Yesterday Sir Ed Davey launched the Lib Dem local election campaign with a giant egg-timer. In the sort of cringe stunt that has become beloved of the party, he was trying to warn Rishi Sunak that time is running out. This coincided with a long interview with the New Statesman, in which he reiterated that his main target this election will be the Tories. This makes sense electorally but raises bigger questions about the future, and the point, of British politics’ third party.
Since their first taste of power in the coalition, the Lib Dems have struggled to find a purpose or popularity. In the run-up to 2015, Nick Clegg positioned the party as giving a brain to a Labour government, or a heart to a Tory one. The voters decided neither was necessary, halving the party’s vote share and reducing them to a parliamentary rump. It is a drop that they have never recovered from.
Through the Brexit years, they tried and failed to harness the discontent with the referendum result. They positioned themselves as continuity Remain, and though it picked up a few seats (most notably Richmond Park) but failed on a national scale. In 2019, the hubris of billing Jo Swinson as the next Prime Minister brought on the nemesis of her losing her seat and the party remained the fourth largest in Westminster, with only a fifth of the seats they won in 2010.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Joxley Writes to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.