The Liberal Democrats are the most united political party in Westminster by “a country mile”, Sir Ed Davey has said as his party’s annual conference begins.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed insisted his party – whose parliamentary outfit was bolstered nearly five-fold at the general election – is “very serious”, as he brushed off reports that some of his MPs are concerned about what has been dubbed his “bullshit stunts”.
He also told the PA news agency that as Labour and the Tories slide in the opinion polls, the Lib Dems offered a counterpoint to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
In a sign of how the party is attempting to take on Reform, the Lib Dems set out proposals to close asylum hotels within six months by setting up emergency processing centres modelled on the Nightingale hospitals used during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking from his parliamentary headquarters, Sir Ed told PA the Lib Dem conference was an opportunity to “make sure our message gets out to people, a message of real change that no other party is saying”.
Flanked by portraits of Liberal leaders of the past – Paddy Ashdown and the Victorian-era prime minister William Ewart Gladstone – the Lib Dem leader said: “People, I think, have lost trust in both Labour and Conservatives. Their support is at an all-time low.
“Really, the public have been offered two versions of change: a change by Nigel Farage and Reform, which basically wants to make the UK more like Trump’s America, with all the chaos that entails, people paying for the health service for example.”
By contrast, Sir Ed said his party “want a different change, much more in tune with British values”, hinting that the Lib Dem conference could be a springboard for the party to discuss harnessing a sense of national pride and nationhood.
Reforming social care, getting energy bills down by investing in renewables, and building on the UK’s relationship with Europe to boost trade are among the Lib Dems offer to the electorate, Sir Ed said.
“Our proposals for change from the Liberal Democrats are practical, real, quite radical and different from anyone else,” he said.
Sir Ed became well-known during the 2024 general election for a series of stunts: riding theme park attractions and water sports among them.
He has used the photo opportunities as a means of garnering media attention to talk about the party’s policy platform.
But some within his party are reportedly growing discontented with his approach, and have asked him to cut the “bullshit stunts”, according to The i Paper.
Asked by PA if it was now time for him to get serious in light of these reports, he replied: “We’re very serious. We are the only party, for example, urging the Government to stand up to Donald Trump.
“We are the only party speaking of real, practical action to get peace in in Gaza.
“We are the only party talking about the need for an economic coalition of the willing, including a new customs union with the EU to get our economy going again. So we put forward serious, practical policies.”
Addressing The i Paper article, Sir Ed said: “You know, I read the article. The truth is, I’m very fortunate: I lead the most united political party in Parliament today by a country mile.”
By contrast, the Tories are “riven with division”, Labour is in an “absolute mess”, and Reform keeps “losing MPs”, he said.
Sir Ed added: “We are very much united, and when it comes back to the stunts, not only do we have serious messages behind them, but the vast majority of our MPs ask can they be part of them.
“So they know they’re effective.”
As Mr Farage’s Reform UK continues to attract ex-Conservatives to its ranks, often from the Brexit-supporting wing of the party, Sir Ed would not be drawn into saying whether more liberal-minded Tories had discussed with him joining the Lib Dems.
“I couldn’t possibly comment on those types of things. What I will say is, Reform looks like it’s becoming a retirement home for failed Conservative politicians,” he said.
Signalling that the Lib Dems’ continued electoral strategy was to appeal to disaffected voters previously swayed by the Tories, Sir Ed said: “I’m less interested in former Conservative politicians, rather than Tory voters, Conservative voters.
“What I’d say to people who have always voted Conservative, your party is leaving you, it’s left you.
“Many decent Conservatives, One Nation conservatives, European conservatives, liberal conservatives, who have stayed with the Conservative Party through thick and thin, I think they now need to look at the Liberal Democrats afresh.”
The Nightingale asylum centre policy, and a plan to have police more visible with desks in supermarkets and libraries, show the Lib Dems attempting to fight on traditional Tory and Reform territory.
The party’s home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart told BBC Breakfast: “We want the Government to call a national emergency, under the Civil Contingencies Act the powers are there. We want to see Nightingale processing centres set up, increase the number of people of case workers processing those applications from 2,000 to 4,000, process those applications far more quickly.”
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