Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard has resigned from his position as the party's Treasury spokesman, signaling discontent with leader Sir Ed Davey.
Maynard, the MP for Witney, stepped down from his frontbench role on Friday. Sources close to Davey acknowledge a small group of Liberal Democrat MPs are unhappy with his leadership, with Maynard identified as one of them.
Deputy party leader Daisy Cooper stated that the "vast majority" of Liberal Democrat MPs support Davey and want him to lead the party into the next general election, calling Maynard's actions a "distraction."
Under the Liberal Democrats' rules, a leadership contest can be initiated if a motion of no confidence is passed by a majority of the party's MPs. To enter such a contest, an MP needs nominations from at least 10% of the parliamentary party, excluding themselves, and the support of 200 members from at least 20 local parties.
Sir Ed Davey has led the Liberal Democrats for six years. In the 2024 general election, he guided the party to its most significant electoral success in recent history, securing 72 seats. However, the party has struggled to maintain momentum, with opinion poll numbers remaining relatively low.
Recently, some Liberal Democrats have publicly criticized Davey's position on the "triple lock," a mechanism that ensures the state pension increases annually by the highest of inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5%.
Last week, Davey criticized an announcement by Andy Burnham regarding adjustments to the triple lock, arguing that such changes could lead to "more pensioners into poverty." He stated that it would result in current working millennials facing "a very poor pension" upon retirement. Some Liberal Democrat MPs have dismissed Davey's argument, with one suggesting that most millennials do not anticipate a state pension in their retirement.