Questions still linger about Sir Ed Davey’s coalition past – while the future looks uncertain

Published

12 months ago

June 11, 2024

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Rather like Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey inherited a thoroughly broken party in 2020 when he became leader.

Also rather like Sir Keir, if the polls and polling projections are to be believed, Sir Ed has brought the party to the brink of a remarkable comeback, reversing the deep losses bequeathed by Nick Clegg in 2015 after five years of coalition.

The made-for-TV election stunts may look bold, but Sir Ed’s plan has been cautious and incremental.

Nothing bold on Brexit, which was the signature of the party’s 2019 campaign. No pretence that Sir Ed could be prime minister after the election, as Jo Swinson pretended in 2019 – this is a campaign targeted in seats the party thinks it can win.

Instead we have a campaign of reassurance from a party that abandoned “equidistance” – holding Labour and Tory at similar distance which led to five years of coalition with the Tories until 2015 – and turning them into a purely anti-Tory force, more in tune with many activists’ inclinations.

Election latest: Tory minister defiant over election – and wants a former PM to campaign

Now the party could be about to quadruple its seats. This could put it on course to returning as the third biggest party in the Commons, regaining the crown from the ailing Scottish National Party, its biggest achievable goal for the 4 July election.

Yet Sir Ed has brought the Lib Dems to this point while leaving unresolved some big questions about both the past and the future.

First, he simply refuses to deal with the past. Sir Ed was a minister and cabinet secretary in the coalition government all the way from 2010 to 2015.

That means he was in the government that cut tens of billions from public services and squeezed the NHS – causing damage which his party at this election is now promising to fix.

But will he concede mistakes were made? I pushed him six times in an interview today over whether he would disown or endorse the £40bn of cuts announced by the coalition in 2010, and every time he sidestepped the question.

Political parties can make promises at election time but – rather like the Lib Dems and tuition fees in 2010 – these can be broken and the past can provide a better guide to post election behaviour.

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The other big question is the future.

Having turned the Lib Dems into a Tory-fighting force, we are now just weeks away from the potential of a Tory wipeout.

What do the Lib Dems do then? What’s the impulse of the hordes of new Lib Dem MPs? Do they attack Sir Keir’s Labour – something Sir Ed has assiduously avoided doing to date? Or do they work with them?

I asked Sir Ed what would become of the 114-page fully costed manifesto, given a Labour landslide would render their influence minimal in the next parliament.

Sir Ed answered, perhaps a little implausibly, that a Labour government might take ideas on things like the NHS from his party’s manifesto, just as he claimed Gordon Brown did with Bank of England independence in 1997.

Let’s see – a Labour government led by Sir Keir would feel no political necessity to borrow from the Lib Dems. More likely relations between the two parties gradually deteriorate.

None of this matters for now. Sir Ed has managed to combine his own unique personal story about caring for his disabled son now and his dying mother as a teenager, with a manifesto designed to appeal to one-time Tories.

This could prove a popular tactic on 4 July. He probably thinks what comes next can wait.

UK

Man, 53, charged over Liverpool parade incident

Published

11 hours ago

May 29, 2025

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Man, 53, charged over Liverpool parade incident

A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.

Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.

The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.

He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.

The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.

A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.

According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.

Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.

Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.

‘Huge volume of evidence’

Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.

“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.

“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”

Police ‘working tirelessly’

Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.

“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”

UK

Body found in search for missing teenage girl who fell into reservoir

Published

11 hours ago

May 29, 2025

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Body found in search for missing teenage girl who fell into reservoir

A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir, police have said.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed they recovered a body from the Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, on Thursday afternoon.

A formal identification is yet to take place, but police believe the body to be that of the missing teenage girl.

The girl’s family have been informed.

Emergency services were called to the reservoir at 1.17pm on Wednesday following reports that a teenage girl had fallen into the water from Baitings Dam.

Police, fire and ambulance crews, as well as an underwater search team, were deployed to the scene for the search, which continued on Thursday until a body was found.

Detective Inspector Laura Hall of Calderdale’s Safeguarding Team said: “While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl’s family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers.

“My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time.

“Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious.”

UK

Ages of youngest and oldest Liverpool crash victims released

Published

13 hours ago

May 29, 2025

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Ages of youngest and oldest Liverpool crash victims released

The youngest victim injured in the Liverpool parade crash on Monday is nine years old, police have said.

They added that the oldest is 78, with all 79 people injured understood to be British. Seven remain in hospital in a stable condition.

Merseyside Police declined to say what drug the 53-year-old man arrested over the incident is alleged to have taken.

“We wouldn’t go into this detail at this stage of the investigation,” the force said.

Police are still questioning the driver and were granted further time to do so on Wednesday.

Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.

He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.

Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.

Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.

‘The best day of my life turned into worst’

Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.

The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.

Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.

“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.

He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.

“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.

He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”

Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.