Ed Davey MP writes….My family, my party

Last weekend I went glamping. with Emily and our children, John and Ellie. This luxury form of camping was my birthday present to my super-patient wife, and our first proper time to reflect together after the General Election.

And to cut to the chase, I've come back to Westminster more determined than ever to campaign hard for the party Emily and I both love - but not to campaign to lead the party at this moment.

When Tim resigned, I assumed Jo would go for it, and I would have supported her. She gave understandable reasons why she didn't - so here are my reasons, some similar to Jo's.

Emily and I met through the party. I was chairing a Housing Policy Working Group and she was a member, as a social housing lawyer. What could be more romantic?

Our joy this weekend was seeing our two children play together. And when you understand that John (aged 9) is severely disabled, you will appreciate that seeing our 3 year old daughter make him laugh is quite special.

And if it helps explain my decision not to run just a little more, please remember that my father died when I was 4 and my mother when I was 15. Being there for my children over the next few crucial years and to see those special moments is my personal priority.

So my decision not to stand now to be Leader of our party is a difficult one, but it is rooted in my family: the need to be there for my young children and not continually away from home; the need to protect my family from the inevitable intrusion on our lives; and the need to protect myself from pressures that would otherwise compromise my job as a father while they are still so young.

And this was a difficult decision, because I want to play a big part in rebuilding our party, and taking it into power, at all levels of Government.

If I'd run, my message would have been simple: we need to be the party of reform, challenging the status quo. Saying the uncomfortable things. Recognising how broken our politics is.

From an education system that fails tens of thousands of children every year, to a hostility to regulations that allowed bad fire safety laws that led to Grenfell Tower. From how we persist in not linking the environment to health, so that we tolerate air pollution knowing it is wrecking our nation's health. To Brexit, where we are betraying British traditions of international co-operation and enlightened self-interest for a fistful of lies.

And to be a winning party of reform, we must start telling the British people who Liberal Democrats are, and what we stand for. And not simply what and who we are against.

We must also be super-ambitious - just like radical centrists in Canada, France and The Netherlands. If they can win from third place - or from "no place" like Macron - why can't we?

And in answering that question, we need to be self-critical. While we've had some success in recent times - not least with the amazing rise in membership - our election defeats have been crushingly bad.

We need to reflect why - and then ensure our party is fit-for-purpose - able to provide the platforms for future winning campaigns. We owe it to the huge number of amazing campaigners in our party, who have worked their socks off, and not yet seen us win.

So Emily and I are excited about playing our part in our party's renewal and revival - and we look forward to getting behind the new Leader to make that happen.

* Ed Davey is the Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton and was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the coalition governmen