Ed Davey delivered his leader’s speech in front of the rebranded ‘Liberal Orange’ party logo (Alamy)
7 min read
With a new ‘Liberal Orange’ brand and a pledge that their ambition has “no ceiling”, the Liberal Democrats are scaling up their hopes for the next general election.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey ended their autumn conference in Bournemouth with a striking message of ambition: that his party is no longer content with being the third force in British politics and will now aim to overtake the Conservatives in Parliament at the next general election, while positioning themselves as the antidote to Reform UK.
During the conference, the party quietly unveiled a rebrand, changing its logo colours to a bold ‘Liberal Orange’ to replace the previous golden-yellow colour. Baroness Kath Pinnock, chair of the party’s Federal Communications and Elections Committee, described the rebrand in the new guidelines as a way to “emphasise and reflect our party’s growing strength and confidence.”
PoliticsHome understands the previous golden-yellow was viewed by the leadership as too soft, whereas the new orange hue is intended to project strength and visibility. Westminster watchers with long memories will be reminded of the party’s 2004 Orange Book, which stressed the role of choice and personal ambition, and to which three of the party’s future leaders, Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Ed Davey, all contributed.
“My ambition – for our party, our values, our ideas – has no ceiling,” Davey said.
“And our ambition for our country has no ceiling either. With the threat that Reform now poses to our country and our democracy – friends, we have a moral responsibility to aim high. And we have a historic opportunity to win big – as the only party now representing the views and values of Britain’s decent silent majority.”
While Davey emphasised the need to focus on their goal of overtaking the Tories first before setting their sights on Labour seats, lots of other party figures have hinted they want the party to be bolder and quicker with their ambitions.
Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron likened the Lib Dems’ current trajectory to a race, telling PoliticsHome: “If you could picture a 1500 metre race, we’re about 400 metres in, and we’re on the shoulder of Labour and the Tories…
“The question is, when do we overtake them? And what does that then do to the national picture when we emerge as the main alternative to Reform? And that’s why there is an upbeat nature to this conference. We’re excited.”
Farron said that while the Conservatives have already become “Reform-lite”, the Lib Dems can occupy the space of pragmatic, pro-business centrism. But, he warned, they “do not want to be the Liberal alternative to Reform” and simply become a “retirement home” for defeated Tories from the last election.
Multiple MPs and councillors told PoliticsHome that the party’s reach is far broader than the southern ‘Blue Wall’.
Jess Brown-Fuller, MP for Chichester, said she was hopeful that Labour and Green members would defect to the Lib Dems in her area. Some Green councillors on her local council have quit their party as they don’t like the eco-populist direction of new Green leader Zack Polanski. She added that she had spoken to multiple Labour members who said Labour is “doing absolutely nothing for them”, but similarly “don’t recognise the qualities of a Conservative Party and a Reform Party.”
“Naturally, our supporter base has been more in those traditional Conservative seats,” Brown-Fuller admitted, having won a previously safe Tory seat herself.
“But there is no ceiling to where we can go as a party when the two main parties have got it so wrong.”
James MacCleary, Lib Dem MP for Lewes, argued that there was an “enormous opportunity” for his party as old party loyalties were “breaking down”.
“The Liberal Democrats are a centrist party, so we’re always going to attract people from the centre right,” he said.
“I think we attract people from the centre left as well. The Conservatives are in a very, very difficult position… If it comes to a point where they’re not really there anymore, that really does represent a fundamental realignment of British politics.”
Hull council leader Mike Ross, who came second to Reform’s Luke Campbell in the region’s mayoral contest earlier this year, said: “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of opportunities for us to win in the north against Labour, who will be a party, by the next election, that is pretty divided and getting pretty washed out.”
There were grumblings of discontent from London Liberal Democrats who told PoliticsHome they wanted the national party to pay more attention to London ahead of a crucial set of local council elections next May.
-resized.jpg)
Bournemouth was also rife with complaints around the extent of media coverage given to Reform, particularly by the BBC. However, Davey chose to lead his own speech with a reference to Reform platforming health misinformation at their own conference.
“Nigel Farage is on the side of Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Liberal Democrats are on the side of the British people,” Davey declared.
While the party always uses its conferences to debate and vote on policy motions, the overriding theme of this year’s gathering was the overarching national choice between “populism and right-wing extremism” on one side and “mainstream liberal politics” on the other.
Despite the Lib Dems largely competing in different electoral territory to Reform UK, the Bournemouth conference repeatedly framed Nigel Farage’s party as a danger to Britain. Davey and his MPs stressed values of “tolerance, decency, and respect” as defining traits of the party’s message.
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper, speaking at a fringe event on Sunday evening, said: “Values always drive what we do as a political party. But increasingly, people want to know, what do we believe in?…
“We’re pro vibes. The vibes that we’re trying to give off are that we’re positive, we’re confident, we’re energetic. So a bit of vibes, a bit of values, a bit of vision, and that’s our comms plan to do as well as we possibly can at the next general election.”
The conference did include a number of new policy proposals, including endorsing a proposal by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank for a windfall tax on banks, which Davey argued could be used to fund public services and create an Energy Security Bank to cut energy bills.
The party is also calling for a Covid-style national emergency declaration to reduce the asylum claims backlog within six months, and for the regulator Ofcom to investigate Elon Musk’s X platform for “clear breaches of the law” under the Online Safety Act.
However, with economic policies still under development, it was the “vibes” contrast between the Lib Dems and Reform which was the primary focus of Davey’s speech.
Behind the largely upbeat tone in Bournemouth, party figures expressed concern over the scale of the challenge in presenting a hopeful, positive, but realistic alternative which would appeal to a more diverse voter base.
There was some discontent, too, with Davey’s continued stunts-led approach to gaining media attention, which saw him arrive at conference with a marching band adorned with Union Jack flags.
One Lib Dem member told PoliticsHome: “We’ve got to be taken seriously as a party. We had to move to a stunts strategy to capture voters’ attention, but now it seems like stunts for stunts’ sake. What’s he going to do next: ketamine?”
Davey defended his approach, insisting he would continue “doing things my way”. “So get the bungee harness ready,” he joked from the stage.
The Lib Dems leave Bournemouth with new branding, an emboldened leader, and a clear statement of intent. Whether they can live up to their own rhetoric of “no ceiling” will depend on how far they can turn “values and vibes” into votes.
Additional reporting by Matilda Martin
