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2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election

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For the 2020 Liberal Democratic Party of Japan leadership election, see 2020 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election.

2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election
← 2019 30 July – 27 August 2020 (2020-07-30 – 2020-08-27)
Turnout57.1% (Decrease14.9pp)
 
Candidate Ed Davey Layla Moran
Popular vote 42,756 24,564
Percentage 63.5% 36.5%
Interim co-leaders before election

Ed Davey
Mark Pack

 Elected leader

Ed Davey

The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held in August 2020, after Jo Swinson, the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost her seat in the 2019 general election. It was initially set to be held in July 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed by six weeks, having been at first postponed until May 2021.

Candidates including Wera Hobhouse and Christine Jardine initially declared their intention to stand but later withdrew. By 9 July, the date nominations officially closed, the only candidates were Ed Davey and Layla Moran. Davey was announced as the winner on 27 August with 63.5% of the vote.

Background

Jo Swinson became leader of the Liberal Democrats in a leadership election in July 2019, following the resignation of Vince Cable. In that election, she beat Ed Davey, who became deputy leader of the party in an uncontested election among Liberal Democrat MPs.[1] Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire constituency to Amy Callaghan of the Scottish National Party in the 2019 general election by 149 votes. She had first won the seat when it was re-created in 2005, but lost it to John Nicolson of the SNP in 2015, before regaining it in the 2017 general election.[2]

The party leader is required to be a Member of Parliament. As per the party's constitution, when the leader loses their seat, the deputy leader and the party president automatically become acting co-leaders.[3] Davey and Sal Brinton hence took over from Swinson as joint acting leaders, with Mark Pack replacing Brinton at the start of 2020 when her term ended.[4][1]

The party won eleven seats in the 2019 general election, one fewer than the number they won in 2017, but with an increased national vote share.[5] The party's general election campaign was criticised by the former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, who blamed the result on the party's platform of opposition to Brexit.[6][7] Some Liberal Democrat MPs criticised the general election campaign for being "hubristic" with its initial message that Swinson could be the country's next prime minister.[8]

Procedure

A timetable was set at a meeting of the party's governing body, the Federal Board, on 18 January 2020. Nominations were due to open on 11 May, after the local elections which were due to be held on 7 May 2020, and close on 28 May; voting would begin on 18 June and close on 15 July.[9] The timetable allowed time for a review of the party's performance in the 2019 general election.[10]

In March 2020, the election was postponed to May 2021, after the local elections which had been postponed to that month due to the coronavirus pandemic.[11] Reaction to this decision was largely negative amongst the party membership. The party's Federal Appeals Panel found that, although the Federal Board was correct to suspend the election, it did not have power to set the May 2021 date. The panel directed the board to keep the suspension under continuous review until "the exceptional circumstances that exist at present cease".[12]

On 20 May 2020, the party announced that the Federal Board had reversed their decision to delay the election until 2021. Voting would take place between 30 July and 26 August so that a new leader would be in place for the party's federal (Autumn) conference.[13][14]

Liberal Democrat leadership elections officially use the single transferable vote system, but they are effectively conducted under the alternative vote, as there is only one winner. All party members are entitled to vote under a one member, one vote method.[15] Candidates must be an MP, and must be nominated by at least one other Liberal Democrat MP. Proposed candidates must also have 200 supporters across 20 or more local parties, including the Young Liberals.[16]

The 117,924 ballots issued for the contest was the largest number in the party's history.[17]

Timetable

The party announced the election's timetable on 20 May.[18]

  • 24 June: Nominations open
  • 9 July: Nominations close
  • 30 July: Voting opens
  • 13:00, 26 August: Voting closes
  • 11:30, 27 August: Results announced

Campaign

The New Statesman reported in January 2020 that Daisy Cooper, Ed Davey, Wera Hobhouse and Layla Moran were considering standing as candidates.[8] In December 2019 and January 2020, Davey was the betting favourite to win, followed by Moran.[19][20]

Christine Jardine said in January that she was planning to be a candidate, but withdrew in April.[21][22] Cooper said that she was considering running in the election in January, but decided against running in May after the party decided to hold the election in 2020.[23][24] Cooper went on to endorse Davey, which was seen as a setback for Moran, who like Cooper was seen as being on the left-wing of the party.[25]

In January, Hobhouse said that she was considering running in the election.[26] In the previous month, she had expressed concern about how she'd be treated as a party leader given that she was an immigrant.[27][28] She announced that she would run as a candidate on 5 February, in an article for the website PoliticsHome in which she argued that the party should campaign from the centre-left and consider the possibility of the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union.[29][30][31] In May, she called for the party to "abandon equidistance", where "equidistance" refers to the idea that the Lib Dems should campaign from a position equally between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.[32] She said that she would start working with the Labour Party and the Green Party immediately if she were elected leader.[33] On 23 June, she withdrew from the contest and announced that she was backing Moran to be leader, saying that the latter was "the only candidate who can break with our party's damaging legacy from the coalition and adopt a centre-left position to defeat the Conservatives at the next election."[34][35]

Moran announced that she would stand as a candidate on 8 March, saying that the party needed a "positive vision", with more emphasis on the policy areas of education, the environment and political culture.[36][37][38] She said in an interview with Business Insider that the Liberal Democrats should be "more radical than Labour" and ruled out a coalition with the Conservative Party as long as Boris Johnson was its leader.[39][40] She said she would require a commitment to electoral reform before agreeing to join a coalition with Labour, and that she wanted activists from both parties to work together to take seats from the Conservatives.[41] She had previously criticised the party's approach to the 2019 general election, saying that the party's policy of preventing Brexit meant that voters did not trust the party.[38] In an online virtual hustings event with Welsh members, she said it was a top priority to make sure that Kirsty Williams held her seat in the 2021 Senedd election, and said that the decision in Wales to strike a deal with Plaid Cymru and the Greens for each party not to stand candidates in some constituencies in favour of other parties had been bad for activists' morale.[42] She proposed a Kitemark system to label products made by companies with higher ethical standards.[43] She also supported the introduction of a universal basic income.[44]

In June, acting leader Davey launched his bid to become leader saying that his "experience as a carer can help rebuild Britain after coronavirus".[45] He proposed the establishment of a basic income to support carers, and said that the Liberal Democrats should be "the party of social care".[39][46][47] Davey ruled out a formal electoral agreement with the Labour Party, but said that he would prioritise defeating the Conservatives, and ruled out working with the Conservatives following the next election.[39][48] He proposed a plan to reduce carbon emissions from domestic flights to zero by 2030 through investment in research and technology.[49] In a hustings event with Welsh members, he said that the 2021 Senedd election was a priority and he expected success for the Liberal Democrats.[42]

On 24 June, the first day of nominations, both Davey and Moran received sufficient nominations to progress to the ballot.[50] When nominations closed in July, Davey had more nominations both from members and from MPs than Moran.[51]

Between the final two candidates, Moran is considered to be the more left-wing.[40] Alongside former leader Nick Clegg and many of the Lib Dems who served in the governing Conservative-Lib Dem coalition of 2010–2015, Davey is associated with the party's right-wing Orange Booker branch. The record of the coalition, which caused a decline in popularity of the Lib Dems after 2015, has been defended by Davey.[52] Conversely, Moran is considered to represent a break from the coalition years.[53]

Candidates

Declared

The following MPs declared their intention to stand:

Candidate Born Political office Campaign Announced
Ed Davey
Ed Davey 		25 December 1965 MP for Kingston and Surbiton (1997–2015, since 2017)
Acting leader and Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats (since 2019)
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (2012–2015)
Campaign Archived 4 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine 		4 June 2020[45]
Layla Moran
Layla Moran 		12 September 1982 MP for Oxford West and Abingdon (since 2017)
Education spokesperson (since 2017)
Digital, culture, media and sport spokesperson (2019–2020)
Campaign Archived 5 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine 		8 March 2020[36]

Withdrawn

The following MPs declared their intention to stand but later withdrew.

Candidate Born Political office Campaign Announced Withdrew
Wera Hobhouse
Wera Hobhouse 		8 February 1960 MP for Bath (since 2017)
Energy and Climate Change spokesperson (2019; since 2020)
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson (since 2019)
Transport spokesperson (2019–2020)
Communities and local government spokesperson (2017–2019)
Campaign 		5 February 2020[30] 23 June 2020[34]
(endorsed Moran)
Christine Jardine
Christine Jardine 		24 November 1960 MP for Edinburgh West (since 2017)
Home affairs & women and equalities spokesperson (since 2019)
Justice spokesperson (2019)
Work and pensions spokesperson (2019)
Scotland spokesperson (2017–2019) 		30 January 2020[21] 30 April 2020[22]
(endorsed Davey)

Declined

Endorsements

Leadership candidates were endorsed by various notable politicians. Former party leader Jo Swinson remained neutral in the campaign.[55]

Ed Davey

Current MPs

Peers

Former MPs

  • Sarah Wollaston, former MP for Totnes, for the Conservative Party, Change UK, and the Liberal Democrats[60]

Former MEPs

Other politicians

Layla Moran

Current MPs

Peers

Former MPs

Nominations

Nominations opened on 24 June. Both of the remaining candidates attained the nominations needed to progress to the membership ballot.[16] The table below lists the number of nominations for each candidate. The total number of MPs represents the eleven Liberal Democrat MPs minus the two leadership candidates and Alistair Carmichael, who as chief whip remained neutral.[25]

Candidate MPs Party members Different local parties of nominating members[a]
Ed Davey
5 / 8
 1,870 343
Layla Moran
3 / 8
 1,329 330

Results

Ed Davey was announced as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats on 27 August.[62] This was the largest margin of victory in a contested race since the 1988 leadership election, where Paddy Ashdown won with 71% of the vote.[63]

Candidate Votes %
Green tickY Ed Davey 42,756
63.5
Layla Moran 24,564
36.5
Total 67,320 Turnout 57.1

Aftermath

In his victory speech, Davey said that the Liberal Democrats must "wake up and smell the coffee" and "start listening" to ordinary people and those who "don't believe we share their values." He also stressed his experience in the coalition government, and his commitments to tackle climate change. Moran later congratulated Davey on Twitter, saying "I look forward to working with him to campaign for a better future for Britain."[62][63]

Cooper was subsequently chosen by the Parliamentary Party as their new deputy leader.[64]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Including Young Liberals

References

  1. ^ a b Collier, Ian (13 December 2019). "General election: Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson loses seat to SNP". Sky News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson to step down". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. ^ "What's next" by Ed Davey, Communication to party members, 16 December 2019
  4. ^ "Thank you!". Mark Pack. 14 December 2019.
  5. ^ Walker, Peter; Murphy, Simon; Brooks, Libby (13 December 2019). "Jo Swinson quits as Lib Dem leader after losing her own seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  6. ^ Read, Jonathon (13 December 2019). "Former Lib Dem MP blasts party leadership: 'We ran a poor campaign'". The New European. Archant Community Media. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Sir Norman Lamb says Lib Dem losses have been in the making for 3 years". ITV News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Rea, Ailbhe (17 January 2020). "What now for the humbled Liberal Democrats?". New Statesman. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ Walter, Paul (18 January 2020). "Timetable to elect new leader set out". LibDem Voice. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  10. ^ Stewart, Heather (19 January 2020). "Corbyn was big factor in Lib Dem election failure, says Davey". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  11. ^ Pack, Mark (26 March 2020). "Postponing our Leadership Election". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  12. ^ Pack, Mark. "Update on the Lib Dem leadership election". Mark Pack. Mark Pack. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Election timetable". libdems.org.uk. Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  14. ^ Pack, Mark (20 May 2020). "New Liberal Democrat leader elected this August". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  15. ^ Wratten, Lee (19 December 2019). "Liberal Democrat leadership contests – how do they work?". Institute for Government. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  16. ^ a b "2020 Liberal Democrat Leadership Election". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Davey wins Liberal Democrat leadership race". 27 August 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "Lib Dems to hold leadership contest this summer". BBC News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  19. ^ Rodger, James (14 December 2019). "Next Lib Dem leader candidates revealed after Swinson's humiliation". Birmingham Live. Reach. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  20. ^ Read, Jonathon (20 January 2020). "Lib Dem MP says she is preparing a leadership pitch". The New European. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  21. ^ a b Rea, Ailbhe (30 January 2020). "Christine Jardine to stand for Liberal Democrat leadership". New Statesman. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  22. ^ a b Maguire, Patrick (30 April 2020). "Christine Jardine pulls out of Liberal Democrat leadership race". New Statesman. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
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  26. ^ Honeycombe-Foster, Matt (25 February 2020). "Lib Dem Wera Hobhouse reveals she's 'considering' run to replace Jo Swinson as party leader". Politics Home. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  27. ^ "General election 2019: Reaction after Tory win on Sunday shows - as it happened". BBC News. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  28. ^ Elgee, Emma (17 January 2020). "Bath MP Wera Hobhouse considering running for Liberal Democrat leader". somersetlive. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  29. ^ Hobhouse, Wera (25 February 2020). "The Lib Dems shot ourselves in the foot by attacking Labour. We must fight from the centre-left". Politics Home. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  30. ^ a b Bush, Stephen (6 February 2020). "Wera Hobhouse is the first Lib Dem leadership candidate – but she's unlikely to win". New Statesman. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  31. ^ Elgee, Emma (7 February 2020). "Wera Hobhouse MP confirms Liberal Democrat leadership bid". Somerset Live. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  32. ^ Bush, Stephen (21 May 2020). "What does Wera Hobhouse's "Abandon Equidistance" slogan even mean?". New Statesman. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  33. ^ Read, Jonathon (8 June 2020). "Lib Dem leadership candidate proposes progressive alliance with Labour and Greens". The New European. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  34. ^ a b c Bush, Stephen (23 June 2020). "Wera Hobhouse drops out of the Liberal Democrat leadership race – and endorses Layla Moran". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  35. ^ Read, Jonathon (23 June 2020). "Lib Dem MP drops out of party leadership election". The New European. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  36. ^ a b Mason, Rowena (8 March 2020). "Layla Moran to stand for Liberal Democrat leadership". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  37. ^ Sheridan, Danielle (27 March 2020). "Lib Dems suspend leadership campaign by a year due to coronavirus". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  38. ^ a b Walker, Peter (18 March 2020). "Layla Moran criticises Lib Dems' general election strategy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  39. ^ a b c Payne, Adam. "Ed Davey says the Liberal Democrats must work together with Keir Starmer to defeat Boris Johnson". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  40. ^ a b "Layla Moran on turning left and whether the Lib Dems should go into coalition again". New Statesman. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  41. ^ Savage, Michael (26 July 2020). "Lib Dem leadership hopeful Layla Moran hints at closer links with Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  42. ^ a b Davies, Cemlyn (25 July 2020). "Welsh Lib Dem members to have say on next leader". BBC News. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  43. ^ "Exclusive: Let firms who pay living wage and treat staff well boast new 'kitemark', Lib Dem hopeful Layla Moran says". Politics Home. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  44. ^ Savage, Michael (26 July 2020). "Lib Dem leadership hopeful Layla Moran hints at closer links with Labour". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  45. ^ a b Walker, Peter (4 June 2020). "Ed Davey: my experience as a carer can help rebuild Britain after coronavirus". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  46. ^ "Davey launches Liberal Democrat leadership bid". Shropshire Star. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  47. ^ a b Woodcock, Andrew (4 June 2020). "Ed Davey pledges citizen's basic income for carers as he launches Lib Dem leadership campaign". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  48. ^ Read, Jonathon (13 July 2020). "Ed Davey says he is 'anti-Conservative' and will work with Keir Starmer to oust Boris Johnson". The New European. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
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  50. ^ "Davey and Moran in race to be next Lib Dem leader". BBC News. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Lib Dem leadership race: Sir Ed Davey and Layla Moran on ballot as nominations close". Politics Home. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  52. ^ Steerpike (4 July 2020). "Was Ed Davey 'a bit right-wing' for a Tory coalition partner?". The Spectator. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  53. ^ Read, Jonathon. "POLL: Who gets your backing in the Lib Dem leadership election?". The New European. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  54. ^ "Farron: I wouldn't take back Lib Dem leader role". BBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  55. ^ a b c d e Woodcock, Andrew (28 July 2020). "Liberal Democrat leadership race: Layla Moran gets support from former MPs who lost seats in 2015 and 2019". The Independent. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  56. ^ Rea, Ailbhe (2 July 2020). "Daisy Cooper: "I'll be backing Ed Davey for Liberal Democrat leader"". New Statesman. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  57. ^ Devlin, Kate (30 June 2020). "'Winning is everything', former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says as he endorses Ed Davey". The Independent. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  58. ^ a b Sleigh, Sophia (4 June 2020). "Ed Davey formally announces bid for Lib Dem leader". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
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  60. ^ a b c d e f Cooper, Daisy (30 July 2020). "Daisy Cooper MP writes….200+ Liberal Democrats back Ed Davey as the leader with 'experience, vision and judgement'". LibDem Voice. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  61. ^ Gourtsoyannis, Paris (28 June 2020). "Choose liberalism over 'isolationist' SNP, says Lib Dem hopeful Layla Moran". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  62. ^ a b Stewart, Heather (27 August 2020). "Ed Davey elected Liberal Democrat leader". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
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  64. ^ Woodcock, Andrew (15 September 2020). "Liberal Democrats plan to woo 'soft conservatives' repulsed by 'thuggish' Johnson Tories". The Independent.
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