per leader donning a wetsuit and making his way through a bog, but a political mess that he does not seem to be fully capable of getting out of. At least not in the long term.

Frustration has been growing for a while. There has been an increasing sense that Sir Ed and his advisors were more interested in campaigning and ‘visuals’ than setting a vision and fully capitalising on the 72 MPs he returned to parliament at the last general election.

Now, though, there is open warfare over comments the former business secretary made on the pensions triple lock, seemingly arguing on Radio 4 that the provision helps millennials. Or will do. Eventually. Sky News has revealed, and I have confirmed, that this line is in direct opposition to the party’s own policy briefing document.

First, over the top was Tom Gordon. The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough issued a strong repudiation of his leader on Twitter, saying that he had ‘missed the point’.

Nobody is suggesting Sir Ed Davey should walk the plank immediately

Nobody is suggesting Sir Ed Davey should walk the plank immediately

The problem goes beyond one garbled line, though. There are now open concerns about Sir Ed’s leadership. ‘Leadership is about bringing people with you, not dragging them behind,’ Gordon told me. ‘We should be empowering our MPs and spokespeople – giving them, and the party, a clear, bold, liberal vision to go out and make the case for.’ Overall, he believes that:

We should be doing........

© The Spectator