Sir Ed Davey has been elected the new Liberal Democrat leader and immediately admitted the party “must change” after losing touch with “too many voters” after three disappointing general election results for the Party.
Following a month-long ballot of party members, Sir Ed secured 42,756 votes to beat fellow MP Layla Moran (24,564 votes) to the leadership.
Sir Ed, who was a former cabinet minister from the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition government, now becomes the party’s fourth permanent leader to be elected in little more than five years.
The 54-year-old, father of two, called on the Lib Dems to “wake up and smell the coffee” to attempt to reconnect with the wider UK public.
Congratulations @EdwardJDavey on your election to lead the @LibDems.
The radicalised Tory party of 2020 chooses isolationism & anti-European dogma over cooperation. As an internationalist with conviction, I know you & your party have the chance to change this! 🇪🇺🇬🇧
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) August 27, 2020
After being elected he urged his Party members that “Nationally, our party has lost touch with too many voters,
“Yes, we are powerful advocates locally. Our campaigners listen to local people, work hard for communities and deliver results.
“But at the national level, we have to face the facts of three disappointing general election results.
“The truth is voters don’t believe that the Liberal Democrats want to help ordinary people get on in life.
“Voters don’t believe we share their values. And voters don’t believe we are on the side of people like them.
“Nationally, voters have been sending us a message. But we have not been listening.
“It is time for us to start listening. As leader I am telling you: I have got that message. I am listening now.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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