Something you may have missed: On 31st December, Jo Swinson reflected on the last decade with a Twitter thread of photos, concluding by looking forward to the new decade with the words:
Whatever the next decade holds, I look forward to meeting it head on.
Becoming engaged to and marrying Duncan… pic.twitter.com/Aw9A7IsaJa
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) December 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/joswinson/status/1212152000898572294
Leading the Liberal Democrats… pic.twitter.com/551nSoamRB
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) December 31, 2019
And two referendums about our county's unions… pic.twitter.com/TVuBCDcTNb
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) December 31, 2019
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18 Comments
I would have liked to see Jo settle in to the role as leader, I think she had a lot more to give.
Then again, I’m sure she’ll be back.
I wish Jo had stayed as Leader, I think she was settling in nicely and I agree she had a lot more to give. I hope she chooses to keep going; hopefully we have more to see of her in the future.
Yep Julian she was still sight reading the leader line.
Yes Jo keep going, politics needs you, the Lib Dems need you and people need you. You were a big part of me leaving the Labour Party after 30 plus years and joining the Liberal Democrats. I was moved to emotional inspirational tears at conference in September at Bournemouth when I was there for your leader’s speech. You have come back before Jo, you can do it again, you got this, and you have lots of support with you. 👍
The world needs more Swinsons and fewer Johnsons.
‘Four General Elections – won in two’? Stretching the truth there a bit I would suggest.
Sorry to see how the decade ended for Jo and I hope she will be back in Parliament one day soon. One thing for sure though, I do not think she is destined for an ordinary life.
Steve Nunn
East Dunbartonshire:
2010 She won
2015 She stood but didn’t win
2017 She won
2019 She stood but didn’t win
– So no “stretching the truth” – just simply stating the facts.
Private Eye has repeated in HP Sauce the “rumour” that Jo Swinson will get a peerage.
The negative publicity attached to Zac Goldsmith and a Baroness should be a warning.
The next opportunity is the Edinburgh Parliament.
I am looking forward to a new Leader and hopefully a social liberal one.
And we look forward to meeting it with her.
Hope she can resist any offer of a peerage and stress the case for a reformed H.o.L.
We must have Jo back in office; there are not many politicians with ‘wins’ in their name, after all. We are lucky to have her.
She was a disaster who gave Johnson his election and let Brexit happen when she could have at least delayed it. Her refusal to work with Corbyn means we are in the mess we in now.
Peter Farrell-Vinay: Labour gave Johnson his election. The Bill to hold the election was supported by Labour with Lib Dems abstaining. Once Labour got behind an election there was nothing Jo could have done to stop it.
Installing Corbyn as PM would have been the death of the Lib Dems, and would also not have stopped Brexit (because Corbyn is a Brexiteer at heart). He was too divisive a figure to be acceptable as a caretaker PM. He was the disaster, and his refusal to step aside to allow someone who could actually command the support of a majority of MPs to become PM that put us in the mess we are in now.
Alex, while it is correct when you say that “Labour gave Johnson his election,” we have to remember that it was Jo Swinson and Nicola Sturgeon, gave Jeremy Corbyn his excuse.
The BBC article on 27th October “Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party have joined forces in a bid to trigger a 9 December election” sums it all up. Comments like ‘The Lib Dems and SNP say they support an election to “unlock” Parliament – but only on their timetable,’ and Ms Swinson said: ‘We need to get Boris Johnson out of office, unlock the gridlock in Parliament and give people the chance to vote to stay in the EU.’
Unfortunately what we got was Boris Johnson in office for five more years, we helped unlock the gridlock in the Conservative Party and give people the chance to vote to stay in the EU where they elected a government dedicated to leaving the EU.
While I agree with many of the sentiments about Jo as a person, as a Leader of the Lib Dems, Jo was a disaster. She chose to fight a battle she decisively lost, where her Revoke policy was undermined from day 1 of the campaign and where she ultimately sacrificed nearly half of our MPs.
Jo, you are a good person, but sometimes meeting problems head on is a mistake, particularly when they are an even bigger problem for your opponents.
I have resigned from the Lib Dems. Their focus is too much on themselves, their image, how they come across and fringe issues at the expense of the bigger picture – until their focus is solely outwards, on what is best for all the people of the UK, bringing greater opportunity and social equality, better housing and healthcare, fair access to justice and a strong, environmentally sustainable. economy, I fear they will not make too much progress.
They also consented to the General Election when Boris Johnson was on the ropes. It is so sad to see great MPs like Tom Brake no longer in the House of Commons.
Alex Macfie 24th Jan ’20 – 11:09pm……………….Peter Farrell-Vinay: Labour gave Johnson his election. The Bill to hold the election was supported by Labour with Lib Dems abstaining. Once Labour got behind an election there was nothing Jo could have done to stop it………….
That is not how I remember matters,,,
At the end of October, with Boris Johnson desperate for the election Labour were opposed because they wanted to keep the Prime Minister on the ropes over his Brexit deal as it made its way through the Commons.
But then, overnight, Mr Johnson’s election ruse was backed by Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson and Ian Blackford of the SNP. Their reasoning was that the polls suggested both parties would gain seats – the Lib Dems were on 18 per cent and the anti Brexit/Johnson electorate in Scotland convinced them to support a december GE. As for Labour; Mr Johnson told MPs voters would be “absolutely bewildered” by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s apparent resistance to an election.
The LibDem/SNP announcement of support for a december GE isolated Labour and the result is history.
While I was unhappy with the decision of the SNP and LibDems to agree the Johnson election, which the hapless Corbyn could not oppose, though he had been cooling on this, in light of potential wipeout for Labour, I do not think that the policy of holding Johnsons feet to the fire, in order to extract concessions and a referendum, would have held.
Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that the anger among brexiteers at what they perceived as sabotage to the democrat will of the people, as they saw it, was so great that it was a parallel situation, in some ways, to the US, where more voted against Trump, but he still got more seats . Our first past the post system, which I previously supported, thinking that you could throw the rascal out, next time, gave us more Remainer votes,as I understand it, but less seats, in the end.
I held out hope, to the end, that we would get a second say, but Corbyn was so toxic to many,( some of it due to the right wing press, but mainly that he was not seen as a runner for PM, just a protest movement person, with some dogs dinner policies, some good, but many thought up on the hoof.)I have been horrified that some of my ex Labour neighbours, a college lecturer and ex NHS nurse, could actually vote for Johnson, for fear of Corbyn. I think they were, in fact, brexiteers, so could not vote LibDem.There has got to be a place for moderates, in UK politics and if Labour vote in the continuity Corbyn leadership candidate, that leaves a large number of politicially homeless people.
I will play my Ode to Joy music on the hour we cease to be members of the EU, whistling it in the supermarket, as I do late night shopping, but the batton has to be passed to the next generation, now.
Jo Swinson did what she thought was best, at the time and LibDems can, at leat, tell their grandchildren, that they tried.