As Liberal Democrat members descend on Brighton for the party’s annual conference this week, their leader Sir Ed Davey has faced criticism from some MPs and members about the party’s relevance on the nation’s political stage.
Questions have been raised about the ability of Sir Ed – who has been the party’s leader since 2019 – to “relate to voters” across the UK and boost their chances in the polls.
Despite securing a record haul of MPs in the 2024 general election, damning polling from days before the gathering suggested that, despite his stunts, he has struggled to maintain a strong presence.
The party was described as “weak” in new YouGov polling by just more than half of those asked, and while the survey signalled the public largely sees the Lib Dems as moderate, 43 per cent said it is unclear what they stand for.
It noted the Lib Dems have trailed other parties in voting intention polls for most of the last year and have seen “no real growth in support since the last general election”.
A Liberal Democrat council leader publicly questioned Mr Davey’s leadership on Sunday, warning the party is “sleepwalking into irrelevance”.
Leader of Devon County Council told the BBC the Liberal Democrats were "lacking ambition" and when asked whether Sir Ed was the right leader for the party, he said "I wish he was" but "all the evidence is no".
Mr Davey was also forced to say one of his MPs was wrong to claim the party is “struggling for relevance” and called the Lib Dems “the most united” party in British politics.
Despite the criticism and “frustration” felt by some of his MPs, Mr Davey insisted on Monday that he is in the running to be the next prime minister.
“I’ve got no ceiling on our ambitions,” he told the BBC.
"I'm a candidate to be prime minister, but what we need to do is make sure that we build on that [election success], area by area, constituency by constituency."
But what do Lib Dem voters think? We asked party members at their conference, many of whom retained support for their leader.
Several Lib Dem members at the conference on Monday suggested the party was making good strides, but wasn’t “getting credit” for them.
Jed Marson, a former Tory member who joined the Lib Dems in 2017, said he “really likes Ed”, and praised the party leadership’s approach to the NHS, social care and water companies.
“Worrying about who our leader is when he’s the best of the bunch is the last think we should be worrying about, because he’s great,” the Green Lib Dem member told The Independent.
‘We’ve done better than we’re given credit for’
He said Mr Davey had “grown into the job” and said he was an “ethical guy in a sea of green washing and conflict of interest”.
He added that Mr Davey’s position on the EU was a pulling factor for the party, while himself and Daisy Cooper have “such strength in them”.
Green Lib Dems member Trystan Lloyd, 24, joined the party in 2022, spurred on by the Brexit vote.
He said the conference had seen “very positive messaging”, and that the Lib Dem’s environmental policies were “the most organised” of all the parties.
“The party has grown to its biggest ever under the current leadership,” he said, but added the only issue is “how much of it makes it into the media”.
‘He’s still the right leader’
“I think he’s going to stay on but you never know in politics these days,” he said, adding he believes Mr Davey is “still the right leader”.
Young Lib Dem and district councillor Nathan Hunt said, on appealing to young people, the party has “done a lot but isn’t getting the recognition”.
“I think there’s some massive support for progressive parties and politics but there’s always more we can do,” he said.
Fellow young liberal Johan Prinsloo also said the party does a lot but doesn’t “really get the credit for it”, pointing to their long-standing policy of votes for 16-year-olds.
“I think Ed Davey’s doing a good job and is getting the right message across,” he said. “On the ground we’re doing really well at the moment.”
Leader of the Lib Dem’s Friends of Hong Kong Nicholas Chan, 35, said the party “needs stable and we have stable”.
Mr Chan, who has been a member of the party since 2019, said Mr Davey and other MPs were “listening and pushing” for his campaign in parliament, and added: “When I go and knock on doors, people tell me Lib Dem’s are there picking up rubbish we are fixing broken fences. They are switching their votes.”
