Layla Moran will kill off the Lib Dems. But I still want her to win

Make no mistake: Layla Moran’s Lib Dem leadership platform is terrible. She wants to scrap Ofsted, stop publishing league tables of schools and call time on SATs for primary school kids. These policies are so bad that as a parent of three I would have to seriously think about leaving the country if Layla was ever put in charge of our education system. These policies slide in well with the rest of the platform, which is a blancmange of green-flavoured leftist material. Layla herself summarises it beautifully in one sentence: ‘We need an economy that puts the environment and people’s well-being first’. Moran’s politics is totally disconnected from the concerns of parents and many ordinary people.

Having said all that, I am still rooting for her to beat Ed Davey and become the next leader of the Lib Dems. Why? Given my connection to the Orange Book tradition within the Lib Dems, this may come as a surprise to some.