"These are Happy Days for the Liberal Democrats. A year ago in Bournemouth they had appeared to be caught in the spotlight of their own electoral success. Unsure quite where they would go next. At times the conference speeches had been almost apologetic. New MPs blinking as they were pushed on to the main stage, unknown even to themselves. Twelve months on there is a confidence to the party. Their 72 MPs have all settled quite comfortably into Westminster and rather enjoy the attention. They are bullish about the future. There are no worries about losing their seats at the next election. Rather they see 2024 as a springboard for a brighter future. Looking to take more seats off the Tories as well as taking chunks out of Labour in the red wall. Branding themselves the real opposition to Reform. A key player in any centre-left coalition."
"Whether this confidence is misplaced or not is another matter. Prof John Curtice reckons the Lib Dems have just about maxed out their gains in their current iteration and will need to reinvent themselves in the next few years. But for now the party seems happy enough with the way things are at their annual conference this September. They think things are falling into place. Even down to Donald Trump making a speech to the UN at the same time as Ed Davey was giving his leader's speech. Call it synchronicity. Call it luck. Either way, it suited Ed just fine."
"Over in New York there was the US president unapologetically dismissing the UN. Telling European leaders their countries were going to hell. Making no mention of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Rubbishing green energy and climate change. Declaring London was under sharia law with Sadiq Khan. All music to Davey's ears. Why interrupt an enemy when he's telling you who he is? Let Labour and the Conservatives try to explain all this away. They are the ones who have been sucking up to the Sun Bed God."
The Liberal Democrats have settled into Westminster with 72 MPs and display strong confidence at their annual conference. The party views 2024 as a springboard to capture seats from the Conservatives and to make inroads into Labour’s red wall, positioning itself as a centre-left alternative and the real opposition to Reform. Internal optimism is tempered by analysis that current gains may be near their peak and that reinvention could be necessary in coming years. The party welcomed external events that cast opponents in a difficult light, with timing and rhetoric amplifying its perceived advantage.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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