Are the Lib Dems really an Opposition?
For many years the issue that most exercised Liberal Democrats was electoral reform. They objected to racking up millions of votes only to be rewarded with few seats in parliament.
This year’s party conference in Brighton, however, is strangely muted about the need for proportional representation. They spent an hour talking about it yesterday, and reaffirmed their commitment to PR while conceding they had done pretty well out of the existing system.
Speakers were at pains to say this remains a great point of principle even though they now have 72 MPs – about 12 per cent of the seats, having won 12 per cent of the vote at the election in July. Reform secured more votes than the Lib Dems but won only five seats. Moreover, the most grotesque disparity of all is the 411 seats won by Labour with just 34 per cent of the vote.
The Lib Dems did so well this time by concentrating their efforts on winnable seats and feeding off widespread anti-Tory feeling, gaining mostly in former Conservative-held constituencies. Their campaign was ostentatiously lacking in seriousness, with Sir Ed – who will address the conference on Tuesday – cavorting across the land from funfair to theme park in an effort to get himself photographed. He arrived at the conference this week by jet ski and then took part in a game of beach volleyball.
Yet these are serious times that require a capable opposition to a Labour government that has already demonstrated its cluelessness when it comes to an array of key issues. The Lib Dems say their greatest concern is the state of the NHS and their answer is to throw more money at it.
Even Sir Keir Starmer says there will be no more cash without reform; but if he comes under pressure to spend more from within the party, the medical profession and the Lib Dems, does anyone doubt he will be writing out the cheques once again?
The Lib Dems are in a strong position only because so many Tory voters could not stomach another Conservative government but neither could they bring themselves to vote Labour. They are a repository for protest and can only do well when the Tories perform badly.
They are locked in Sir Keir’s embrace, a sort of Labour Lite that has failed to construct any identifiable political platform of its own. A key test will be the October 30 Budget, which will hit many of the people the Lib Dems now represent. Will they vote against it?