One MP admits: “There was probably an assumption that party numbers would naturally translate into more media coverage. We will argue the media are not giving us the coverage we deserve, but we also need to consider how we can use 72 MPs across all channels to get our message across more effectively.”
You can see that the Lib Dems are starting to play more into the arguments that Reform has been shaping, although arguably, a politics more based on identity that had arrived long before their uptick in the polls – a politics more based on noise and emotion, values and vibes not traditional Whitehall fare.
The party’s new focus according to one frontbencher is “to reclaim the space of being positive and patriotic and standing for British values”.
That’s why in recent times the party has been critical of US tech firms.
Sir Ed boycotted the state banquet this week, and party HQ has a obvious habit of firing out press releases that contain the words “Trump”, “Musk”, or branding Farage a “plastic patriot”. There’ll be another example of this strategy in Davey’s speech on Tuesday when he’ll call on the regulators to go after Elon Musk.
Clearly, the Lib Dems believe it is a noble aim to “call it out” to confront populism and, for example, to condemn Musk’s controversial remarks to the Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom rally in London last week.
But, of course, they are also trying to seek political advantage.
One source says the party is trying to make the most of “voters who are unconvinced by Badenoch, but horrified by Farage”.
Another says it’s an attempt to appeal to voters who are “shocked by the extremes”.
