Charlie Mullins on Jo Swinson, “the new leader of Her Majesty’s true opposition”.

With all the excitement surrounding the election and elevation of Boris Johnson into Number 10, I think it’s hugely important to congratulate Jo Swinson on becoming the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Jo’s election to the top job is an excellent move for a party which under Vince Cable’s leadership has staged a remarkable comeback in its fortunes, to the point where it is the only credible opposition in the House of Commons.

Seriously, I think the Lib Dems are now in all but name the main concerted force in Parliament, and I have to say that while politically I am still a Tory at heart, I can’t help but believe that our democracy is a far healthier institution with a strong Liberal Democrats party under Jo Swinson, keeping Boris and the Conservatives on their toes.

It’s certainly true that Labour under Corbyn is a pointless force, with party members pulling in so many different ways that it’s not really even a party any more.

On the other hand, I was fortunate enough to attend the Lib Dems Conference last year in Brighton, and I was impressed at the family spirit there was, from the grassroot members, to local councillors, MPs and MEPs.

I also had the opportunity to meet Jo Swinson at a party dinner, hosted by Vince Cable for party supporters (as I was backing their ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ stance) and found her a class act, with the gravitas and intellect to take the party to a new level.

So, there is no doubt in my mind that they have the party machine and the support to be a power for good in our democracy at a time when we so desperately need it.🔷

[This piece was originally published on 26 July 2019 on the Pimlico blog. | The author writes in a personal capacity.]

(Cover: Flickr/Liberal Democrats. - Jo Swinson at the People's Vote March. | 23 March 2019. / Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)