Ed Davey is safe as Liberal Democrat leader for now, but some MPs still believe that a leadership challenge is inevitable (Alamy)
5 min read
Ed Davey is fighting on as leader of the Liberal Democrats after a rumoured challenge fell flat. However, some of his MPs think a move against him has been delayed, not defeated for good.
A routine meeting of Lib Dems parliamentarians on Tuesday evening attracted unusual levels of attention amid speculation that Davey’s leadership was under threat due to two frontbench MPs resigning from their positions in the last few weeks.
However, the meeting largely went without any conflict and was widely described by MPs in attendance to PoliticsHome as a “damp squib” which did not result in a leadership vote.
Lib Dem MPs who want a change of leadership aimed to get a quarter of MPs to sign a letter – equivalent to 18 signatories – and then a majority of MPs would need to vote against Davey in a confidence motion to pass and trigger a leadership contest.
Last week, Charlie Maynard resigned as Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Alison Bennett resigned as party spokesperson for care and carers.
It is believed among Lib Dems that their resignations were primarily about disagreements with the party’s policy direction: for Bennett, feeling that the party was not going far enough in its commitments to properly fund social care, and for Maynard, who has a background in business, disappointment with what he perceived as the party’s incoherence on the economy.
However, many Lib Dem MPs told PoliticsHome the attempted coup had been badly organised.
Referring to Maynard, one MP said it was “one MP going over the top” and that “he’s misread the mood of the party”.
A senior MP said “Charlie has done a bit of a James Purnell of old,” referring to when Purnell, who is now Andy Burnham’s Chief of Staff, resigned from the Labour government in 2009 and called upon then prime minister Gordon Brown to resign, but did not coordinate with other Blairite ministers.
Another senior Lib Dem MP who attended the meeting in Westminster on Tuesday said that “MP after MP stood up to support Ed”.
Many Lib Dem MPs cite the fact that there is no single obvious successor to Davey as one of the main reasons why a more significant leadership coup has not already been attempted. Josh Babarinde, Daisy Cooper and Layla Moran are names frequently mentioned as potential future leaders, but so far they have all consistently rowed in behind their leader.
Another senior Lib Dem said: “[Davey] changed his top team earlier in the year and the results will take time to filter through.
“I don’t see the case for changing the leader, not least because no other candidate is lining up to do the job.”
The prospect of Burnham calling an early general election also complicates things. Many Lib Dems believe it is likely that an election will be called this autumn, despite the PM’s claims to the contrary, and the party is scrambling to sort candidate selections, localised polling and campaign material.
Some MPs told PoliticsHome they believe Davey’s authority is waning and they expect that a leadership challenge could be imminent, but more likely after a general election.
“Watch this space,” said one MP who believes a challenge is more likely after an election.
“It all depends on how we do, of course. I remain unpersuaded (as do the vast majority of the parliamentary party) that any one else in our team could do a better job.”
There has been growing restlessness within the Lib Dems in recent months, with frustrated MPs pointing to their stagnant polling and complaining that the party has failed to capitalise on its record gains at the last general election.
After taking swathes of seats in former Tory territory in the south of England in 2024, Davey is now under pressure to spell out more clearly his vision and direction for the party in a fragmented political landscape. One senior party figure recently complained to The House magazine that Davey wasn’t being bold enough: “It is as if sometimes we are scared of our own voters.”
In an interview with The House ahead of the recent Lib Dem conference, Davey said local election results showed that the party was “expanding” across the country under his leadership and in “its strongest position in over a century”.
Davey has other critics in the party, including MPs Tom Gordon and Vikki Slade, who have criticised his decision to support the continuation of the pensions triple lock.
Roz Savage is another MP who has criticised the leadership, saying last month that the party was “struggling for relevance” and failing to paint a “coherent picture of the country we are trying to create”. However, having just been appointed as chair of the parliamentary party, Savage chaired the meeting on Tuesday and was therefore unable to contribute herself.
Supportive MPs described Davey as having been “in listening mode” at the meeting, with most MPs keen to join in a discussion on how the party can grow ahead of the next general election and build on its record number of MPs.
PoliticsHome understands that only three MPs spoke out with criticisms of Davey’s leadership approach in the meeting, and the party has not sent out any communication to party members about the internal rows.
Additional reporting by Matilda Martin
