Former energy secretary says he wants to spend more time with his family, appearing to leave way clear for Vince Cable

Former cabinet minister Ed Davey will not run for the Liberal Democrat leadership, clearing the way for party veteran Vince Cable to take the job.



The former energy secretary, who said he was tempted to go for the role after frontrunner Jo Swinson decided not to stand, said it was a difficult decision that was based on the desire to spend more time with his young family.

Davey lost his Kingston and Surbiton seat at the 2015 election but returned to parliament after the last general election. After Swinson, who was elected deputy leader last week, the party’s health spokesman and 2015 leadership candidate Norman Lamb also ruled out running.

Barring an unexpected challenge, Cable is now highly likely to win the role. The former business secretary is the only declared candidate to replace Tim Farron, who announced he would quit because he had been unable to reconcile his Christian faith with the demands of leading a “progressive, liberal” party.

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Writing on the Liberal Democrat Voice website, Davey said his decision not to run came after a camping trip with his wife, Emily, and their children, John and Ellie.

“I’ve come back to Westminster more determined than ever to campaign hard for the party Emily and I both love, but not to campaign to lead the party at this moment,” he said.

Davey, who is the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman, said he did not want time with his young children to be consumed by the leadership. “Our joy this weekend was seeing our two children play together,” he said.

“And when you understand that John [aged nine] is severely disabled, you will appreciate that seeing our three-year-old daughter make him laugh is quite special.

“If it helps explain my decision not to run just a little more, please remember that my father died when I was four and my mother when I was 15. Being there for my children over the next few crucial years and to see those special moments is my personal priority.”

Davey said the decision not to stand was “a difficult one, but it is rooted in my family: the need to be there for my young children and not continually away from home; the need to protect my family from the inevitable intrusion on our lives; and the need to protect myself from pressures that would otherwise compromise my job as a father while they are still so young.”

Cable tweeted after Davey’s announcement that he admired his reasoning. “Very much admire & respect what my friend & colleague @EdwardJDavey has said today on Lib Dem Voice about the importance of family,” he wrote.

Davey said his platform would have been to make the Lib Dems “the party of reform, challenging the status quo” – which would demand a shake-up of the political system.

“To be a winning party of reform, we must start telling the British people who Liberal Democrats are, and what we stand for. And not simply what and who we are against,” he said.

“We must also be super-ambitious – just like radical centrists in Canada, France and the Netherlands. If they can win from third place – or from ‘no place’ like Macron – why can’t we?”