 October 1981 |page=1}}</ref>

Steel had genuine hopes at that stage that the Alliance would win the next general election and form a [[coalition]] government. However, the beginning of the [[Falklands War]] the following spring radically shifted the attitude of the electorate, and the Conservatives regained the lead in polls from the Alliance by a wide margin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/top-ten-lib-dem-breakthrough-moments/ |title=Top Ten: Lib Dem 'breakthrough moments' |publisher=ePolitix.com |date=24 April 2010 |access-date=19 September 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512171830/http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/top-ten-lib-dem-breakthrough-moments/ |archive-date=12 May 2010 }}</ref> The Alliance secured more than 25% of the vote at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]], almost as many votes as Labour. However, its support was spread out across the country, and was not concentrated in enough areas to translate into seats under the [[first past the post system]]. This left the Alliance with only 23 seats — 17 for the Liberals, and six for the SDP. Steel's dreams of a big political breakthrough were left unfulfilled.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm | work=BBC News | title=1983: Thatcher triumphs again | date=5 April 2005}}</ref>

Shortly afterwards, the former Labour Foreign Secretary [[David Owen]] replaced Jenkins as leader of the SDP, and the troubled leadership of the "Two Davids" was inaugurated. It was never an easy relationship—Steel's political sympathies were well to the left of Owen's. Owen had a marked antipathy towards the Liberals, though he respected Steel's prior loyalty to his own party contrasting it with Jenkins' lack of interest in preserving the SDP's independence. The relationship was also mercilessly satirised by ''[[Spitting Image]]'' which portrayed Steel as a squeaky voiced midget, literally in the pocket of Owen. Steel has often stated that he feels this portrayal seriously damaged his image.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article346544.ece|title=Politicians beware! 'Spitting Image' set to return|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|first=Robert|last=Verkaik|date=20 February 2006|access-date=11 May 2010|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122055748/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article346544.ece|archive-date=22 November 2008}}</ref> This portrayal of Steel as weaker than Owen was also present in other satires, such as ''[[Private Eye]]''{{'}}s ''[[Battle for Britain (Private Eye)|Battle for Britain]]'' strip. The relationship finally fell apart during the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]] when the two contradicted each other, both on defence policy and on which party they would do a deal with in the event of a [[hung parliament]].

===Two parties merge===
[[File:DavidSteel1987 cropped.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Steel addressing the Liberal Party assembly in [[Harrogate]] on merger in 1987]]
Steel was convinced the answer to these difficulties was a single party with a single leader, and was the chief proponent of the 1988 merger between the Liberals and the SDP. He emerged victorious in persuading both parties to accept merger in the teeth of opposition from Owen and radical Liberals such as [[Michael Meadowcroft]], but badly mishandled the issuing of a joint policy document. Steel had often been criticised for a lack of interest in policy, and it appeared he had agreed to the document – drawn up by politically naive SDP advisers – without reading it. His colleagues rejected it immediately and demanded a redraft, fatally wounding his authority.

Steel was briefly joint interim leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats (as the new party was at first called) in the run-up to elections in which he did not stand, before becoming the party's foreign affairs spokesman. In 1989, he accepted an invitation from Italian Liberals to stand for the [[European Parliament]] in the [[1989 European Parliament election in Italy|1989 election]] as a Pan-European gesture, but was not elected.<ref>{{cite web |title=Europee 18/06/1989 |url=https://elezionistorico.interno.gov.it/index.php?tpel=E&dtel=18/06/1989&tpa=Y&tpe=I&lev0=0&levsut0=0&levsut1=1&es0=S&es1=S&ms=S&ne1=3&lev1=3 |website=Eligendo |access-date=2 May 2024 |language=Italian}}</ref>

Steel became President of the [[Liberal International]] in 1994, holding the office until 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/item_single.php?item_id=18&item=biography |title=Liberal Democrat History Group |publisher=Liberalhistory.org.uk |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716021334/http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/item_single.php?item_id=18&item=biography |archive-date=16 July 2010 }}</ref>

=== Life peerage and Scottish Parliament ===
Steel retired from the House of Commons at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] and was made a [[life peer]] as '''Baron Steel of Aikwood''', of [[Ettrick Forest]] in the [[Scottish Borders]], on 6 June 1997.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54812 |date=20 June 1997 |page=7187}}</ref> He campaigned for [[Scottish devolution]], and in 1999 was elected to the [[Scottish Parliament]] as a Liberal Democrat [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|MSP]] for [[Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Lothians]]. He became the first [[Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament|Presiding Officer]] (speaker) of the Scottish Parliament on 12 May 1999.<ref name="session1">{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/31929.aspx |title=Previous MSPs: Session 1 (1999-2003): Sir David Steel |date=8 April 2011 |publisher=[[Scottish Parliament]] |access-date=17 January 2015}}</ref>

In this role, he used the style "Sir David Steel", despite his peerage. He suspended his Liberal Democrat membership for the duration of his tenure as Presiding Officer, believing that the post, like the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker]] of the UK House of Commons, should be strictly nonpartisan. All subsequent Presiding Officers have followed this practice.

Steel stepped down as an MSP when the parliament was dissolved for the [[2003 Scottish Parliament election|2003 election]], but remained as Presiding Officer until he had supervised the election of his successor [[George Reid (Scottish politician)|George Reid]] on 7 May of that year. He was appointed [[Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland]] in both 2003 and 2004.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

=== Cyril Smith child sex abuse scandal ===
On 14 March 2019, Steel was suspended by the Liberal Democrats after an admission that discussions he had conducted in 1979 with the then Liberal MP for Rochdale [[Cyril Smith]], at a time when Steel was leader of the Liberal Party, had led him to conclude that Smith had been a sexual abuser of children in the 1960s and that Steel nonetheless failed to instigate any assessment by the party of whether Smith was an on-going risk to children. [[Richard Scorer]], representing victims at the [[Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse]], called for him to be stripped of his peerage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/14/david-steel-faces-suspension-from-lib-dems-over-cyril-smith-revelation|title=David Steel suspended from Lib Dems over Cyril Smith revelation|first=Rajeev|last=Syal|newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 March 2019 |access-date=15 March 2019}}</ref> On 14 May 2019, the Liberal Democrats ruled that there were "no grounds for action" against Steel and reinstated him to party membership.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48268104|title=Lib Dems find 'no grounds for action' against Sir David Steel|work= BBC News|date=14 May 2019 |access-date=16 August 2019}}</ref>

On 25 February 2020, Steel announced his resignation from the Liberal Democrats and subsequently his position as a member of the House of Lords, after admitting that during his leadership of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] he "assumed" that Smith had been a child abuser, and failed to investigate claims made by ''[[Private Eye]]'' against Smith, dating from before Smith was a party member.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51634431 Former leader Lord Steel quits Liberal Democrats] ''BBC News'' 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020</ref> This came about after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused Steel of an "abdication of responsibility" over allegations against Smith. He retired officially from the House of Lords on 27 March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parliamentary career for Lord Steel of Aikwood - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/949/career|access-date=13 February 2021|website=members.parliament.uk|language=en}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = [[File:Coronet of a British Baron.svg|centre|150px]] [[File:Steel of Aikwood Escutcheon.png|centre|200px]]
|escutcheon = Azure in chief two furisons Or in base a tower Argent port and windows Sable on a chief Argent dexter on a gonfannon Purpure a saltire equisee Argent the gonfannon pendent from a pole fessways Purpure between two chords each Purpure and Argent and sinister a portcullis chained Sable.
|crest = A jaguar salient Proper
|supporters = Dexter a Masai warrior sinister a border reiver Proper.
|motto = Vir Tamen Aurum Est (The Man's The Gold For A'That)<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage |date=2019 |page=4455}}</ref>}}
[[File:Edinburgh - St Giles Catherdal - Stall plates of Knights of the Thistle 13.JPG|thumb|Steel's stall in the [[Thistle Chapel]], [[St Giles' Cathedral]], Edinburgh. His arms can be seen on the right, with the [[crest (heraldry)|crest]] of a springing jaguar.]]

Steel was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) in the [[1990 New Year Honours]] for political and public service.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51981 |date=30 December 1989 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref> On 30 November 2004, [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]] created Lord Steel a [[Knight of the Order of the Thistle]], the highest honour in Scotland.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=57482 |date=1 December 2004 |page=15127}}</ref>

He has also received numerous foreign honours, including: Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit (Germany) in 1992;
Chevalier in the Légion d'Honneur (France) in 2003; and Honorary Knight of the [[Order of St. George (Habsburg-Lorraine)]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=www.dodspeople.com |url=http://www.dodspeople.com/Page.aspx?pageid=420&id=26516&group=5 |access-date=16 August 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Steel has received a number of Honorary Doctorates from many universities including [[Heriot-Watt University]], Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Stirling.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/business/quotes/officerProfile?symbol=BPFU_u.L&officerId=1628298 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220104726/http://uk.reuters.com/business/quotes/officerProfile?symbol=BPFU_u.L&officerId=1628298 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 December 2016 |title=Blue Planet Financials Growth and Income Investment Trusts PLC:David Steel |work=[[Reuters]] |date=2012 |access-date=7 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm|title=Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates|website=www1.hw.ac.uk|access-date=4 April 2016|archive-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418163907/http://www1.hw.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life and family==
Steel married fellow law graduate Judith Mary MacGregor in October 1962. They resided at [[Aikwood Tower]] in the Borders of Scotland for twenty years, but now live in [[Selkirk, Scottish Borders|Selkirk]]. They have two sons and a daughter, and nine grandchildren.<ref name=libdems /> In 1995, his elder son Graeme was convicted for growing cannabis at his house, and sent to prison for nine months.<ref name="The Independent">{{cite news |last1=Arlidge |first1=John |title=David Steel's son jailed over drugs |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/david-steels-son-jailed-over-drugs-1579746.html |access-date=24 December 2019 |work=The Independent |date=28 October 1995}}</ref> One of his granddaughters, Hannah, was elected to [[Scottish Borders|Scottish Borders Council]] (representing the [[Galashiels and District (ward)|Galashiels and District]] ward) in the [[2022 Scottish local elections]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-61397714 |title=Council elections: The stories behind some of Scotland's new councillors |first=Chelsea |last=Rocks |website=BBC News |date=11 May 2022 |accessdate=11 May 2022}}</ref>

His recreations are angling and classic car rallying: he won the bronze medallion in 1998 for London to Cape Town. He is a member of the [[National Liberal Club|National Liberal]] and [[Royal Over-Seas League]] clubs.<ref name=":0" />

Steel was featured in his own episode of the [[Channel 4]] documentary series [[Empire's Children|''Empire's Children'' (2007)]] which explored his family background, particularly his father's attempt to save the African people from British internment camps during the [[Mau Mau rebellion]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Booth |first=Samantha |date=2007-07-12 |title=MY FATHER'S COURAGE IN KENYA REDUCED ME TO TEARS |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/my-fathers-courage-in-kenya-reduced-me-to-tears-953500 |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=Daily Record |language=en}}</ref>

==Further reading==
*Peter Bartram, ''David Steel: His Life and Politics'' (W.H. Allen, 1981)
*David Steel, ''A House Divided'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1980)
*David Steel, ''Against Goliath: David Steel's Story'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989)
*David Torrance, ''David Steel – rising hope to elder statesman'' (Biteback, 2015)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-david-steel | David Steel }}
* {{SP-MSP |prefix=Sir}}
* [http://archives.lse.ac.uk/TreeBrowse.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&field=RefNo&key=STEEL Catalogue of the Steel papers] at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20070618035533/http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/archive/Default.htm Archives Division] of the [[London School of Economics]].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101111011049/http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/lord-steel-of-aikwood Lord Steel of Aikwood] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
*[http://www.oldcambrians.com/ Prince of Wales School:Old Cambrians Society, Nairobi]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,3604,1254767,00.html We need to rethink my abortion law] Steel's thoughts on the abortion debate, as of 2004.

{{S-start}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles]]|years=[[1965 Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles by-election|1965]]–[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]}}
{{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (UK Parliament constituency)|Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale]]|years=[[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]]–[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michael Moore (Scottish politician)|Michael Moore]]}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Frits Bolkestein]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{Succession box| title  = [[Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats|Liberal Party Chief Whip]] | years  = 1970–1976 | before = [[Eric Lubbock]] | after = [[Cyril Smith]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jo Grimond]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Liberal Party (UK)|Leader of the Liberal Party]]|years=1976–1988}}
{{s-non|reason=Party merged with [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]]}}
{{s-new|party}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Leader of the Social and Liberal Democrats]]|years=1988|regent1=[[Robert Maclennan]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Paddy Ashdown]]}}
{{s-par|sct}}
{{s-new|creation|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] for [[Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Lothians]]|years= 1999–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mark Ballard]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=[[Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament]]|years=1999–2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Reid (Scottish politician)|George Reid]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Rector of the University of Edinburgh]]|before=[[Anthony Ross (priest)|Anthony Ross]]|after=[[Archie Macpherson]]|years=1982–1985}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford|The Lord Howell of Guildford]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]'''<br />''Baron Steel of Aikwood'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[[David Alton|The Lord Alton of Liverpool]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Babies of the House}}
{{UKLiberalLeaders}}
{{UK Liberal Democrats}}
{{Former Liberal Democrat MSPs|state=collapsed}}
{{Members of the Order of the Thistle}}
{{Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament}}
{{Abortion in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, David}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:People from Kirkcaldy]]
[[Category:Politics of the Scottish Borders]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Party MPs]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs]]
[[Category:Knights of the Thistle]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Liberal Party (UK)]]
[[Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers|Steel of Aikwood]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Liberal International]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Liberal Democrats (UK)]]
[[Category:People educated at George Watson's College]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1964–1966]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:Rectors of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland]]
[[Category:Liberal Democrat MSPs]]
[[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003]]
[[Category:Alumni of Nairobi School]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law]]
[[Category:People educated at Dumbarton Academy]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014]]