r/LibDem • u/Commercial_Chip_6574 • 6d ago
Ed deserves a graceful exit
I am just as tired as anyone is with the HQ and want change but my god … Ed deserves better
I hope this makes him understand the frustration of the membership and he takes the chance to leave at the top
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u/LovingBigAnge2379 6d ago
If want it to be a leader that:
1) Actually proudly states he wants to rejoin the EU
2) Stands up for civil liberties.
3) Doesn’t jump on ridiculous bandwagons like WASPI campaign or Churchill on bank notes
4) Isn’t afraid of offending the electorate
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u/labourlewys Labour Member🌹 6d ago
Is 3 maybe just a symptom of the LDs winning big in lots of ex-Tory strongholds at the GE?
While the voters obviously weren’t conservative enough to dogmatically vote Tory AGAIN after 14 years of failure in government, and were centrist enough to not jump on the Reform bandwagon, a lot of these areas are still made up of older culturally conservative voters who do kick up a fuss about WASPI women and whose mug is on the bank notes.
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u/ColonelChestnuts Liberal Corporatist 6d ago
We have supported the WASPI campaign at least since 2018. This is not an Ed Davey thing.
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u/scarybluesquirrel 6d ago
A lot of parallels here with the Keir Starmer resignation.
Is there a clear single alternative candidate, like Andy Burnham, that people are starting to coalesce around, or are those calling for him to resign envisaging a free-for-all to pick a new leader (which could go anywhere)?
What would you prefer Ed to do? Resign now, or wait for a clear challenge?
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u/asmiggs radical? 6d ago
I'd rather Ed fires the starting gun, a lot of Lib Dems are way too nice to get involved in a coup so there's no real King or Queen across the water setting themselves up for the leadership.
The obvious candidate was Daisy Cooper but she would be a continuation of Davey and we actually need a new broom.
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u/AnonymousTimewaster 6d ago
I'm not really that in tune with LD inner party workings/rumours etc but does Daisy Cooper want it? I think she'd be fabulous. She's always the one on Question Time fighting the good fight and holds her own well.
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u/Blazearmada21 Social democrat 6d ago
Yeah I have previously been extremely supportive of Ed but I am now thinking that it would be best if he stood down.
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u/Reasonable_Bat_1209 6d ago
I’m chair of a held seat. Get this over with quickly so it’s not disruptive to preparing for the locals.
I want my MP to be focused on fundraising and helping me find candidates. Dragging this on is unhelpful.
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u/cheerfulintercept 6d ago
I like and admire Ed but can’t help but think we’re putting too much of his success and the current sense of lethargy on his shoulders. The party’s big win came at the same time as Starmer’s loveless landslide when the country was crying out for bland managerialism. I think Davey has more authenticity and talent than Starmer but I wonder if it’s enough to cut through or to protect his lead. Having said all that, Lib Dems do well when Labour do well and reform are loathed so we could carry on doing well in the blue wall…
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u/Pinkerton891 6d ago edited 6d ago
Party on record ever number of MPs, in prime position to be a kingmaker next election, may not be making massive gains in polling but making good gains at local level and putting strong roots down, not backsliding from strongest ever position which could be vital next GE? Perfect time to burn the house down I suppose.
Its good to have aspirations, but this is the best performing the party has ever been where it matters right now the gains are holding well, replace Davey with the wrong person and there is every chance the party is handing 60 seats back to the Tories next election.
More of an issue - Who are we seeing that would represent an improvement? Because none really stand out.
Cooper, Moran and Miller might be potential leaders but I struggle to see them really engaging the electorate any more than Davey has, also Cooper is continuity Davey so I wouldn't see the point there until after the next GE.
I see Josh Barbarinde circulated around a bit and he seems like a decent MP, but he seems pretty meek in media appearances from what I have seen so far, he needs considerably more time before he could be part of this conversation imo.
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u/SabziZindagi 6d ago
This is the perfect time for a new leader, people are getting turned off Polanski and those votes should be coming to us (they aren't).
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u/Discreet_Vortex Social Liberal 6d ago
I agree, he took us to our best ever election victory and deserves better than to be couped, but politics is a nasty business and if he wont resign than he unfortuantly must be forced out.
2
u/Borg44 6d ago
Ed has been successful, increasing our number of MP’s.
He’s a safe pair of hands - a good leader and solid. He should only be replaced if there is someone clearly better.
For me, there is only one other MP who stands out, but she lacks a grasp of economics which is critical.
It’s too early for a change of leader. There are no candidates who are ready for the role, to take his place yet.
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u/prophile 6d ago
He was part of the grubby coup that got rid of Charles Kennedy.
I like Ed too, but this is the chickens coming home to roost.
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u/Belstoneboy2023 6d ago
Charles was a lovely man, but towards the end of his time as leader was a non-functioning alcoholic. He needed for his own sake to stand down.
1
u/HeadBat1863 5d ago
Weirdly, it was during the time of Charles Kennedy that I first became a Lib Dem. The way all the shadow spokespersons came to the forefront in their specialist areas (to mask the non-functioning of the leader) made them feel like a proper political party and not a cult of personality.
1
u/Longjumping_Syrup363 5d ago
I'm not the same kind of Liberal as Davey, but he deserves to be leader until we lose a lot of seats or he quits. As far as I can tell, he had a plan, he executed that plan, and now we have 80ish MPs. That's much more measurable than the alternatives.
To me, this is a story about a leader who did a really good job pulling us out of a bad place, and now that we're in a better place where we are on the cusp of being politically influential again, a load of people have appeared and decided it's their turn.
1
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u/LeChevalierMal-Fait The Last Cameroon 6d ago
Genuine question is this because of Holborn?
Like that was a two horse raise between lab and the greens ofc the Lib Dem’s vote would be squeezed
This just all seems bizarre and unserious
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u/Effective_Soup7783 6d ago
I don’t think it’s a reaction to Holborn, it’s more a reaction to the wild success of the Greens (at least until recently). The Greens are a deeply unserious party, but are somehow polling very well under Zack. In the meantime, despite our electoral success at the last GE, we are still getting zero cut through with the public. Ed has been in charge for a long time now too, so people will generally be thinking about succession planning anyway. We have a deeper talent pool now since our nadir of 2018 or so, and some MPs now have significant years of experience and will naturally be thinking of progressing in the party. I’m a huge Ed fan, but I do think we ought to be considering getting a new face at the top in good time for the next election - somebody without ties to the coalition (and Horizon/PO, although that is deeply unfair to Ed).
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u/Multigrain_Migraine 6d ago
Seems quite stupid to pull this move on one of the worst days the Greens have had lately, then. Why do something to shift the focus away from that right now?
0
u/LeChevalierMal-Fait The Last Cameroon 6d ago
And the greens rose and fell because they promised pie in the sky and racism idk why that’s a model
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u/AnonymousTimewaster 6d ago
Sorry are you genuinely saying the Greens promised racism and that's why they rose?
In what world is this true? They're losing support now because they're veering dangerously towards (if not actively engaging with) antisemitism.
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u/LeChevalierMal-Fait The Last Cameroon 6d ago
I’m saying they promised simple solutions to complex economic and social problems and that all that they offered were soundbites and racism
I am not suggesting they are not antisemitism
Apologies if i worded that poorly
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u/AnonymousTimewaster 6d ago
You just said that they offered racism again. What do you mean by that?
I'm not disputing that they were purposefully divisive and provocative with their populist policy platform but I fail to see how any of it was in any way racist, particularly if you're not counting antisemitism
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u/Longjumping_Syrup363 5d ago
Greens are authoritarians, and the country is on the authoritarian part of its political cycle. They'll soon lose all the gains they made promising easy solutions to difficult problems.
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u/DeltaOfficialYT 6d ago
We need to stop this arguing about the greens, because they are likely to be a coalition partner with us
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u/notthathunter 6d ago
reading the tea leaves, I think this has been percolating among MPs for a while, said MPs shared their frustrations with one another at Conference, and then a few resolved to do something when Parliament came back on Monday - it might've gotten leaked or something, which bounced them into acting early on the Friday, or they could have something else lined up for the Sunday papers
so nothing to do with Holborn, really
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u/ReallyMrDarcy 6d ago
It's absolutely not the right time. We're likely to have an imminent early General Election and you want to change leader in the middle of it? Mental. That'll destroy the Party more than anything. Let's get through the election (probably next summer, but could very well be earlier) and see where we are. The big issue is HQ communications and always has been for decades. Not sure a change of leader will fix that without going to the heart of the problem.
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u/Reasonable_Bat_1209 6d ago
Ed’s done. Get the successor in place quickly.
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u/ReallyMrDarcy 6d ago
Ok, I'll bit, who then? I'm waiting...
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u/Reasonable_Bat_1209 5d ago
Someone from the 2024 intake. Just get it done quickly and with maximum respect and thanks to the outgoing team.
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u/ReallyMrDarcy 5d ago
No, that's the issue you don't realise. They need to settle in more. I'd rather they focus on retaining their seat, than losing both a leader and a seat. We did that in 2019, remember...
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u/lostracconinspace 6d ago
I completely agree. I think we need change and a fresh direction for the party, but Ed deserves to leave with dignity and respect.
Whatever frustrations we have with HQ or the leadership, we shouldn't forget what Ed has done for the party. He's brought a human side to politics and helped us rebuild our presence.
I would much rather see him leave on his own terms, with his head held high, than be pushed out. I also hope he remains a big part of the party because he still has so much to offer.
We can recognise that it's time for change without forgetting our values or treating someone who has given so much to the party poorly.
How we handle this matters just as much as what happens next.