Jo Swinson elected new Lib Dem leader

Jo Swinson has been elected as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, using her acceptance speech to appeal to disaffected Conservative and Labour MPs to join a party rising in the polls, which she said was ready again to compete for government.Despite predictions of a close contest, the party’s deputy leader won almost two-thirds of the 76,000-plus votes cast by members to defeat Ed Davey and replace Vince Cable, who had been in the post for two years.She is the first woman to hold the