What is happening in the Lib Dem leadership race?

Senior party figures are keen to see who is elected as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor first, says Lizzy Buchan

Former leader Jo Swinson is no longer an MP after losing her seat to the SNP (PA)

When Jo Swinson won the Liberal Democrat leadership contest last year, the future looked bright for the party.

Here was a young, dynamic woman with experience in government, who was ready to take on Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn and restore her party’s fortunes.

What a difference six months makes. Swinson is no longer an MP after losing her seat to the SNP, at a snap election the Liberal Democrats enthusiastically supported.

The party gambled on a bold pledge to scrap Brexit – and lost. So what now?

Sir Ed Davey, who lost out to Swinson last time, has stepped in as temporary leader ahead of a leadership race later this year.

The party’s ruling body met in London on Saturday to hammer out the timetable for the race and an examination into what went so badly wrong for the party at the polls.

Nominations for candidates will run from 11 to 28 May, before the members ballot opens on 18 June.

The contest will close on 15 July, when the party announces the next leader.

A new leader had been expected earlier but senior Lib Dems are understood to be keen to see who is elected as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor in April, before deciding on who should replace Swinson.

Runners and riders are likely to include Davey, who is one of the few senior MPs left in the party.

The former energy secretary served in the cabinet during the coalition years – something that became a stumbling block for Swinson during the 2019 election campaign.

However, Davey’s experience in government and as an MP may prove appealing to party members looking to steady the ship.

Another potential candidate being talked about in Lib Dem circles is Layla Moran, the Oxford West and Abingdon MP, who serves as the party’s education spokesperson.

The first female Bame Lib Dem MP and the first MP of Palestinian descent, Moran was talked of as a contender for the leadership last year.

However, as a relatively new MP, she decided not to run, paving the way for a run-off between Davey and Swinson.

She was said to have been unsettled by the media attention when it emerged that Moran and her then boyfriend had been arrested after she slapped him at the 2013 Lib Dem conference.

Moran also made the headlines when she announced she was pansexual and was dating a Lib Dem press officer, who had been suspended during the campaign for allegedly forging an email.

Christine Jardine, the party’s home office spokesperson, could also be a contender in the race to succeed Swinson, who was a close ally.

The Edinburgh West MP is a former journalist and government adviser who entered parliament in 2017.

Another one to watch is former Hacked Off campaigner Daisy Cooper, who took St Albans from the Tories in the 2019 election.

While Cooper is relatively unknown to the public, she unsuccessfully stood to be Lib Dem president in 2014 and is understood to be well known within party circles.