For much of the last two months we have been treated to an Ed Davey extravaganza. Bungee-jumping Ed. Roller-coasting Ed. Family Man Ed. Caring Ed. NHS-saving Ed. It’s been quite the ride. No other politician felt quite so alive, quite so human, so relatable during the election campaign. And it all paid off. Ed, leader of the Lib Dems, had given the party their best result in decades, gaining 72 MPs. They were relevant again. Well, almost.
On Thursday we got to see a rather different Ed at the Post Office Inquiry. One that had been kept well away from public consumption. This was, at times, a Shifty Ed. At others a Bewildered Ed. An Ed who couldn’t believe what had happened to him. Pontius Ed. This was the Ed from the dark days of the beginning of the coalition years when he was the junior minister with the Post Office brief invading the present. The past coming back to haunt him. A past he would rather forget.
