Jo Swinson

Jo Swinson has just delivered her first conference speech as Liberal Democrat leader. Here is her speech below. 21 years on from my first Liberal Democrat conference, I am thrilled to stand before you today as your leader. I’m delighted to see so many old friends who have kept the torch of liberalism burning bright through troubled times. And I’m excited to welcome thousands of new members to our cause, flocking to the Liberal Democrats as the clear rallying point for a movement to create an open, fair, inclusive society. Over the summer, we showed the others how it’s done. We had an energetic and positive leadership contest where many thousands of you engaged. I want to say a huge thank you to my friend Ed Davey.

It feels like an age since I was knocking on doors in the pouring rain in the final hour before polls closed, then hearing the shock of the exit poll on the car radio heading home to a hairdryer and somewhat less bedraggled attire for the count. Yet here we are just a few days later, embarking on an election for leader of the Liberal Democrats. I went to see Tim on Wednesday afternoon to tell him I thought he should definitely stay on, and I was excited at the prospect of putting myself forward to be Deputy Leader.  I was stunned when he told me he would be resigning that evening. Listening to Tim’s dignified statement, outlining the personal turmoil he felt during the election, I can’t fault him for deciding to step down, but I feel very sad that it came to this.