You have to hand it to the Liberal Democrats, they know how to make their party conferences a little different. If only by giving them the feeling of a slightly autumnal, past its best, end-of-the-pier show. Take the merchandise stalls at this year’s event in Brighton. A hi-vis vest with a Lib Dem logo for the hound in your life? Mmm. Maybe not. An 18th birthday card with an orange Lib Dem motif? Just what every teenager wants. Or three different Tim Farron fridge magnets? I’m not sure there’s a market even for one.
For several years now, the Lib Dem conference has been less a celebration of the party’s triumphs than a soft howl of pain. A polite raging against the dying of the light. A plea for relevance at a time when Lib Dems feel like an endangered species. Not even the truest believers ever tried to talk up winning 12 MPs at the general election last year as a massive 33% gain. It was a party whose sole remaining purpose was seemingly to stay one step ahead of oblivion. Even the occasional defiant messages of optimism from the conference stage had the hollow sound of despair.
This year, though, there was a slight change of mood. Where previously the Lib Dems could only collectively hold their heads in their hands as they warned of the catastrophe Brexit would bring, they now feel as if their voices are being heard. Even if they probably aren’t. If the chances of a “people’s vote” have increased dramatically over the past six months, it almost certainly has everything to do with the hopelessness of the government’s EU negotiating strategy rather than the public finally hearing the Lib Dem message. No matter. A win is a win and, whether by accident or design, the Lib Dems feel they are just about back in the game.
So the Lib Dems did what only they could. They invited Gina Miller to give the keynote speech to Monday’s conference. How better to make it clear to everyone in the party that none of its MPs had the charisma to hold a crowd or say anything about Europe that would be worth listening to for 20 minutes? The snappers duly picked up their cues. Having mysteriously remained silent while Tom Brake and Wera Hobhouse spoke in the earlier debate, the cameras flashed into action when Miller took her seat minutes before she was due to speak.
It had been thought that Vince Cable might have invited Miller as an overture to getting the Lib Dems to accept someone who wasn’t an MP as leader. But Miller was quick to scotch that rumour. She wasn’t a leader-in-waiting, she declared at the beginning of her speech. She wasn’t even a Lib Dem. Heaven forbid. The Lib Dems were far too niche and she planned to reach a far bigger audience. She liked the Lib Dems and agreed with many of their aims on Brexit. Though rather in the manner she might treat a pet. Perhaps the hi-vis dog jacket might have a taker after all.
“I’m not political,” Miller explained, somewhat disingenuously. It would be interesting to know what her definition of political was. Miller was the woman who defeated the government in the high court and the supreme court over parliament’s right to have a vote in triggering article 50, and was most recently seen posing near the edge of the white cliffs of Dover as she launched her End the Chaos website to help steer the country to a second referendum. Still, she’s a busy woman, so maybe these are just hobbies she indulges in during her spare time.
Her speech was functional, but nothing more. Miller covered enough of the main bases – including several plugs for her website – to keep the conference hall happy, but she never really sparkled. She lacked any real passion. Maybe she was nervous, but this felt more like the Queen’s Christmas message. A semi-detached pep talk to her people, rather than a whole-hearted call to arms. It will take more than this to convince many Brexiters.
But it was enough to earn her a standing ovation. Stardust is thin on the ground in Brighton this week and the delegates are grateful for what they can get. As she left, the hall immediately began to clear, with several people falling upstairs behind her. The chairperson announced conference would reconvene at 2.10pm. It was now 11.30am. A two-and-a-half hour lunch break. Presumably because there really wasn’t much more business to discuss.
