Liberal Democrats offer no opposition to Labour

It is tempting to avoid taking the Liberal Democrats seriously in this election. The party leader, Sir Ed Davey, has spent much of the past five weeks cavorting in water parks or on assault courses in a desperate effort to get himself noticed. Insofar as his regular soakings have made the news, he has succeeded in that endeavour. It is often hard for third parties to rise above the two-party fray.

Sir Ed’s struggles in bringing up a disabled child elicit public sympathy for himself and his wife and add a different dimension to his views on the NHS and care. He obviously has a life beyond politics, which is not always apparent with our party leaders. Recent polls show that his own personal rating has risen.

But he and his party have failed to carve out a distinctive identity either during this campaign or in the months leading up to the election. He might have been expected to oppose both the Conservatives and Labour in equal measure, but is clearly supportive of much that Sir Keir Starmer says and proposes to do. Less than 10 years after serving as a Cabinet minister with the Conservatives in a coalition government, he now seems to regard them as anathema and is happy to take part in their destruction.

Even without a formal pact with Labour, it is evident that the two parties are backing off in seats where one is stronger. Across southern England, the West Country and parts of London, the Liberal Democrats are confident of winning dozens of constituencies from the Tories.

A new poll has suggested that they may even win more seats than the Conservatives and supplant them as the official opposition should Labour win. This would be a remarkable comeback for the Lib Dems after their near-death experience in 2015, when they were nearly wiped out, falling from 57 MPs to just eight. Since then their numbers have swelled as a result of by-election victories.

But if they become the official opposition, they will offer no such thing because they are in thrall to Labour. Whatever majority Sir Keir wins, it will be necessary to add the Lib Dem tally to it for all the good they will do.

They might argue that a vote for them, unlike Reform, would return a Lib Dem MP to Westminster, but increasingly they just look like Labour-lite. Tory supporters thinking that the Lib Dems are a safe option to show their unhappiness with the current government should be careful what they wish for.