Hop, skip, jump and enchant the electorate – the Ed Davey doctrine was a stroke of genius | Nels Abbey

The Lib Dems gained a record number of seats. That’s thanks to their leader’s fusing of policy with eye-catching, daring stunts

There is a remarkably thin line between novel and novelty. In the past six weeks, Ed Davey, a serial political campaigning rule violator who just happens to be the leader of the freshly triumphant Liberal Democrats, appears to have used that thin line as a conduit for electoral success.

The bare necessities to be taken seriously in the political establishment in Britain apparently include: a navy blue overgarment, white shirt, received pronunciation, Churchillian references and a reasonably photogenic (or at least elusive) spouse. But Davey has shown us an alternative way.

Continue reading…