Sir Ed Davey is the leader of the Liberal Democrats and the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, having first been elected to parliament at the 1997 general election. Davey lost his seat in the 2015 general election but returned to parliament two years later in 2017.

In the 2024 general election, Davey received 25,870 votes in the Kingston and Surbiton constituency, representing 51.1% of the vote share. The Conservative candidate, Helen Edward, was the runner-up with 8,635 votes (17%), while the Labour candidate, Eunice O’Dame, secured 6,561 votes (13%). Davey was duly elected with a majority of 17,235.

Ed Davey: leader of the Liberal Democrats

Davey was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats on 27 August 2020, securing a comfortable victory over his rival, Layla Moran, who was considered to be the more left-wing of the two final candidates. Davey won 42,756 votes (63.5%) to Moran’s 24,564 (36.5%).

The vacancy was created by Jo Swinson’s resignation as Liberal Democrat leader. She had led her party into the 2019 general election campaign to disastrous effect; having styled herself as a prospective prime minister, Swinson ultimately lost her seat. The official Liberal Democrat review into the party’s 2019 campaign described it as “a high-speed car crash”.

The 2020 Liberal Democrat leadership contest was long-delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

From December 2019 to January 2020, Davey served alongside Baroness Brinton as acting co-leaders of the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dem constitution states that, when the leader loses their seat, the party’s deputy leader and president automatically become caretaker co-leaders. Davey was appointed deputy leader in September 2019, having been defeated by Swinson in the recent leadership contest. In that contest, Davey placed second with 36.7% of the members’ vote.

In 2020, Davey won the support of fellow MPs Tim Farron (Lib Dem leader from 2015 to 2017), Daisy Cooper, Christine Jardine, Sarah Olney, and Munira Wilson. He was also backed by Lib Dem peer Menzies Campbell, who led the party from 2006 to 2007, and Jim Wallace, the former deputy first minister of Scotland.

During the campaign, Davey’s supporters signed a letter praising his “experience, vision and judgement”.

The letter stated: “Ed has presented a clear, coherent vision for the future of the party that stands for a fairer, greener, more caring country. A country where we give universal free childcare to parents, where we invest £150bn in green jobs and renewable homes and where we give the 10 million carers in the UK a new, better deal.”

In his victory speech, Davey stated that the Liberal Democrats need to “wake up and smell the coffee”.

He said the party “must change” after losing touch with “too many voters”.

Davey declared: “I stand for all the things the Liberal Democrats stand for. Social justice, political reform, equality and protecting our environment. I stand for fairness and for fighting to protect the rights of ordinary people.

“I’m determined our party backs a Britain that works with other countries across the world for peace and prosperity. But it is my love of our party that makes me recognise that we have to change.”

During the 2019-2024 parliament, under Davey’s leadership, the Liberal Democrats enjoyed a series of notable by-election victories, including in Chesham and Amersham (2021), North Shropshire (2021), Tiverton and Honiton (2022), and Somerton and Frome (2023). At the North Shropshire by-election, the party secured a 34 point swing from the Conservatives (the seventh largest in British by-election history).

The party’s performance in the 2024 general election established Davey as the most electorally successful Liberal since David Lloyd George, winning 72 seats. Davey’s campaign gained widespread media attention for a series of water-themed stunts. These included repeatedly falling off a paddleboard in Windermere to highlight sewage discharge, going down a large water slide to draw attention to children’s mental health, and undertaking a bungee jump in Eastbourne.

Defending his unconventional campaign, Davey said: “Politicians need to take the concerns and interests of voters seriously but I’m not sure they need to take themselves seriously all the time and I’m quite happy to have some fun”.

A central feature of the party’s success at the 2024 general election was its capture of traditional Conservative seats. The party ravaged the so-called “blue wall” of conventionally Conservative, affluent commuter-belt constituencies in southern England.

As a result, the Liberal Democrats stand as the largest third party in the commons in over a century. However, the party’s national vote share increased by only 0.6 points (11.6% to 12.2%) from 2019 to 2024. This outcome reflected an exceptionally efficient and geographically targeted campaign strategy.

Davey was re-elected unopposed as leader in December 2024. (The Lib Dem constitution mandates that a leadership election should be held at least once a parliament.)

Water-themed stunts aside, Davey’s leadership of the Liberal Democrats has been characterised by a focus on issues related to social care. In this regard, Davey is deeply influenced by his personal experiences as a carer for his son and his late mother. In the wake of the 2024 election, Davey said he would push Labour to be “much bolder” on issues including social care, the NHS and relations with the European Union (EU).

Under Davey’s leadership, the party since 2024 has also adopted a strong stance against Donald Trump, who returned to the US presidency in January 2025, influential tech billionaire Elon Musk, and Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage. In his 2025 autumn conference speech, Davey urged voters not to let “Trump’s America become Farage’s Britain”. He warned of a hypothetical “Trump-inspired country”, one in which “social media barons are free to poison young minds with impunity”. He argued that Reform’s vision of the future was “not one befitting our great United Kingdom”.

Davey added: “There’s a question Nigel Farage is fond of asking. He likes to ask ‘Whose side are you on?’ Well we know the answer, don’t we? Nigel Farage is on the side of Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.”

The Liberal Democrats continued their upward momentum into the 2025 local elections. The party won control of 3 new councils and added 163 councillors to their ranks on a projected vote share of 17%. Key victories included gaining majority control in Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire. Overall, the Liberal Democrats won more seats than the Conservatives (370) for the second set of local elections in a row.

Davey is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Ahmadiyya Muslim community, Primodos and the Republic of Korea.

Ed Davey: coalition minister and rise to prominence

Davey served in the cabinet as a member of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. From February 2012 to May 2015, he served as secretary of state for energy and climate change, having succeeded Chris Huhne, who resigned as energy and climate change secretary on 3 February 2012 after the director of public prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, announced there was “sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against both Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce for perverting the course of justice.”

Previously, from May 2010 to February 2012, Davey served as under-secretary of state for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Davey has since faced scrutiny over his time as postal affairs minister, which coincided with the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. The Liberal Democrat MP has stated that he was repeatedly misled by Post Office executives and has apologised for not realising the truth sooner. “I now know I was being lied to, I follow this inquiry, and it’s pretty clear that what they told my officials was not true”, he told the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry in July 2024.

Davey was among the 49 Liberal Democrat MPs who lost their seats at the 2015 general election. Davey was defeated in the Kingston and Surbiton constituency by James Berry for the Conservative Party, who secured 23,249 votes (39.2%) and a 2,834-vote majority over his Liberal Democrat rival.

Davey was awarded a knighthood in the 2016 New Year Honours for political and public service.

During his tenure as a Liberal Democrat MP, Davey has held a series of spokesperson roles. He has served as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for social justice (2020), the Treasury (2019-2020 and 1997-2001), home affairs (2017-2019), foreign affairs (2007-2010), business, energy and industrial strategy (2019-2019), trade and industry (2006-2006), education (2005-2006), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2002-2005), the chief secretary to the Treasury position (2001-2002) and the Olympics and London (2000-2003).

Davey was also a Liberal Democrat whip from June 1997 to June 2000.

In February 2008, Davey was thrown out of the House of Commons after he protested the speaker’s handling of a debate concerning a potential referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty. Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, was suspended from the rest of the day’s sitting after Michael Martin, the commons speaker, chose not to select a Liberal Democrat amendment calling for a referendum on Britain’s continuing membership of the EU. In a point of order, Davey described the speaker’s ruling as “an outrage to this House”.

Davey has served as a member of the House of Commons procedure committee from November 1997 to February 2000 and the Treasury committee from November 1999 to May 2001.

Davey gave his maiden speech on 6 June 1997 during a debate on the governance of London.

In it, he said: “I am concerned that we will have some very odd hybrid if we have an elected authority and a directly elected mayor. The mandates will clash. It will be a recipe for confusion, and the only way around that – perhaps a separation of powers model – is a recipe for gridlock.”

Political Views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

The Liberal Democrat autumn conference in 2021 ratified a policy paper entitled What Liberal Democrats Believe. The paper, an attempt to expand on the constitution’s preamble, was framed around seven “principles and values”.

The party’s core values were described as “liberty, equality, democracy, community, internationalism and environmentalism.”

The Lib Dem manifesto for the 2024 general election included a commitment to introduce “proportional representation by the single transferable vote for electing MPs, and local councillors in England.”

The Liberal Democrat 2024 general election manifesto said the UK-EU relationship should be placed on a “more formal and stable footing by seeking to join the single market.”

The Liberal Democrats have consistently called for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis. The party’s 2024 general election manifesto featured a commitment to introduce a “legal, regulated market for cannabis.”

Davey is a member of the Green Liberal Democrats, an official environmental group within the Liberal Democrats. It aims to “promote a green approach to policy formation within the Liberal Democrats” and “develop links with the wider green movement.” The grouping, formed in 1977 as a faction within the Liberal Party, is “committed to a net-zero and nature positive future and driving ambition across the national party and in local governance.”

Davey was a contributor to the The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism (2004), which broadly championed greater personal choice and market solutions.

During the 2020 Liberal Democrat leadership contest, Ed Davey said he rejected “the idea of equidistance”.

In a social media post, Davey wrote: “Just as Paddy Ashdown did in the 1990s, I reject the idea of equidistance. I’m an anti-Conservative politician and have spent my life fighting the Tories, and winning.

“That’s how I would lead the party.”

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Davey supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of his constituents, 59.2% of whom also voted to Remain.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Davey voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Assisted dying

Davey voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024). On the third reading of the bill in June 2025, Davey did not record a vote.

In a Times article, published shortly before the bill’s second reading, Davey wrote: “Having wrestled with this issue over much of my life, it’s precisely because of those years spent caring for mum that I will be voting against it.”

He added: “My fear is that, if we make assisted dying a state-sanctioned option, some people would inevitably feel an enormous psychological pressure to take it up, even if it’s not what they really want. No matter what safeguards are in the law, it seems unavoidable to me that some people would sadly feel like they are too much of a burden.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Davey voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Davey voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Syria airstrikes (2013): Davey voted in favour of the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Iraq War vote (2003): In March 2003, Davey voted for a rebel amendment which argued that the case for war against Iraq had not been established. A total of 139 Labour, 53 Liberal Democrat and 15 Conservative MPs backed the amendment. The government’s unamended motion authorising military action against Iraq passed by 412 votes to 149.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Davey was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Davey voted for a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the king’s speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. Labour had tabled a rival motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict.

Civil liberties

Covid passes campaign (2021): Davey was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

Born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on Christmas Day 1965, Edward Jonathan Davey experienced significant personal loss during his childhood. His father, a solicitor, died when Ed was four years old. His mother, a teacher, died when he was 15, after which he was brought up by his maternal grandparents.

Davey has spoken about being a young carer for his mother and later his grandmother.  

Davey attended Nottingham High School, where he was head boy in his final year. He went on to study philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Jesus College, Oxford University, graduating with a first-class honours degree. During his time at Oxford, he was president of the college’s Junior Common Room (JCR).  

After Oxford, Davey completed a master’s degree in economics at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Davey’s first job was as an economics researcher for the Liberal Democrats under leader Paddy Ashdown, taking up the role in 1989. He subsequently worked as a management consultant with Omega Partners. Davey has recounted being approached for recruitment by MI6 during his time working for Ashdown but declined.

In June 2019, Davey said: “I’d just been appointed to be the economic adviser to Paddy Ashdown, so I never became Double O Davey.”

Personal Life

Davey married Emily Gasson in 2005. She has also been a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate. They live in Surbiton within his constituency and have two children, a son and a daughter.  

Their son, John, has a neurological condition that means he cannot walk or talk.

Davey frequently speaks publicly about his experience caring for his son and how it informs his views on disability rights and the need for better social care support. He previously cared for his mother before her death and later his terminally ill grandmother.  

Trivia

In 1994, before becoming an MP, Davey received bravery awards from the Royal Humane Society and the British Transport Police for rescuing a woman who had fallen onto the railway tracks at Clapham Junction station.  

Davey reportedly speaks French, German and Spanish.  

He supports Notts County Football Club.