This is Sir Ed Davey’s worst week in politics since last week – and it’s still only Monday. The Liberal Democrat leader is enduring a torrid time at present, amid continuing questions about his handling of the Horizon scandal when he was the postal affairs minister. This morning, the Daily Mail went heavy on profiling the ex-deputy postmistress who is seeking to unseat him in Kingston-upon-Thames at the next general election.
Then just before lunch the Evening Standard dropped with a front-page splash that dubbed him ‘Sir Hypocrite’ – some nice night-time reading for Sir Ed’s London constituents perhaps. And now, this afternoon, the usual respectful silence which greets Davey’s appearances in the Commons chamber was replaced by jeers and heckles on both sides of the House. Several seconds of noise followed his name being called by the Speaker, as Davey sought to grill Rishi Sunak about the Houthi air strikes.
It wasn’t so long ago that Lib Dem aides ‘war-gamed‘ a scenario for ‘Edmania’ in which their leader experienced a surge similar to that enjoyed by Nick Clegg in the 2010 campaign. Let’s hope they role-played a less optimistic one too…
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