Ed Davey fielded questions from delegates and conference-goers at the summit of the weekend’s packed schedule, but can his party really break through in a Farage/Polanski dogfight?
One couldn’t help but notice that he looked rather at home up on the stage. No campaigning to “get the message out”™. No crazy stunts in an effort to prove the ‘relevance’ of his party. He wore a smart-casual jumper and jeans combination. A smart move considering one key aim of the Q+A session was to humanise him, to make him appear down-to-earth. Well, as ‘down-to-earth’ as the leader of a front-running UK party can be.
Reform Rallying Support
The questions started with the elephant in the room and the beast in the polls: Nigel Farage and Reform.
“I’m actually using a phrase which I don’t think I’ve ever used before. I think we have a moral responsibility to beat Reform.” That’s certainly a soundbite to rival Tony Blair’s.
“The right get their fuel from anger. The solution to that is not getting angry, but to listen.”
“They threaten our country in a very profound way. They threaten our democracy. They threaten British values. They threaten things like the NHS. And they have to be stopped.”
“There are areas that currently have a Labour MP where that Labour MP has effectively lost already, because Reform is doing well in those areas. It will fall to us to win in those areas because Labour can’t.” He referenced Reform’s near-sweep in County Durham in last year’s elections and Newcastle, where the Lib Dems are the second-largest party.
He continued: “Instead of a Labour—Reform battle, it will be a Liberal Democrat—Reform battle in those Labour seats as well.”
He also noted something historically important, which has a tendency to occasionally escape us younger news-junkies: Reform UK is a direct challenger to the Conservative Party. For the first time in modern British history, the right-wing vote is split two ways. Even UKIP, at the height of its popularity, couldn’t match Reform’s highs.
There is an important set of local elections on the horizon. Most seats are currently held by the unpopular Labour Party; the rise of Reform looks to be plateauing; and Zack Polanski’s Greens are irritating as many voters as they attract. The Lib Dems are, therefore, fully intending to fill this widening gap in the political landscape.
“This is a historic opportunity for us,” Davey proudly bellowed to the crowds. This was a common thread, echoed invariably throughout the conference weekend, but with a different impact than last year’s one in Harrogate.
It all starts with how to vote
The Liberal Democrats’ love affair with electoral reform is a tale as old as the party itself, and it is a view that greatly rallies the party’s base.
“We’re the party curating real change, and we should be proud we’ve always been consistent on this,” Ed Davey said.
As further vindication of this, when asked as one of the penultimate questions, “if you could change one law at this moment in time, without parliamentary procedure, what would it be?”, Davy unhesitately unanswered that he would “bring in proportional representation”.
This answer, unlike some of his earlier ones, distinctively unified the crowds in sweeping commendation and applause. He didn’t offer much explanation on why, as this is a long-time Liberal Democrat love affair, but we couldn’t help but wonder if this would leave power even more in Farage’s hands?
Everyone’s favourite topic
Who doesn’t love the economy? The financial stuff was bound to come up at some point.
When prompted, Ed Davey suggested that the reason young people are currently struggling to find a job is due to the blasted smithereens that the Tory government left in their hasty exit.
“Young people will benefit most from a growth-based economy,” he said, continuing, “we have got to stand up for an economy that grows and makes our whole society better off”.
Rebuilding the UK’s relationship with Europe would inevitably be a key part of this. Davy encouraged people to look at the current illegal Iran-US war as a reason to be wary of tying ourselves in political allegiance with The Donald. He said the other parties are too concerned with cosying up to Trump, when really they should be moving away from his forced “special relationship”, and looking at what is really beneficial for the country.
Nice parties finish last
The focal point of the summit, however, came from a member of the audience. Firmly gripping the microphone, Tanja Kadlez implored the party leader: “We need to be more gritty, more newsworthy”.
This, no doubt, comes from fears that other smaller, polemic parties are hogging the media’s attention. Reform UK is well-known for its staunch views on immigration, and now, from the other side, the green party is also making audacious moves on drug decriminalisation and floating around the possibility of potentially leaving NATO
The liberal democrats are meant to be the UK’s unofficial ‘third party’ contender. But now, they’re at risk of looking weak. Or, even worse. Just plain irrelevant.
Kadlez pleaded with Davey to re-consider his strategy. To re-envision the public’s impression of the party, and push the Liberal Democrats back into the conversation. With force, if necessary.
She pointed out that, “when something significant happens in British politics, who is the first person that Laura Kuenssberg speaks to? Kier Starmer. That makes sense because they’re the one’s with the majority. And who’s next on the show? Someone from the Conservatives. Well, hmm. Okay, I suppose that’s okay because they’re the opposition party? And who’s the next person they call? Nigel Farage.”
“When is it the Liberal Democrats turn to speak,” Kadlez asked. They need to stop with the niceties and start getting news-worthy. In the build up to the 2024 general election, the liberal democrats took on a staring role in the political stage. Now, they’re lucky to get a standing ticket for the show. Instead of sitting in the audience, watching the excitement happen, they need to get back into the action.
All of which Davey wittingly replied with: “Well, good news, I’m on Laura Kuenssberg tomorrow morning.”
On a belated question, he went on to say: “our social media team, great as it is, isn’t big enough.” He assured the audience that the people fangling around with the social media would be much younger than himself.
He expects the team to “treble” in size, with the hope that this will help the party make a bigger splash. After all, Davey is certainly no stranger to getting his feet wet, given his paddleboarding adventure stunt.
And with that, Davey frockilled off the stage, with ‘High Hopes’ by Panic! At the Disco sending him on his merry way. His dance moves, whilst inspiring, did not make up for his musical originality, as York Vision reported he used the same exit song in Harrogate last year. But before making his stealthy getaway, he answered one final question from the audience: “Wes or Rayner?”.
His answer “Davey” was no surprise to anyone in the room.