New Lib Dem MP tells Iain Dale she is not ruling out running for party leader

15 December 2019, 12:32

Newly-elected St Albans MP Daisy Cooper is considering running to replace Jo Swinson as Lib Dem leader.

She is the first ever Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans.

Daisy Cooper won the seat from Conservative Anne Main.

She was asked by Iain Dale if she might run for leader.

Cooper replied: "Well, it's day three, right? It's day three as an MP for me.

"I've got a list of 100 organisations I want to contact in my first 100 days. I've got a massive collection to organise for our local food bank in St Albans in the next couple of weeks. I've got an office to set up.

Let's see where we are in a few weeks time but I'm not going to rule anything out at this stage."

Iain Dale said: "Well, that's interesting in itself because I would have thought as a new MP, you would say no, it's too early."

She replied: "Well, quite frankly, you know, I've worked in campaigns for a long time.

"We've got 11 MPs in Parliament but I'm also hoping to join the More United MP network, which is a cross party network of 60 MPs.

"I've got big ambitions about what we can achieve in Parliament as a small team in the Lib Dems but I've also got ambitions about the kind of country that I want to be living in.

"You know, I want Britain to be an open internationalist, environmentalist country that creates a safety net for people and gives people power over their own lives.

"I think we are a long way from that under this Conservative government and I don't think the Labour government is going to step up to the plate.

So I've got big ambitions for the kind of country that I want to live in and I'll have to sort of see as a as an MP on day three, the best place to start for that is in St Albans. Let's see where we are in a few weeks time."