New Liberal Democrat Leader

"Surely Ed Davey’s recent suggestion that someone ought to decapitate Boris (he later apologised) rules him out? Or is it only tories that are held to a higher standard?"
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Ed Davey said:-

" This was a careless use of language, meant in electoral sense and in no way literally."

So Lib Dems say their use of careless language is not meant to be taken literally whilst other politicians are lambasted by them for using careless language.

Labour politicians who make or use careless / abusive language, ' have been on a journey' and should be forgiven.

It appears to be a rule for some but not for all it appears.

I was surprised MP Layla Moran did not put her name forward to be honest as she seemed to have been the Lib Dem go to spokesperson on practically every politics programme I have watched since the 2017 General Election, maybe because Jo Swinson was on maternity leave.

Of course Layla Moran suffered scrutiny over a personal incident in her private life similar to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds so I bet she is glad she took the decision not to throw her hat into the ring seeing how they are being portrayed. I doubt the two incidences would attract the same level of interest in the media as Boris Johnson is getting though which takes it back to being a rule for one and not another in some minds.

There is to be a LibDem leadership debate on the Victoria Derbyshire Show tomorrow morning (Thursday) at 10am.

It is not the first time that a politician has used the term "decapitate" in a metaphorical sense to mean seeing off the leader of another party. It is not a term I like but I don't think Ed should have felt the need to apologise.

Surely Ed Davey’s recent suggestion that someone ought to decapitate Boris (he later apologised) rules him out? Or is it only tories that are held to a higher standard?

See the two leadership candidates engage in a civilised and constructive debate

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/06/lib-dem-hustings-other-leadership-contest

Meanwhile, in the real world, British voters put the LibDems top the polls at 24%. Tories lag third equal with Labour at 19%.

So perhaps we should be glad that there are two excellent leadership contenders - Jo Swinson and Ed Davey, both head and shoulders above any of the 101 useless Tory candidates.

According to the Mail? It might happen, we shall see.

Chuka Umanna is to run as a Liberal Democrat in the by election which is a “safe Labour seat”!

We very often, on , Gransnet, quote research results, surveys, facts and figures which have more weight than one person's opinion. That way we can have a more informed debate. I doubt whether even the most enthusiastic Tory party member actually believes that party members are a good cross section of our society, and this study clearly shows they are not.

Why bother to quote it, then?

That was a direct quotation from the report of findings or research into conservative party membership by Queen Mary University, nothing to do with me or the Lib dems.

Conservative members are “a breed apart” from members of the other main political parties, with much stronger tendencies towards socially illiberal and authoritarian attitudes and completely different views on Brexit, a study has found.

As usual, offensive, illiberal and extremely immature statements from Varian.
A very poor advertisement for her party.

Ed Davey.

I remember when Ed Davey was the Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesman in 2008 and he was suspended from Parliament for repeatedly trying to raise a point of order concerning the UK/EU membership and a Referendum. The other Lib Dem MP's followed him out the door in solidarity.

That was at a time the Lib Dems were actively trying to get a Referendum on our EU Membership. Given what we know of the Lib Dem policy to not accept the EU Referendum result in 2016 I wonder now if they would have ever accepted the democratic decision of the result had it not gone there way back in 2008, who knows?

Ed Davey said this:-

Mr. Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD): On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Will the Chair reconsider the decision not to select the Liberal Democrat amendment for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU? That is the question that goes to the heart of the debate before the House. That is the debate that people want to hear. We are being gagged, Sir.
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It is not unusual, varian

Half of Prime Ministers over the last 100 years took office in this way.

I am sure you will be very welcome in the LibDems, Anniebach. We have many members who left other parties and your political knowledge and campaigning experience would be much appreciated.

Yes varian I left the Labour Party after over 50 years, does this prevent me from supporting another party ? Do you want new members/voters to be political Virgins ?

We may have a bi election here, the Libs are hopeful, it will be the usual, Tory, Lib, Labour. I have been invited to join the Libs, your post has settled it for me.

I think it's quite shocking to think that the next Tory leader - and our political future - are in the hands of some 100,000 people who are Conservative Party memebers - how can this possibly be allowed?????

The new leader will be chosen by a secret ballot of members of the Liberal Democrats .

I may be wrong Anniebach, but I did not think you were a member. I think you said that you had resigned your membership of the Labour Party after fifty years because you have such a low opinion of Jeremy Corbyn.

I hope that when our new leader is elected everyone will get to hear a lot more about the LibDems and then perhaps when you next get the opportunity to vote in an election, you will no longer be politically homeless.

I have only heard Jo Swinson, a no from me

Nominations in the race to become the next Lib Dem leader close on Friday at 16:00 BST. So far two candidates have announced their intention to run - deputy leader Jo Swinson and former Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey.

The winner will be decided by a postal ballot of party members and the results are due to be announced on 23 July.

Sir Vince said the new leader needed to continue "the battle to stop Brexit", and to seize "the opportunity created by the conflict and decay within the two main parties to build a powerful, liberal, green, and social democratic force in the centre ground of British politics".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48403038

"The Lib Dems are a party for people with no conviction. The Lib Dems are destroying Britain and keeping Britain in this mire of stagnancy." according to Johno who wants this country to be led by someone like Trump.

The Liberal Democrats have very strong convictions. The party exists to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

It is normal for a party leader to be chosen before a general election, not for a Prime Minister to be put in place by a small unrepresentative group. This will be the second time this has happened since 2015.

The leader of the party who wins a general election becomes PM with the support of millions of voters. If we replaced the undemocratic FPTP voting system with proportional representation, the PM would either have to command a majority of votes or be able to put together a coalition supported by the majority of voters.

That would be democracy. What we have now is what was termed by Lord Hailsham "elective dictatorship". It has not served our country well in normal times and it is outrageously undemocratic at the present time.

The next Leader of the Liberal Democrats will be chosen by 100,000 or so Party members, but will not automatically become PM. That decision should belong to the electorate.
varian Are you saying that, in the unlikely event the Lib Dems would win a General Election, voted in by a majority who would like to see them in power, their leader would not automatically become Prime Minister - there would have to be a referendum to decide who, amongst all the Liberal Democrat MPs, should become the PM?

Because that is what it sounds like

How could anyone possibly claim that the 100,000 or so Tory Party members who will be in a position to chose yet another unelected Prime Minister, are in any way representative of the general population?

Possibly because the majority of those who voted in the last three elections, voted for the Tories who have been in government since 2010? Although the Lib Dems were in coalition, they were more Torylite.
Could that be an indication?