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Jo Swinson’s political instincts give her the edge in this crucial Liberal Democrat leadership election

The party’s MPs could hold the balance of power at the next general election, so the result of this race matters to us all. That Swinson would also be its first female leader is a useful bonus

Thursday 27 June 2019 19:51 BST
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Jo Swinson and Ed Davey hold second second leadership hustings in London

While the contest between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt naturally dominates media coverage of politics, another leadership election is taking place off the public’s radar.

It is easy to see why the race between Jo Swinson and Sir Ed Davey to become Liberal Democrat leader is attracting less attention than the Tory contest. At one point, there were 13 potential Tory candidates and only 11 Lib Dem MPs.

Yet the Lib Dem election matters. It takes place against a background the party could only have dreamt of a few months ago. The Lib Dems hoped for 250 gains at the May council elections in England, but secured more than 700. Then they won 20 per cent of the votes and 16 seats at the European parliament elections, pushing Labour into third place.

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