[5] He stood unsuccessfully in Leeds West for the Liberals in the general elections of February 1974 and October 1974 before winning in 1983, defeating Labour MP Joseph Dean.

This victory was a shock result and has been attributed to an early form of community politics, focusing on local problems.

[11] Meadowcroft was amongst those in the Liberal Party who criticised leader David Steel's compromises with the SDP over defence policy and favoured nuclear disarmament.

[12] He favoured a European defence policy, independent of both the United States and the Soviet Union, and without nuclear weapons.

He finished in fourth place, behind Battle, Paul Bartlett of the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat candidate Viscount Morpeth.

On 5 October 2007, it was announced that Meadowcroft had joined the Liberal Democrats, citing the party's opposition to the Iraq War, its rejection of the identity cards policy and their commitment to a united Europe.

[20] He defended the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement in 2010, saying that Labour had refused to negotiate with them, and that the deal with the Conservatives won concessions on electoral reform and civil liberties.

[21] Meadowcroft was one of the few senior Liberal Democrats to defend Bradford East MP David Ward, who was expelled from the party in 2017 over comments critical of Israel and Zionism.

He disclosed that, after the Dispatches programme of September 2013, he was e-mailed by a Jill Pratt about how she had reported allegations against Cyril Smith to the Liberal Party's leadership in 1970.

He has regularly argued for the importance of political philosophy and that the members of the Liberal Democrats require more conviction in their beliefs.

[3] His views on foreign policy at the time were described as "exceedingly radical" for a Liberal, as he opposed the deployment of troops to Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and membership of NATO.