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Sir Ed Davey opens up about disabled son as he formally announces bid for Lib Dem leader

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called for Dominic Cummings to go: Sky News
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called for Dominic Cummings to go: Sky News

Sir Ed Davey opened up about caring for his disabled son as he formally announced his bid for leader of the Liberal Democrats.

The former Coalition minister called for a “caring revolution” this morning and spoke out about raising his son John, 12, who has an undiagnosed neurological condition.

In an interview with the Mirror, he said: “It's been the biggest challenge of my life.

“And thanks to my amazing wife we've coped and John is doing amazingly well and is a source of inspiration for me.”

The 54-year-old added: "I know what it's like to be a carer every day. I deal with massaging him, with his care needs.

“I look at how other parents, my constituents, and the caring challenges they face, I just feel we don't support them enough.”

Sir Ed’s father died when he was four, and eight years later he and his brothers cared for their mother when she became terminally ill.

Sir Ed has been acting Lib Dem leader since Jo Swinson lost her seat in the December 2019 election (PA Wire/PA Images)
Sir Ed has been acting Lib Dem leader since Jo Swinson lost her seat in the December 2019 election (PA Wire/PA Images)

He added: “Too often carers get a raw deal - as I’ve seen through my own experience caring for close family during my life. I’m determined to change that and build a truly caring society.”

The MP for Kingston and Surbiton lost the last leadership competition in July 2019 to Jo Swinson who replaced Vince Cable when he retired.

Sir Ed has been acting Lib Dem leader since Ms Swinson lost her seat in the December 2019 election in which the party slumped from 21 MPs to just 11.

A scathing internal report of the party’s General Election performance blamed over-optimism in the anti-Brexit campaign and some improbably positive polling results for a campaign which turned into a “high-speed car crash”.

The Lib Dems' campaign during December's general election was likened to a
The Lib Dems' campaign during December's general election was likened to a

Sir Ed added: “I’m determined to lead the Liberal Democrats to rise to today’s challenges.”

Sir Ed has been an MP since 1997 with a break in 2015 to 2017. He served as the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015 as part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

In another interview with the Guardian today, he accused Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings of lacking the compassion and empathy needed to rebuild the UK after coronavirus.

He also indicated that Labour’s Keir Starmer was a leader with whom he could cooperate.

Lib Dem MPs Christine Jardine and Sarah Olney have both backed his bid for leader.

Two other Lib Dem MPs have also declared, Layla Moran and Wera Hobhouse.

The race was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic but will run through the summer with the winner announced in August.