Nobody expected May’s General Election to be a high point in the Liberal Democrat’s electoral fortunes, but even the party’s greatest sceptics failed to forecast just how bad things would be. But even with just eight MPs and hundreds of deposits lost the eternal optimism of the party’s activists still managed to shine through at this week’s party conference in Bournemouth.
Apart from Jo Swinson’s DJ’ing skills and Paddy Ashdown’s dancing at the Lib Dem Disco what else did we learn from five days beside the seaside?
1. Tim Farron is a big fan of the coalition....now it’s over
If one thing was certain throughout the Coalition, it was that Tim Farron would regularly be on hand to pursue his own one-man differentiation strategy with the Conservatives. While these reflected his own deeply held principles - and those of many other activists - he certainly wasn’t reticent in setting out where he thought his party had gone wrong. Voting against the ‘bedroom tax’ and tuition fees, and memorably giving his party just two out of ten for its performance in government, he wouldn’t be easily identified as a big supporter of the Lib Dem’s time in government.
But now it’s over, he’s changed his tune. Farron used his conference speech on Wednesday to wax lyrical about the successes of the party in government, and promise not to ‘disown the last five years’. How times change.
2. Economic credibility, but socially radical?
With Jeremy Corbyn’s unexpected ascent to the top of the Labour Party, how should the Liberal Democrats respond? It was widely reported earlier in the summer that Farron would seek to position the party to the left of Labour on many issues, but with Corbyn at the helm, that idea had little future.
Instead, the talk at conference was about how the party can position itself as the effective opposition to the government, marrying its opposition to the Conservative agenda with an economic credibility that the Labour party lacks. The passion with which Farron criticised the “fantasy economics” of the Labour Party “that will cause greater poverty and austerity”, shows that he realises that this is the party’s best hope.
Expect, however, the party’s distinctiveness on other issues to continue: human rights, refugees, green energy, and housing. With the scrutiny that comes with being in or near government gone, the party has the opportunity to drive the agenda on these issues with genuinely radical and fresh thinking. The challenge will be whether the public, and critically the media, give the party room to be heard. Cutting through to voters, as the last three months have shown, will be an uphill struggle.
3. Farron remains the darling of the grassroots
Touring the country in his role as Party President, attending fundraising dinners with activists in local curry houses while his colleagues were carrying their red boxes around and enjoying the luxuries that come with being a minister, may not have seemed like the better choice at the time, but it’s paid off in the end for Farron.
The new leader is loved by activists, with whom his easy northern charm and limitless passion go down well. While his endless stories about once being in a band and being outside the ‘Westminster echo chamber’ are nearly as irritating to many of us as Andy Burnham’s tales about being a northern lad, who supports Everton and has never been part of the ‘Westminster Bubble’, there’s no doubt that it goes down well in the conference hall. If the last week has taught us anything it’s that Farron’s stock with the party faithful is at an all-time high after a stuttering start to his tenue. Only time will tell if the public will view him quite so favourably.