It’s hard to imagine any political leader enjoying their party’s conference more than Ed Davey in Brighton this year.
The Liberal Democrat leader continued his track record of eye-catching stunts (who could forget the rollercoasters, paddle-boarding and bungee jumps of the election campaign?) by arriving at the seaside conference venue via jet-ski. He has spent three days basking in his party’s electoral success, surrounded by party members and delegates – far more than in previous years, I am told – who are positively euphoric.
When we meet in his room at the Grand Brighton Hotel the day before his keynote conference address, brilliant sunshine streaming through the windows and a sweeping view of the sea, Davey gives off an air of intense relaxation.
“The mood of the party is just…” he trails off, lost for words but beaming. “I’ve never known it’s like this – and I’ve been coming to conference since 1989.”
Davey and the Lib Dems have good cause to be upbeat this year, following the best election result in the party’s history, which saw it go from just 15 MPs to 72. The vast majority of these were won from the Conservatives. And the underlying message of this conference is “finish the job”.
Finishing the job, for the party’s 58-year-old leader, means, “bashing down the rest of the Blue Wall… taking on the Conservatives”. As we talk, there is a marked difference in how he speaks about the Lib Dems’ rivals on the left and right.
“Where the government does the right things, we’ll support them,” Davey says of Labour. “If they act in the national interest, we’ll support them” – although that “support” may well involve pushing them to be “more ambitious”, such as on net zero and rebuilding relations with the EU.
On areas where the Lib Dems disagree, such as Labour’s decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Allowance to all but the poorest pensioners, Davey is clear that “we will oppose” the government, and cites his intervention on the subject at the most recent Prime Minister’s Questions. But he remains measured in his language, quickly switching blame for Labour’s controversial decision onto the Tories: “I just think that’s the wrong way to deal with the Conservatives’ financial mess.”
Continuing to attack the Tories is politically expedient. The Lib Dems owe their phenomenal election performance to their ability to win over voters in former Conservative heartlands – a trend beginning with the Chesham and Amersham by-election in 2021. That strategy could bear further fruit. Of the 27 seats where the party came second in the recent general election, 20 were won by Conservatives (six by Labour, one by Plaid Cymru). The mission now, Davey confirms, is to “consolidate our gains against the Conservatives and start taking the fight to even more Conservative seats”.
But there is another reason for this focus beyond basic arithmetic.
“I think the threat to Liberal Democrat values is greatest from the Conservatives,” Davey tells me, his smile evaporating. He reels off areas where he believes the Tories have proved they are “against what Liberals stand for”: damaging the UK’s relationship with Europe and its reputation on the world stage, undermining public services and failing to tackle inequality. “Whether we’ve got to dig in and hold seats, or whether it’s a fight for our values, there’s no doubt the Conservatives are in our sights.”
This could be interpreted as giving Keir Starmer an easier ride, at least for the time being. Certainly Davey’s recent PMQs performances – he now gets two questions each week (as leader of the third party) instead of just one every five weeks – have struck a more conciliatory tone.
But this, he says, is all part of the strategy to “be a better opposition” than the Conservatives.
“It’s not opposition for opposition’s sake,” he explains. “I don’t think that’s good opposition, frankly.” Voters, he says, “have lost trust in politics. If you can be more grown-up… you can keep that trust, re-earn it, and hopefully influence the government to do the right thing.”
The idea is to use that influence on the issues the Lib Dems have decided to champion: namely the NHS, social care, and protecting the environment.
Davey makes clear to me that health is a key – perhaps the key – Lib Dem priority; he has called for the government to make the Budget on 30 October “an NHS and care budget”. Already fault lines are appearing with Labour, as Starmer has said there will be no extra funding without reform. “I’m slightly worried they’re talking about reform before investment, as opposed to reform and investment,” Davey tells me, with the emphasis suggesting he is more than “slightly” worried. “So we will push them.”
Another early area of disagreement could emerge if a bill on assisted dying is brought before parliament sooner than expected. Davey, who as a teenager nursed his terminally ill mother, admits he has more doubts about the legislation than many in his party, who see themselves as champions of the right for people to end their own lives as they choose.
“I actually have some real concerns about the move,” he says, citing his personal experience but also “the psychological impact on the elderly… This isn’t about families putting pressure on elderly people, this is about elderly people putting pressure on themselves, worrying that they’re a burden to people.”
That said, he adds, “I’m sceptical but I’m open. I will genuinely really listen.” But the timing is important. “It needs to be a debate that’s considered and thoughtful, I don’t think it should be rushed.”
Is this an area where he will seek to use his influence to change Starmer’s mind and ensure the debate is not “rushed”? “I could certainly raise it with him.”
Davey reveals that, while he and Starmer don’t know each other well, he has respect for his fellow knight and the job he has done so far. A small bonding moment came when the pair, both recently appointed leaders of their parties after devastating election defeats, met at a Remembrance Day service in 2020.
“I said to him, you know, I think we’ve both got a lot of work to do, so good luck! …He changed his party in quite a fast way. It was quite an astonishing reform of his party. And I respect him partly because I had to do that to my party.”
Starmer’s sober, even gloomy, message (“things will get worse before they get better”) means the vibe is likely to be decidedly more subdued next week at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. But the Lib Dems, at least, are still in celebration mode. As I leave Davey to practise his keynote, I ask what has been the highlight of this conference so far.
“Jet-skis, obviously!” he laughs. “I’d never jet-skied before, it’s really fun. Yet another way of getting over the message that we care about sewage!”
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