Sir Ed Davey has been voted in as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, after seeing off competition from fellow MP Layla Moran.
Moran secured 36.5 per cent of the vote [24, 564], which was dwarfed by Sir Ed’s 63.5 per cent haul [42,756].
Sir Ed, who has been acting leader of the party since Jo Swinson stood down following a poor performance in the 2019 general election, now assumes the role on a permanent basis and will lead the party's ten other MPs in Parliament.
Moran congratulated Sir Ed for his success, tweeting: “I look forward to working with him [Sir Ed Davey] to campaign for a better future for Britain."
In his acceptance speech, former frontbencher Sir Ed said that the party had to “wake up and smell the coffee” after securing a mere 12 per cent of the vote in December’s general election.
He said: "I’m determined our party backs a Britain that works with other countries across the world for peace and prosperity. But it is my love of our party that makes me recognise that we have to change.
"We have to wake up and smell the coffee. 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.
"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."
He has also promised his leadership rival Moran a “big role” in his team.
Sir Ed has been a member of the Liberal Democrats for 30 years and was unsuccessful in his bid to become party leader in July 2019, losing out to Jo Swinson who then became the party’s first female leader.
Sir Ed then took over as acting leader in December 2019 after Swinson stood down following a disastrous general election for the Lib Dems in which she lost her own East Dunbartonshire seat to the SNP.
Elsewhere on Thursday, health secretary Matt Hancock has said that the government’s decision to offer people on low incomes £13 per day when they need to self-isolate should persuade more people to adhere to Covid-19 safety guidelines and not insist on going to work over financial concerns and risk spreading the virus.
The new support measures unveiled on Wednesday night will enable those who claim Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit in England to claim a payment of £13 per day on top of their other benefits should they need to self-isolate and are unable to carry on working from home.
Employed or self-employed people who test positive for the virus are required by guidelines to self-isolate for 10 days, so those eligible for the additional funds will receive £130.
Should they qualify for the payment, other members of households where someone has tested positive who are also told to self-isolate will receive up to £182, since guidelines state their quarantine must last for 14 days.
The arrangement will come into place on September 1 and will be trialled in parts of north-west England.
Hancock said that the new support measures will “strengthen” England’s NHS Test and Trace system, which he said is “almost” hitting its target of reaching 80 per cent of contacts of positive Covid-19 cases.
Speaking to Sky News, the health secretary said: "The big picture is that we have got to make sure as we have many people as possible going through the Test and Trace system. One of the challenges that has come back on the ground is for people on low incomes to get extra support if they are going into self-isolation."
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has been critical of the level of support offered, saying it “goes nowhere near far enough” and insisting that people who must self-isolate and cannot work need “full pay”.
However, Hancock defended the measure, saying that the extra financial support was "set at the level of statutory sick pay".
Photo by Arnaud Jaegers on Unsplash
