Despite lagging in the polls, and still only having eight MPs, the Lib Dem Brighton-bubble was generally optimistic. The prospect of taking votes from disengaged Labour supporters, and uniting the 48.1% who voted ‘Remain’, was the main party objective.
There is a concerning thought however, at the back of the Lib Dem conscience: that it is all in vain. A fear that few are paying them attention, that they are still the joke party of British politics, whilst the UK liberal agenda is on the wane as the left and right polarises. The impact of this meant party conference was an unusual mix of both fervour and failure.
Policy Review
The 2015 election delivered something of a political concussion to the Lib Dems, leaving them bamboozled about where to go next. The conference suggested a policy agenda is now starting to take shape, which will centre on their push for a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal.
Other policies now include ending prison sentences of less than 12 years, ending the exploitation of zero hours contracts, combining the NHS and Social Care sector, and investing £60 million to tackle homelessness.
The Banana Skins
The Conference struggled to make front page news. This was highlighted by a video of locals, ignorant about who was in town, despite standing in front of the giant Lib Dem poster outside the Conference hall.
Meanwhile Vince Cable, openly questioned how realistic a referendum on the terms of Britain’s Brexit deal was, somewhat undermining party unity.
Also, the quote from Tim Farron’s speech, “I am a great loser” may not be a shrewd pitch for winning power; especially as it was said on the day when an Evening Standard poll showed Farron’s low approval ratings had not moved in the past 12 months.
Farron’s Big Moment
Farron boasted about how membership had doubled, and how they had gained more council seats than all other parties put together in the past 12 months.
He also rebuked George Osborne’s “fear stoking…punishment budget” prior to the referendum, claiming the reason why people voted to leave was not due to the EU but due to deep rooted inequality; something he could fix. He then proudly announced that the Lib Dems are now the most “Free Market, Free Trade, Pro Business party” in British Politics now, citing David Davis’ scepticism of Britain in the single market, and the “Trotskyist” position the Labour Party seems to be adopting as evidence.
He also set out their stall as a credible alternative to Corbyn-Labour, but said he could work with Owen Smith on a pro-EU platform if Smith wins the leadership contest.
What Next?
Strangely a more important moment for the Lib Dems prospects over the next year will be this Saturday, when the Labour leadership result is announced. A Corbyn win could balloon Lib Dem membership, or lead to the creation of a new SDP-type centre left party, possibly to their detriment. Alternatively things could carry on as they have been for the last 12 months for the Lib Dems: the afterthought of British Politics struggling impact the polls, the press or in Parliament.