JO Swinson’s No10 dream cost the LibDems public trust, according to an MP running to replace her.
LibDem MP Layla Moran also admitted the public doesn’t know what the party is for as she revealed she will run for its top job.
Swinson quit as LibDem leader after losing her East Dunbartonshire seat – and dropping 10 other UK constituencies – in December’s General Election.
Her campaign had suggested she could be the next prime minister and that male rivals from Tory and Labour were “scared” to debate her.
Appearing on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Moran said that promise had cost the trust of voters.
And she criticised the LibDems’ election promise to reverse Brexit, calling the policy to revoke Article 50 a “big mistake”.
“I’ve been up and down the country listening to voters about what went wrong in the election.
READ MORE: LibDems threaten to quit if Steel is expelled for abuse cover-up
“They come back and say in the election ‘revoke’ was a big mistake because it felt very top-down, and actually co-operation is a key part of what we believe as Liberal Democrats and we need to earn their trust again.
"The other thing that worried them was that we were saying that we were going to be the party of the next government when in fact that wasn’t the case and we lost their trust again over that.
“Then I asked them well, ‘what do you think we stand for?’ And that’s the bit that’s really worrying because they then say ‘well, nine times out of ten, we don’t know’.
“They key question we have to answer now is ‘what are we for?’”
READ MORE: Jo Swinson 'considering' running for Willie Rennie's Holyrood seat
Moran said the decision to abandon the plan for a second Brexit referendum had been “partly led by a lack of diversity of voices in that room”. She went on: “I do think we need to look very deeply at how we make big strategic decisions in the party and, as leader, I do think that that is something that would have to change.”
On her own leadership ambition, Moran, who represents Oxford West and Abingdon, said: “I believe it’s time that we move on as a party and offer a positive vision for the country, and I’m the right person to lead that change.”
Wera Hobhouse is currently the only other LibDem in the leadership race, although she is expected to be joined by Sir Ed Davey.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel