Sir Ed Davey has lost none of his skill at the eye-catching but ultimately vacuous video-opportunity. He marched into his party’s annual conference in Bournemouth on Saturday at the head of a drummer band, guaranteeing cheerful images to mark an event that will struggle to make news for its policies.
Liberal Democrat spin doctors say that the stunt was designed to reclaim the word “patriotism” from Nigel Farage. That message was reinforced by merchandise at the conference centre, including a small figure of Mr Farage labelled “plastic patriot”, but we doubt whether the sight of Sir Ed with a red sash twirling a mace will have said “pride in one’s liberal country” to most viewers.
Instead, the combination of Lib Dem orange and a marching band may have conjured up associations with the more aggressive end of the unionist marching season in Northern Ireland.
Still, perhaps the casual consumer of news media might not think further than the Lib Dems being “on the march”, in which case the stunt may repeat the success of Sir Ed’s electioneering.
During the 2024 campaign, Sir Ed fell off paddle boards and bungee-jumped off a high platform, coming across as a good-natured bloke who was enjoying himself. The water-based stunts were usually intended to make a point about the politics of sewage, but the main effect was probably to remind some voters that they had seen him give a moving interview about caring for his son, who has severe disabilities.
The results were spectacular, and have been surprisingly little commented on, partly because Labour’s victory was so emphatic and the Conservative defeat so crushing. But winning 72 seats, more than the high point of 62 under Charles Kennedy in 2005, was a remarkable recovery from the crushing low point of just eight seats in the 2015 election.
It seemed a vindication of Sir Ed’s refusal to advocate an early attempt to rejoin the European Union, which many of his activists wanted him to do. Social care, sewage and a bland alternative to the two main parties was enough to sweep up Tory seats across the south and east of England.
There are advisers around the leader who urge a repeat of that strategy at the next election. Social care is still a big issue. The water companies have not been fixed. Do not suggest that the Lib Dems want to reopen the whole Brexit negotiation deadlock circus, they say – just present an image of niceness and wait this time for disillusioned Labour voters to fall into the Lib Dem lap.
Others urge a more targeted approach to Labour defectors, and Sir Ed seems to be following their advice. He has adopted a notable tone of opposition to Donald Trump, refusing the King’s invitation to the banquet at Windsor Castle for the US president’s state visit. And he has taken a sharper pro-Palestinian line, in recent days even using the word “genocide” to describe the Israeli government’s policy.
Those positions are rather too transparently aimed at wooing disaffected Labour voters. While The Independent disagrees as strongly with President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu as Sir Ed purports to do, these are not necessarily the positions that a responsible party of government should adopt – not least because neither Mr Trump nor Mr Netanyahu is likely to be in power by the time of the next UK election.
We agree that the Liberal Democrats do need a harder edge to their policies, but they should focus on issues on which they could influence a government in a hung parliament, which ought to be the only point of people voting for them. Social care and sewage are important, but they should not be the limit of Lib Dem ambition.
A more forward policy on integration with the EU, a more compassionate approach to immigration and a more genuinely liberal attitude to the cause of equal rights could all be issues on which a large Lib Dem parliamentary party could hope to bring about change after the next election. Let us hear more about them from the party over the next few days in Bournemouth.
