Zoe Williams’ sympathetic interview with Ed Davey ‘We didn’t show we cared enough. We won’t make that mistake twice’: Ed Davey on love, loss and the Lib Dems, 16 May) asks many pertinent personal and political questions, but omits the vital issue of whether the Liberal Democrats are a viable electoral force with an identifiable political philosophy. Is there such a thing as “Liberal Democratism”? It is now 35 years since the Liberal party voted to merge with the SDP. It is surely time to examine whether or not it was worthwhile.
At the 1987 election, just one year before the parties merged, their combined vote was 22.6%. Now, opinion polls since the party’s recent local election successes show a voting intention of around 10%. The party’s overall gains in the 4 May elections in England were certainly very noteworthy, but they hid poor results in the 16 largest cities; in these councils, the Liberal Democrats gained just six seats and only hold 113 out of 1,193 councillors. The difference is quite simply that to make and sustain a significant vote in the large wards involved in these cities requires a high core vote rather than just incessant local campaigning. The Liberal Democrats simply do not have a viable core vote.
Having deliberately cut themselves off from the benefits of the identifiable tradition of political Liberalism, the Liberal Democrats now lack a solid base to advance electorally. And the almost ubiquitous abbreviation to “Lib Dem” diminishes still further any resonance with the past. It is high time the party accepted the harm done to Liberalism by its attachment to the SDP and rebuilt its Liberal base.
Michael Meadowcroft
Liberal MP, Leeds West, 1983-87
• Thank you, Zoe Williams, for the very touching interview with Ed Davey. It was clear that you were moved by what you discovered about a committed, loving and compassionate man who is a politician because he longs to be there for other people – and to assist them to change their worlds. This is in stark contrast to the recent leadership – and would-be leaders – of the current, self-serving governing party.
You ended by saying: “It would be funny if ... I ended up voting Lib Dem.” No, Zoe, not “funny”, just sensible – particularly if you live in a constituency that can best be wrenched from the grasp of the Tories by the Lib Dems. So just do it, Zoe! We might all then be rejoicing at seeing the back of the worst government of my lifetime.
Ted Pawley
Great Linford, Milton Keynes
• In her profile of Ed Davey, Zoe Williams refers to him losing his seat for two years in 2015. A key reason for his ousting was that, while in the coalition government, he reneged on his pledge to oppose the trebling of university tuition fees, a policy which is causing increasing hardship to many students and graduates. So his claims about fighting the Tories need to be taken with a considerable pinch of salt.
Name and address supplied
• Zoe Williams’ interview with Ed Davey had a most unusual impact on me: I finished reading it and joined the Lib Dems.
Dr Elena Liquete
Corsham, Wiltshire
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