UK’s Liberal Democrats elect new party leader

London, Aug 28 (IANS) The UK’s Liberal Democrats have named veteran politician Ed Davey as its new leader.

Davey, who has been a member of the Liberal Democrats for 30 years, on Thursday defeated rival candidate Layla Moran by a resounding 42,756 votes to 24,564 — a margin of 63.5 to 36.5 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

He will take his seat as a party leader when the House of Commons reopens on September 1 after the summer recess.

After the results were announced, Davey said at an event in London that it was time for the party to “wake up and smell the coffee” after only securing 12 per cent of the vote in December 12, 2019 general election, the BBC reported.

In an email to party members, he said he would launch a “national listening project” to help make the Liberal Democrats “relevant again”, adding: “We won’t be able to do this unless we show people we share their values and are on their side.”

The result comes eight months after the the party’s former leader, Jo Swinson, stepped down from the role after losing her seat in 2019 general election, after which Davey was appointed acting leader.

Referred to as the UK’s third party following the Conservative and Labour, the Liberal Democrats has 11 MPs in the House of Commons.

–IANS

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