Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Apr. 30, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Liberty Global plc
Entity Central Index Key	0001570585
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Common Class A [Member]
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		216,973,376
Common Class B [Member]
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		11,102,619
Common Class C [Member]
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		570,148,328