Sir Ed Davey | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
| Assumed office 27 August 2020 Acting: 13 December 2019 – 27 August 2020[a] | |
| Deputy | Daisy Cooper |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Jo Swinson |
| Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 3 September 2019 – 27 August 2020 | |
| Leader |
|
| Preceded by | Jo Swinson |
| Succeeded by | Daisy Cooper |
| Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | |
| In office 3 February 2012 – 8 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Chris Huhne |
| Succeeded by | Amber Rudd |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs | |
| In office 20 May 2010 – 3 February 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | The Lord Young of Norwood Green |
| Succeeded by | Norman Lamb |
| Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | James Berry |
| Majority | 17,235 (34.1%) |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | James Berry |
| Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
| 2005–2006 | Education and Skills |
| 2006–2007 | Trade and Industry |
| 2007–2010 | Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs |
| 2017–2019 | Home Affairs |
| 2019 | Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy |
| 2019–2020 | Treasury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Jonathan Davey 25 December 1965 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Spouse |
Emily Gasson (m. 2005) |
| Children | 2[1] |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | www |
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey FRSA (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has been the leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020, having acted in the position from 2019 to 2020.[a] He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015 and as deputy leader to Jo Swinson in 2019. An "Orange Book" liberal, Davey has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston and Surbiton since 2017, previously holding the seat from 1997 to 2015.[2][3]
Davey was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. After both his parents died before he was 16, Davey was raised by his grandparents, and subsequently attended Nottingham High School. He then went on to study at Jesus College, Oxford, and Birkbeck, University of London. He was an economics researcher and financial analyst before being elected to the House of Commons. Davey served as a Liberal Democrat spokesperson to Charles Kennedy, Menzies Campbell and Nick Clegg from 2005 to 2010, in various portfolios including education and skills, trade and industry, and foreign and Commonwealth affairs.
In 2010, after the Liberal Democrats entered into a coalition government with the Conservative Party, Davey served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs from 2010 to 2012,[4] and in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015, following Chris Huhne's resignation.[5] Davey focused on increasing competition in the energy market by removing barriers to entry for smaller companies, and streamlining the customer switching process.[6] He also approved the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.[7] As postal affairs minister, Davey did not investigate the details of the Post Office Horizon scandal that had led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters, but was the only Post Office minister to meet Alan Bates, the founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.
Davey lost his seat in the 2015 general election and was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for political and public service. He regained his seat in the 2017 general election, and served as the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson from 2017 to 2019. After the retirement of Vince Cable, Davey unsuccessfully ran against Jo Swinson in the 2019 Liberal Democrats leadership election, and was later appointed Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson and elected unopposed as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats. After Swinson lost her seat at the 2019 general election, Davey, while remaining deputy leader, served as acting leader alongside Liberal Democrat presidents Baroness Brinton and Mark Pack from December 2019 to August 2020.[8][9]
Davey stood in the 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election, in which he defeated Layla Moran with 63.5% of the vote. In his leadership bid he said he would prioritise defeating the Conservatives and ruled out working with them following the 2024 general election. Under Davey's leadership, the Liberal Democrats have made gains in local elections alongside Labour, with both parties making gains in the 2024 local elections, where the Liberal Democrats finished second for the first time in a local election cycle since 2009. In the 2024 general election Davey led his party to both their highest ever number of seats and the highest number of seats for a third party since 1923, and was noted, with praise and criticism, for his campaign stunts.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "About Ed Davey". Ed Davey MP. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "RESULT: Lib Dem Ed Davey takes Kingston & Surbiton seat from Conservatives – South West Londoner". 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ "Orange Blossom". Liberator. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- ^ "Rt Hon Sir Edward Davey MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ "Ed Davey". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Davey vows faster energy switching". BBC News. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "New nuclear power plant approved". BBC News. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
- ^ "Jo Swinson quits as Lib Dem leader with Sir Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brinton to take over". Evening Standard. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Sir Ed Davey and Baroness Sal Brinton will become the joint acting leaders of the Liberal Democrats following Jo Swinson's election defeat, the party has said". LBC. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.