2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election

2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election

15 July 2020

Interim Co-Leader before election Ed Davey Mark Pack Elected Leader TBD

The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election will be held in 2020 after Jo Swinson, previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost her seat in the United Kingdom general election held on 12 December 2019.

Background

Jo Swinson became leader of the Liberal Democrats in a 2019 leadership election, following the resignation of Vince Cable, beating Ed Davey, who then became deputy leader of the party in an uncontested election. Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire constituency to Amy Callaghan of the Scottish National Party in the 2019 general election by 149 votes. (Swinson first won the seat when it was re-created in 2005, and she held it in 2010; but she then lost it to the SNP in 2015, before re-gaining it by 5,339 votes in the 2017 general election.)

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 co-acting leaders. Ed Davey and Sal Brinton thus took over as joint acting leaders, with Mark Pack replacing Brinton at the start of 2020 when her term ended.

Overall, the party won eleven seats in the 2019 general election, one fewer than in 2017, but with an increased national vote share. The party's general election campaign was criticised by former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, blaming the result on their platform of opposition to Brexit. Current MPs were critical in private of how the decision to support the policy of revoking Article 50 was arrived at and how it was communicated. Some have also criticised the general election campaign for being "hubristic" with its initial defining message that Swinson could be the country's next Prime Minister, which appeared to be based on an overly optimistic reading of opinion polls in late October 2019 that put the Liberal Democrats almost neck-and-neck with the Labour Party (20% against Labour's 24%).

Campaign

On 14 December, Davey (MP for Kingston and Surbiton) was the betting favourite to win, followed by Layla Moran (MP for Oxford West and Abingdon).

On 15 December, Bath MP Wera Hobhouse questioned whether the British people would be ready to accept her as leader of the party, given that she was an immigrant. She said that right-wing media regularly described her as "German-born Wera Hobhouse". However, she did not rule out standing.

Also on 15 December, it was reported that newly elected St Albans MP Daisy Cooper said she would "not rule anything out" and that she had "big ambitions".

On 3 January 2020, Moran made headlines when she came out as pansexual, announcing she is now in a relationship with a woman. At the time, she did not rule out running for leader.

In mid-January, Hobhouse said she was considering standing.

On 17 January, the New Statesman magazine reported that five MPs are "seriously considering" standing: Cooper, Davey, Hobhouse, Jardine, and Moran. Davey is identified with his belief that the party should defend their record in office as part of the 2010-15 coalition government. In contrast, Cooper, who was not an MP at the time, campaigned against several coalition policies. Another potential division in the campaign is over the recent large influx of new members to the party with a focus on opposition to Brexit, who may be supportive of Hobhouse and her support for rejoining the EU, versus others in the party who focus on liberalism.

On 30 January, the New Statesman magazine reported that a source close to Jardine, the MP for Edinburgh West, confirmed she will be standing, with an official announcement to come later.

On 5 February, Hobhouse wrote a piece for PoliticsHome saying the party had been wrong to pursue a policy of equidistance between Labour and the Conservatives in the general election campaign. Instead, she argued, the party should have concentrated more on campaigning against the Conservatives. She confirmed that she was intending to stand in the leadership election. The same day, Moran criticised the early campaign focus on Swinson as potentially being the next Prime Minister, saying, "that made us look a bit hubristic". She left open whether she would stand.

Election rules

The running of the leadership election was determined by Article 17 of the Liberal Democrat constitution. Liberal Democrat leadership elections use the alternative vote (instant runoff) system, with all party members being entitled to vote under a one member, one vote system.

Nominees are required to be an MP, to have the backing of at least 10% of the Parliamentary party (i.e. one other MP), and to be supported by at least 200 members spread across at least 20 different local parties.

A timetable was set at a meeting of the party's Federal Board on 18 January 2020. Nominations will open on 11 May and close on 28 May. The casting of votes will begin on 18 June and close on 15 July. The election of a new leader will thus come after that of the Labour Party, allowing time for a review of the party's performance in the 2019 general election.

Candidates

Declared

The following MPs are intending to stand:

• Wera Hobhouse, climate emergency, energy and the environment spokesperson
• Christine Jardine, home affairs and women and equalities spokesperson

Potential

The following MPs were discussed in the media as potential leadership candidates:

• Daisy Cooper, justice and digital, media, sport and culture spokesperson; ran Jo Swinson's leadership campaign
• Ed Davey, interim leader since 2019
• Layla Moran, education spokesperson

Declined

• Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, former Liberal Democrat leader (2015–2017)
• Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip and former Secretary of State for Scotland (2013–2015)

See also

• 2020 Labour Party leadership election