Britain19 September, 20263 min read
Ed Davey Says Lib Dems Are Firewall Against Nigel Farage And Reform In Brighton
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Lib Dems position themselves as a firewall against Nigel Farage and Reform UK at Brighton. Davey warns Reform's influence while highlighting threat to UK, pledging to block Farage's bid.
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Davey targets Farage alliance
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said at the party’s conference in Brighton that the Liberal Democrats are "a firewall against Nigel Farage and Reform" as he warned an "unholy alliance" between Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Farage could turn the UK into a "Trump satellite state". Davey told reporters the party would build its "orange wall" higher by winning more than its 2024 record of 72 MPs, and he said the party was ready to fight a possible snap election with a manifesto working group already set up. He also said six former Conservative cabinet ministers were among 25 Tories to have defected to Reform in the last two years, and he framed the shift as competition to divide the country rather than fix it.
In his remarks, Davey attacked the Labour government as having no plan for growth, failing to support families struggling with the cost of living, and taxing small businesses "to the brink". The Guardian later described Davey’s conference message as a push for a moral responsibility to block a Reform-led government, with Davey predicting Badenoch would eventually seek an alliance with Nigel Farage’s party.
Orange Wall and polling
As the Lib Dems geared up for a possible snap election, Davey said he understood frustrations from MPs who fear the party’s message is at risk of being lost, while urging the party not to panic at static polling numbers. The Guardian reported the Lib Dems’ national poll ratings were largely static at about 12% or 13%, and it said Davey expected tactical voting and local campaigns to play a major role in votes likely to be split five or even six ways. In a separate account of Davey’s conference speech, GB News said he took aim at Reform’s £72million warchest and declared: "Reform know they don’t speak for the real United Kingdom, that they don’t represent the majority of the British people."
GB News also quoted Davey saying: "They wouldn’t need £72million if they did, would they?" as he urged liberals to join his fight against populism. The Independent similarly framed Davey’s argument around the "orange wall" stopping Reform UK’s rise to power and said he warned the "unholy alliance" between Farage and Badenoch is "the only way either can get into power".
Manifesto work and stakes
The Guardian said Davey told party members that a manifesto working group led by the Cheadle MP Tom Morrison had already been created, meaning the party could be ready if Andy Burnham calls an election. In the same coverage, the Guardian said Davey pointed to an economic proposal based around seeking to rejoin the EU’s single market and a similarly Brussels-focused immigration policy of signing up to a Europe-wide pact on migration and asylum. The BBC reported Davey said the Liberal Democrats would use the four-day conference to position the party to take on the challenge from Reform as well as its typical rivals the Conservatives, while talking up focus on the NHS and goal of re-joining the EU single market and customs union.
The Independent added that Davey said his party’s "orange wall" would stop Reform UK’s rise to power and "setting communities against each other," and it quoted him saying: "A bigger orange wall is the only thing that can stand between Britain and this dangerous experiment, and we will not let them pass." V2 Radio said Davey was expected to accuse the Conservatives of moving closer to Reform UK and to use the conference to focus on the cost of living and pressures facing small businesses, arguing that "the Conservatives and Reform can only offer anger, and division".