During the 2005 general election campaign Lib Dem candidate and leading party member Mike Dixon said: "All I ask is to allow sexually mature and sexually active 16- and 17-year-olds the same rights as anyone else to look at pictures of bums, tits and willies."

In 2009 the website Liberal Democrat Voice, the most widely-read website for party supporters, expressed sympathy towards Andrew Woolley, a former Somerset councillor who was disqualified from holding office after "illegal and pornographic material" was found on his council-owned laptop. 

Even the woman who was, until the reshuffle last year, tasked with promoting gender equality gets it wrong. Lynne Featherstone, who was parliamentary under-secretary of state for women and equalities, fronted the 2006 proposal to grant anonymity for men accused of rape. Featherstone said at the time: "It is clearly appalling for someone who is innocent to find their life and reputation ruined by false accusation and trial." In 2010 she failed to turn up to defend the policy as it was being debated and blamed a diary clash for her absence. The proposal was scrapped after opponents claimed that any tinkering that needed doing to rape legislation should focus on the minuscule conviction rates. 

According to Ellie Cumbo, women do not carry much weight in the party. "At the 2006 conference motion on anonymity there was strong disagreement from the Women Liberal Democrats group, who tried to marshal opposition, but women are so lacking in influence as a caucus, they weren't able to stop it."

Another notable Featherstone faux pas was when she represented her party at a hustings to discuss issues relevant to women in 2010. When Featherstone painted her party as the most "female-friendly", she was challenged by a young woman in the audience. Featherstone was asked if her concerns about sexual exploitation could be seen as disingenuous, as it had recently come to light that the party had accepted a pornographer, Anna Arrowsmith (who works under the name Anna Span), as a parliamentary candidate. 

What did this great champion of women's rights reply? "Some of us happen to like sex." Unsurprisingly Featherstone was heckled by the crowd, and called to task by the other women on the panel, who included Theresa May, now Home Secretary, and former Labour MP Vera Baird.