Ed Davey sets eyes on Tory seats and coalition at Lib Dem party conference

The Liberal Democrats ended their party conference with Sir Ed Davey’s leadership in a strong position, despite some grumblings from MPs. The former minister arrived at the coast facing warnings from one councillor his party was “sleepwalking into oblivion”, and questions over his leadership. This is not a universal view, there is a clear divide within the party between those who think Sir Ed is doing a good job after a string of election successes, and those who think they risk being left behind. His allies cite a focus on being more serious after the stunts, and believe by focusing on the seats they already have, another coalition could be ahead of them. They welcome the cautious approach, with polling showing the Lib Dems are the least disliked party, and the belief being they can mop up unhappy Tory votes as Kemi Badenoch lurches to the right. One MP gave the example of trans rights, saying while the party was more progressive on the issue than Labour, they needed to stop talking about it. They said: “It’s going to turn more people away than bring them over. We just need to stay calm”. More than one mentioned a rapid improvement behind the scenes, citing the hiring of James Holt as Political Director, a political strategist who spent nearly a decade working closely with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. However, at a fringe during the conference, polling guru Sir John Curtice claimed the party had “maxed out their strategy”, leaving them with just ten constituencies where they were second behind the Tories and with a chance of winning. In a sign of the frustrations, his questioning of the Lib Dem strategy won applause from seemingly everyone in the room. MPs might be happy to stick, but there is a more left wing membership that seeks a bolder approach, even if that risks upsetting the tactical votes they hope for. As Polly Curtis, Chief Executive of the Demos think tank put it, “Ed Davey was asked earlier, ‘is this party sleepwalking into oblivion?’. From what I've just heard, I think it might be sleepwalking into a coalition.”