I want to beat the Conservatives. I want them out of office in 2024, and I want to kick Boris Johnson out of Downing Street.

Here are the facts. We are second in 91 seats, and in 80 of those we are second to the Conservatives. In places like Wimbledon, Hazel Grove, Esher & Walton, North Cornwall and Brecon & Radnorshire, we are the party who take seats from the Conservatives and deny them a majority in 2024.

Our passport to power is winning in Conservative facing seats, and to do that we need a laser-like focus on a core message that appeals to moderate Conservative voters and Labour tactical voters, and a leader with a track record of building winning teams to take on the Conservatives.

Ed Davey is that leader.

I backed Ed because I was so impressed by his focus on a fairer, greener and more caring society.

Just imagine that a country like that would look like.

A fairer country where we tackle social injustice. Where we give parents universal childcare to help them with one of the biggest financial challenges they face, and a universal basic income that gives everyone the money they need. 

A greener country, where we invest £150bn into green jobs for our young people, green homes and a green energy network. As a trained economist and someone with a track record of delivering green jobs, I know Ed has got the experience to make sure that we make the recovery from Covid a green recovery.

A more caring society, where we give the 10 million carers in our country a new deal, with a high carers allowance and more legal protection. 

When it comes to the next elections, whether that is to councils, city halls or Parliaments, I want people to go into the voting booth knowing exactly what a cross in our box will get them. 

I want them to know that voting Liberal Democrat will get them that fairer, greener, more caring country.

But to build that country, we have to first beat the Tories and kick them out of office.

Ed has won his seat six times, including in 1997 when he wasn’t even a target seat. He’s built a team in Kingston that now runs the Council, and he fought the Tories everyday in Government and helped triple renewable energy, an environmental record we should be extremely proud of. 

I’ve worked with Ed since I was first elected to Parliament in 2005, and I’ve seen up close the vision, experience and judgement that he has. 

I know that is what the party needs now, and that’s why I am backing him to be our next leader. I hope you’ll join me when your ballot arrives this week.

In our Democracy the Prime Minister and Government are accountable to Parliament, not the other way round, and yet Boris Johnson has been systematically unpicking the vital checks and balances which moderate his powers. Without these, it is a slippery slope towards an elective dictatorship.

Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue Parliament was ruled ‘unlawful’.

In just a year he has:  

1. Illegally prorogued Parliament: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis was unlawful and “had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions.”

2. Attacked the Supreme Court: After they ruled his decision to prorogue Parliament was unlawful, Boris Johnson attacked the Supreme Court and said they were wrong to have challenged his decision.

3. Giving Dominic Cummings direct oversight of all senior Government advisers: Johnson has even undermined members of his own Government – by requiring special advisers who traditionally are appointed by, and work for, individual cabinet ministers – to sign new contracts which give Dominic Cummings responsibility for their conduct and discipline.

4. Attempted to silence dissenting voices within his own Party: When Dr Julian Lewis MP won an election to become Chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security committee, beating Johnson’s preferred candidate, Lewis immediately had the Conservative Whip withdrawn.

5. Allowed his Ministers and Advisers to continue to hold senior public office, despite evidence of serious misconduct: Boris Johnson refused to hold Dominic Cummings to account after he breached the Government’s lockdown rules. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick was shown to have approved a housing development by a billionaire Tory donor, against the advice of the planning inspector, but has kept his job.

Johnson refused to hold Cummings to account after he breached the Government’s lockdown rules.

6. Attempted to suppress Russia report: Boris Johnson made repeated attempts to stop the publication of a report from Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, into Russian interference in British politics.

7. Routinely makes Government announcements at press conferences, rather than at the dispatch box: reducing the opportunity for proper Parliamentary scrutiny through questions from opposition MPs.

8. Forcing out independent senior civil servants: Since Johnson came into office, there have been multiple allegations that senior civil servants are being sidelined or stepping down altogether, after disagreements between them and Johnson’s team.

9. Making political appointments to independent advisory roles: David Frost, a long-time adviser to the PM has been nominated as the new National Security Adviser – this has not historically been a politically appointed role, and Mr Frost does not have any background in security and intelligence.

10. Attempts to weaken the BBC as an independent public service broadcaster: Johnson’s Government have refused to step in to protect the BBC, which is being undermined by budget cuts which will see reductions in its political programming and news coverage. 

No one should be allowed to hold so much power, without proper scrutiny. 

There are already more worrying proposals on the table for the coming year, which could see more powers consolidated with Johnson and Cummings; and further erosion of the vital mechanisms which hold the Prime Minister to account. 

No one should be allowed to hold so much power, without proper scrutiny. 

The Liberal Democrats will always stand up against attempts to undermine our democracy – having a strong liberal voice in British politics is more important than ever.

We must fight these attempts by Boris Johnson to try and seize unchecked power for himself. Will you join us?

A complaint has been made by an individual about Ed Davey’s 2020 campaign’s use of data gathered in his 2019 leadership campaign for direct marketing.

The party has taken legal advice and received representations from the campaign. 

The UK has suffered a number of tragic terrorist attacks in recent weeks and months. The first duty of government is to protect people from this kind of violence, and Liberal Democrats will always work to ensure that our security services have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs.

This Bill would massively expand the Home Secretary’s power to impose Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures.

But we must also ensure that any new powers and legislation will be necessary, effective and proportionate to the threats we face.

That’s not the case when it comes to the Government’s new Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill.

It would massively expand the Home Secretary’s power to impose Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, or ‘TPIMs’, which can include curfews and electronic tagging.

Under existing powers, TPIMs can be imposed if the Home Secretary “is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the individual is, or has been, involved in terrorism-related activity”.

However, the Government’s Bill would lower the standard of proof so she only needs to have “reasonable grounds for suspecting” such involvement.

Currently, a TPIM is imposed for one year and can only be extended once, so there is a two-year limit. But this Bill would allow the Home Secretary to extend TPIMs indefinitely, without any judicial oversight.

These changes would essentially mean a return to Control Orders, which were heavily criticised for getting the balance wrong between national security and civil liberties, and were replaced with TPIMs by the Coalition Government in 2011.

These changes have been heavily criticised for getting the balance wrong between national security and civil liberties.

Putting power in the hands of a single Minister to impose curfews and tagging with minimal evidence will do nothing to keep people safe, but will put the rights and freedoms of innocent people at risk.

That’s why the Liberal Democrats are opposing these changes when the Bill comes before the House of Commons today. We have tabled amendments to remove them from the Bill and keep the existing safeguards in place.

Liberal Democrats will always oppose unnecessary, authoritarian power-grabs like this and demand an effective, evidence-based approach to combating terrorism.

This watershed report confirms an alarming truth: this Conservative Government has failed to take the Russian threat to our democracy seriously, even despite the clear evidence they interfered to help Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016.

The PM must nannounce a wide-ranging investigation of potential Russian interference in our democracy

The first duty of government is to protect its citizens.

However, the Conservatives have been found asleep at their post with their failure to conduct an assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The protection of our democracy should never come second to the Tories covering their embarrassing connections to Russian oligarchs before an election.

Given what has come to light, Boris Johnson should think again about who his party takes money from and gives influence to.

Without delay, the Prime Minister must now announce a wide-ranging and properly funded investigation of potential Russian interference in our democracy, including the EU referendum and independence referendum.