2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election


The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election is due to be 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 to May 2021.

Background

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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.

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. The timetable allowed time for a review of the party's performance in the 2019 general election. 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. 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". 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 a new leader would be in place for the party's autumn conference.
Liberal Democrat leadership elections use the alternative vote system, with all party members being entitled to vote under a one member, one vote method. 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.

Timetable

The party announced the election's timetable on 20 May.
The New Statesman reported in January 2020 that Daisy Cooper, Ed Davey, Wera Hobhouse and Layla Moran were considering standing as candidates. In December 2019 and January 2020, Davey was the betting favourite to win, followed by Moran.
Christine Jardine said in January that she was planning to be a candidate, but withdrew in April. 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. 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.
In January, Hobhouse said that she was considering running in the election. In the previous month, she had expressed concern about how she'd be treated as a party leader given that she was an immigrant. 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. In May, she called for the party to "abandon equidistance", where "equidistance" refers to the idea that the Liberal Democrats should campaign from a position equally between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. She said that she would start working with the Labour Party and the Green Party immediately if she were elected leader. 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."
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. She said that the Liberal Democrats should more "more radical than Labour" in an interview with Business Insider, and ruled out a coalition with the Conservative Party as long as Boris Johnson was its leader. She said she would require a commitment to electoral reform before agreeing to join a coalition with the Labour Party, and that she wanted activists from both parties to work together to take seats from the Conservatives. 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 didn't trust the party. In a 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 to not stand candidates some seats in favour of other parties in some constituencies was bad for activists' morale. She proposed a Kitemark system to label products made by companies with higher ethical standards. She also supported the introduction a universal basic income.
In June, acting leader Davey launched his bid to become leader saying that his "experience as a carer can help rebuild Britain after coronavirus". He proposed the establishment of a basic income to support carers, and said that the Liberal Democrats should be "the party of social care". 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. He proposed a plan to reduce carbon emissions from domestic flights to zero by 2030 through investment in research and technology. 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.
On 24 June, the first day of nominations, both Davey and Moran received sufficient nominations to progress to the ballot. When nominations closed in July, Davey had more nominations from both members and MPs than Moran.

Candidates

Declared

The following MPs declared their intention to stand:
CandidateBornPolitical officeCampaignAnnounced

'		25.12.1965
MP for Kingston and Surbiton
Acting leader and Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
4 June 2020

'		12 9 1982
MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
Education spokesperson
Digital, culture, media and sport spokesperson
8 March 2020

Withdrawn

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

'		8 2 1960
MP for Bath
Energy and Climate Change spokesperson
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson
Transport spokesperson
Communities and local government spokesperson
5 February 202023 June 2020

'		24.11.1960
MP for Edinburgh West
Home affairs & women and equalities spokesperson
Justice spokesperson
Work and pensions spokesperson
Scotland spokesperson 		30 January 202030 April 2020

Declined

Leadership candidates have been endorsed by various notable politicians. Former party leader Jo Swinson is expected to remain neutral in the campaign.

Ed Davey

Current MPs

Current MPs

Nominations opened on 24 June. Both of the remaining candidates attained the nominations needed to progress to the membership ballot. 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.
CandidateMPsParty membersDifferent local parties of nominating members
Ed Davey1,870343
Layla Moran1,329330