Current leader Sir Vince Cable announced earlier this month that he would step down on 23 July.
On the back of their success at the European elections, where they came second with 20.3% of the vote, the party is looking for Sir Vince’s successor.
Nominations for the contest to replace him will close on 7 June.
Initial rumours had suggested that MPs Layla Moran, Tom Brake and Norman Lamb might run, but each has since confirmed that they have no plans to do so.
Candidates for the Lib Dem leadership must be an MP supported by at least 200 members spread across at least 20 different local parties.
They must also have the backing of 10% of the parliamentary party – currently, the party has 11 MPs.
Lib Dem members will then have the final say on who becomes leader.
The first official hustings take place on Friday evening.
Jo Swinson
(Image: Ian Forsyth)
The Deputy Leader of the party is the frontrunner for the top job.
Confirming her intention to stand she told BBC Question Time the country was “crying out” for a movement “to challenge the forces of nationalism and populism”.
Asked if she would be running, she told BBC Question Time: “Yes, I am going to stand to be leader of the Liberal Democrats .
“I will set out my plans tomorrow [Friday] but I happen to think that this country is crying out for a liberal movement that will challenge the forces of nationalism and populism and the Liberal Democrats need to be at the heart of that movement and I’m the person to lead it.”
The MP for East Dunbartonshire was first elected in 2005 as the youngest MP in the House of Commons.
Ms Swinson, who served as a Business Minister and Minister for Women and Equalities in the Coalition Government, would be the party’s first female leader if elected.
The maternity and parental rights campaigner was responsible for bringing in shared parental leave.
She hit the headlines after Tory Party chair Brandon Lewis broke a pairing agreement which allowed her to miss a Brexit vote when she had just given birth to her second child.
She lost her seat in 2015 but regained it in the snap general election two years later.
Ed Davey
Former energy secretary Ed Davey was first out of the traps when it came to the Lib Dem contest.
Declaring his intention to stand on Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday he said the country needed “a new economic model”.
He added: “I’m talking about de-carbonising capitalism, making capitalism turn green so Britain is a world green finance capital.
“That means being tough on our banks, on the stock exchange, on the pension funds, so they take account of climate risk.”
Sir Ed contributed to the Orange Book and comes from the free-market liberal wing of the party.
As Energy Secretary under the coalition he changed his mind to support nuclear energy, approving the construction of Hinkley Point C.
He was also attacked when he said that fracking for shale oil or gas is “not the evil thing that some people try to make it out to be”.
Speaking at an event in London, Sir Ed said he would write to Commons Speaker John Bercow to request that a no-deal Brexit should not be allowed to occur without a vote for it in Parliament.
Like Jo Swinson, Sir Ed lost his seat in 2015but came back to represent Kingston and Surbiton, in south-west London, in 2017.
As part of his leadership pitch he has also promised to “defend our NHS” from future cuts and take action to tackle climate change.
