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Much political attention has, not unreasonably, been focused on Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson’s battle to become Tory leader and Prime Minister. However, the Liberal Democrats are searching

for a new leader too. In interviews I did with both Jo Swinson and Sir Ed Davey for _The House Magazine_, the two candidates to succeed Sir Vince Cable made it clear they are not ruling out

moving into Downing Street themselves. That idea is not as far-fetched as it might have seemed a few months ago. The Lib Dems have staged something of a resurgence, making huge gains in the

local and EU elections. They are holding strong in the polls too. One even suggested that there is a set of circumstances in which, with Jo Swinson as leader, the Lib Dems could win a

General Election. She told me she’d “love to be Prime Minister”. Davey said something similar, arguing the party should not “put a cap on our ambitions”. Both candidates served in the

coalition government, before losing their seats in 2015. They regained them in 2017 and insisted they felt it was right their party had gone into government, even though it cost them their

jobs. They have, though, ruled out working either with a Brexit-backing Tory leader, assumed to be Boris Johnson, or Jeremy Corbyn, who they similarly consider to be a Labour Brexiteer. When

I met them, they appeared energised by their party’s upturn in fortunes. Swinson, undoubtedly the frontrunner in the contest, said: “Liberal values matter and they are under threat now in a

way they haven’t been, certainly in my political lifetime. And that’s one of the reasons why people are coming to us.” Davey agreed: “There are a lot of signs of huge strength for the

party.” There is no doubt that the party has been boosted by the defection of Chuka Umunna, the Streatham MP who recently moved to the Lib Dems from the ruins of The Independent Group/Change

UK. Davey, who was in the audience when Umunna discussed his defection during a press conference, told me: “I don’t think he’ll be the last”. Rumours continue to swirl around Westminster

that Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston could also be on the move before too long. Indeed, Swinson recently filmed a Facebook Live with Allen, and said: “I’ve been working with these people,

not just people from Change UK but other MPs from the Conservative and Labour parties, people like Dominic Grieve, people like Stephen Doughty and others in the Labour movement, to try to

stop Brexit.” Davey, meanwhile, believes that “if Boris Johnson wins, as everyone expects he will do, there will be a number of Conservatives who will not be able to serve in his party, who

may well leave the Conservative Party and cross the floor of the House.” There is then a lot of excitement in a party that has had a difficult few years, seeing vast swathes of its elected

representatives at all levels lose their seats. A new leader can inject some further energy into a party, and there is little doubt that either Swinson or Davey will be getting a better

inheritance from Sir Vince Cable than Hunt or Johnson will from Theresa May. However, the challenge for the Lib Dems remains great. It is all very well being opposed to something, in this

case Brexit, but you also need to show what you are for. Sir Nick Clegg (there are a lot of Lib Dem knights now) tried to instil this positive thinking in the party, while his successor, Tim

Farron, seemed happier in the comfort of opposition. To have any long-term success, the new leader will have to set out a policy platform that is both broad and deep, going beyond Brexit

and dealing with the many issues facing the country. In fairness, both candidates have tried to do this. Swinson has written on the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies,

such as artificial intelligence, while the former Environment Secretary Davey has repeatedly talked about tackling the “climate emergency”. After over 20 years as colleagues and friends, the

Lib Dem race between Jo Swinson and Sir Ed Davey is being conducted in a far more civilised fashion than the contest in the Conservative Party. Whoever emerges victorious, the future is

looking brighter for the Lib Dems than it has done for a long time.