Maybe a cardiograph could have picked up a hint of a heartbeat, but to the untrained eye the Lib Dem leadership contest appeared to have been flatlining almost from the start. It’s not as if the Lib Dems don’t try to provide excitement – this was the fourth leadership election in five years. And some of the party’s core membership might have picked up on fractious areas of dissent between Ed Davey and Layla Moran – at least 87 people tuned into one YouTube hustings – but the rest of us were either totally unaware the contest was taking place or just didn’t care one way or the other. But all good things – and, indeed, all relatively indifferent things – must come to an end and in an online announcement shortly after 11.30 by the Lib Dem president, Mark Pack, it was revealed that Ed Davey was the winner. The same Ed Davey who had come a distant second to Jo Swinson last time round. The same Jo Swinson who had gone on both to lose her seat and all but obliterate the party in the polls in December’s election after insisting she was a genuine contender to become prime minister. Voters may be a bit dim at times, but not that dim.
Prior to the declaration, the Lib Dems had tried to inject a little excitement into proceedings by insisting that the vote had been incredibly tight, but Davey romped home by 45,756 to 24,564. Moran hadn’t even bothered to turn up to the result with a victory speech prepared just in case. Their only exchange appeared to be one rather awkward, and not entirely socially distanced, handshake at the very end. Though by then someone had switched the lights off and it wasn’t easy to see who was doing what to whom. Still, you had to admire the commitment to the environment. Davey strode to the podium wearing a black face mask, which he removed before speaking. He began by thanking Moran for the way she had fought the campaign, for inspiring the youth vote – though, luckily for him, in insufficient numbers – and reassuring her that she had an important role to play in the future. Which, given that there are just 11 Lib Dem MPs, including Davey and Moran, felt like the least he could do. When it comes to a Lib Dem shadow cabinet, everyone is included. For a short while Ed looked overcome with emotion as he went on to thank his family for their support – it can’t be easy to keep your spirits up when 93% of the country haven’t got a clue who you are, your party is polling on just 6% and almost everything you do is bound to make no difference – but he then reined back the tears and went into the standard off-the-shelf acceptance speech. One that serviceably filled his allotted 10 minutes slot without actually saying anything of any interest.
This was the highlight of his last 30 years – it takes all sorts – and he was proud to say he loved the party. “I believe in it,” he said. “But it is time to wake up and smell the coffee.” One could argue that moment had come five years ago when it was hammered by voters for its role in the coalition government, but no one wanted to spoil the moment. Davey also referred to the last three elections in which its results had been “disappointing”. Disappointing as in completely catastrophic. “It’s time to listen,” he continued. “And I am listening now. Whether you are from the north or the south of somewhere in between. Whether you are a brexiteer or remainer, I will travel up and down the country to meet you.” The thought did occur that it might have been better if he had decided to do a bit of listening a while ago. After all, he was the cabinet member in the coalition government who had voted both for austerity measures and tuition fees. A bit of listening to potential Lib Dem voters back then could have made all the difference. Indeed, it was hard to wonder if Davey wasn’t still part of the problem, rather than the solution. Though more that 42,000 party members had thought otherwise. And that was about it. There was no great vision for the future of the Lib Dems. No hint as to whether Davey would be working with Labour and the SNP to fight the increasingly illiberal policies of the Boris Johnson government. No hint of how he would stop those unhappy few who had voted Lib Dem last time because they couldn’t stomach Jeremy Corbyn from drifting back to Labour now Keir Starmer was in charge. No hint of anything very much. All of which made it more or less the quintessential Lib Dem event. Thoroughly niche and almost entirely inconsequential. Quite where the party goes from here is anyone’s guess. Davey doesn’t appear to be the man with the charisma to spark a revival. Nor someone to necessarily safeguard the remaining 6%. Maybe then the election was less a leadership contest and more an entry for the annual Darwin awards. Now that would be something. The first political party to contribute to human evolution by selecting itself out of the gene pool and becoming extinct via its own actions.