View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
  2. UK Politics
2 July 2020updated 23 Jul 2021 9:55am

What does Daisy Cooper’s endorsement of Ed Davey mean for the Liberal Democrat leadership race?

The rising star's endorsement is a coup for Ed Davey. But it's also a blow to Layla Moran.

By Ailbhe Rea

Daisy Cooper, the new MP for St Albans and a rising star within the Liberal Democrats, has backed Ed Davey for party leader, surprising many in the party’s base.

What does it mean for the leadership contest? On the most basic level, as Team Davey will be keen to point out, it puts Davey ahead of Layla Moran in terms of MP nominations: 5-3 to him, with no more MPs to declare. At the start of the race, many of the party’s MPs weren’t planning on expressing a preference between the two candidates. Now, as a genuine debate emerges over strategy and how the party must pitch itself going forward, every MP has publicly declared a preference, except Alastair Carmichael, who, as chief whip, remains neutral. 

But Cooper’s endorsement has significance well beyond the arithmetic. The St Albans MP is, firstly, considered one of the party’s greatest talents and a potential future party leader; she considered standing in this cycle, before ruling herself out over the “timing” (she is a very new MP in a marginal seat during a public health crisis and an economic catastrophe, and wants to focus on her constituency). She also hasn’t ruled out a future leadership bid. As such, her endorsement carries more implicit weight and attracts more attention. 

It is, also, a genuine surprise to those who follow Liberal Democrat politics. Cooper is well-known for her strident opposition to many of the party’s actions in coalition. This endorsement of Davey, who was energy secretary in the coalition years, flies in the face of what many party members thought they knew about her. 

Their assessment isn’t necessarily wrong: on the political spectrum of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party, Cooper is on the left flank and closer to Moran than Davey. At least one of the MPs who would have endorsed Cooper for leader is backing Moran; several of the MPs hoping that she will run for deputy leader are Moran supporters. What Cooper argues in our interview, however, is that the difference between any of them in the parliamentary party isn’t that great. “All of our MPs are pretty much centre left,” she says. “I don’t think the divisions are as big as some people might make out.” She also, notably, says her firm opposition to the party’s record in coalition may have been “misunderstood” as a desire to pretend the coalition didn’t happen; this isn’t her position, she says, arguing the party has to “own it”, good and bad. 

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

But it remains true that Cooper has endorsed the candidate she is slightly further away from politically. Why?

You don’t have to read too carefully between the lines of Cooper’s interview to detect a criticism of Layla Moran’s leadership pitch over recent weeks. She offers a positive case for Davey, yes, but also a robust dismissal of the idea that the party should move left to attract younger voters. “Well, in St Albans, we did win over the votes of young people and we did so by making a strong case for the Liberal Democrats and for liberalism!” she says.

But it’s Cooper’s emphasis on “clarity of message” that is most telling. It is unclear if Moran really intended to suggest that the party would tack left under her leadership (indeed, whether she meant to imply that or not, all the indications are that she would not do that in reality, as a new Twitter thread by the candidate makes clear.) Cooper’s preference of a leader with a “clarity of message” gets to the nub of her implicit criticism of Moran’s campaign: it may have been a fundamental strategic error, or a slip of the tongue, but either way, Cooper casts doubt on Moran’s ability to deliver an effective message. 

Many party members will be disappointed by Cooper’s endorsement, will disagree with her implicit critique, and continue to support Moran. But many others, including among the party’s younger and more radical members, will see this decision from a politician they closely align with, and may reevaluate their instinctive choice for leader in the light of Cooper’s choice.

This endorsement, while a genuine coup for Davey, is really a blow to Moran.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU