Leader’s conference speech at Bournemouth shows a bullish party ready to be key player in any centre-left coalition
T
hese 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.
