The Lib Dems could change their name

Update: The Lib Dems will not be changing their name, a spokesman tells i100.co.uk.

The Liberal Democrats lost almost 50 seats at the general election, so maybe a rebranding exercise could be in order?

That's apparently the thinking of former president Tim Farron, who is likely to announce he is standing to replace Nick Clegg as the party's leader.

He repeatedly referred to the party as "the Liberals" - the party's name before its merger with the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s - during an interview on the Today programme yesterday.

A source told the Daily Telegraph: "The Liberal party has a long history and it is important to capitalise on that. We are the party of Gladstone, Lloyd George and Beveridge and we should be proud of that."

One small problem with that could be that there already is a party called the Liberals, and they actually beat the Lib Dems in Merseyside.

In Liverpool West Derby, the Liberal candidate got 2,049 votes but the Lib Dem only 959 (losing the deposit in the process).

i100.co.uk is seeking clarification on any potential name change for the Lib Dems.

Norman Lamb, a former health minister in the coalition government and a close ally of Nick Clegg, is the only MP to formally declare he will stand for leader.

Under the party's rules any candidate needs ten per cent of the party's MPs to run, or in this case, 0.8 of an MP...

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