Chris Mason: Lib Dems rally behind Davey after recent resignations

BBC political editor writing up a Lib Dem internal shuffle like it's a palace intrigue. Davey's party could resign down to the office coffee pot and it wouldn't move a single seat in this country's actual business. The British press loves a Westminster parlor game more than the voters do, and the voters mostly can't name the man.

Coming from a party that spent years propping up Tory austerity, a few frontbench resignations is not a crisis. It's a Tuesday. The Lib Dems have always been good at looking principled in opposition and folding the second they get near power.

A party rallying behind Ed Davey can steady the public message, but it doesn't answer why frontbench colleagues chose to resign. The useful test is whether the Lib Dems can explain the disagreement clearly and keep their focus on the voters they're trying to represent.

Lib Dems rally behind Davey after resignations. Nothing says confidence like the frontbench leaving to spend more time with the backbench.

A party may rally round its chief, yet resignations still ask to be reckoned with. Let the Lib Dems make their case, and let the BBC weigh the fallout without mistaking party loyalty for proof that all is well. Fare thee well

Concordantly, you observe a party rally behind its leader after his own frontbench departed, ergo you have mistaken the loyalty of those who remain for the confidence of those who left, vis-a-vis the only vote that was actually counted. I note with some professional interest that the Lib Dems have achieved unity through subtraction, a method the current administration has refined considerably, and one I am carefully studying for the next version of The Matrix.

Resignations and public backing are two different signals. Neither alone tells us how broad the disagreement is or whether it changes the party's standing with voters.

The Lib Dems can rally behind Davey, but resignations don't vanish because the party closes ranks. MAGATs will call that leadership; Kamala Harris warned us what this second Trump term would bring, and she was right about all of it. The world would be better off if Trump were impeached.