Conference wrap: Liberal Democrats 2026
The Liberal Democrats in Brighton: 72 MPs, 10 per cent in the polls and a debate about relevance
The Liberal Democrats arrived in Brighton with an unusual problem. Their 72 MPs, won on 12.2 per cent of the vote in 2024, were their best result for a century, yet they poll around 10 per cent and struggle to cut through nationally. On the eve of conference, South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage warned the party was “struggling for relevance”.
Brighton was less about changing what the party believes than how it presents itself. A new strategy pairs local targeting with a clearer national identity and digital investment, and Daisy Cooper and Ed Davey tied growth and tax cuts to a closer relationship with Europe. The party left much as it arrived: effective where it is strongest, potentially important in a hung parliament and still searching for wider relevance.
The full report · 19 pages, with every chart.
Get the full reportWhat we found
1. Davey would fund a £15,000 personal allowance from a new relationship with Europe
He proposed raising the personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 and the 40p threshold from £50,270 to £56,000, which the party says would take 2.5 million people out of income tax and save most taxpayers £680 a year; the House of Commons Library estimates the cost at £17 billion in its fifth year. It would be paid for from a projected £27 billion a year in extra revenue from single market and customs union membership by the end of the next parliament, a party projection that depends on first negotiating that relationship.
2. Targeting wins seats, but some in the party fear it has reached its limits
In 2024, 12.2 per cent of the vote produced 72 seats; in 2010, 23 per cent won only 57. Sir John Curtice warned the party could be vulnerable if Conservative support recovers, while Cabinet Office spokesperson Lisa Smart replied that the purpose of an electoral strategy is to win elections. The new strategy, shaped by more than 1,500 consultation contributions, commits the party to expanding beyond its base, particularly in the North, Midlands, Wales and urban Britain, and treats digital and social media as a priority equal to its ground campaign.
3. Brighton’s policy offer ran well beyond the tax package
Home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson proposed a £250 million-a-year Online Crime Agency funded by a levy on large technology and AI companies, and health spokesperson Helen Morgan set out a £600 million maternity package including one-to-one midwifery for women in labour and 24-hour senior consultant cover. Education spokesperson Munira Wilson proposed guaranteeing 100 hours of work experience for young people between GCSE age and 18.
4. Davey thinks a hung parliament is likely and won’t rule out another coalition
He told ITV’s Robert Peston he wanted the party back in government, ruled out governing with Reform and appeared to rule out working with the Conservatives in their present position. The 2010–15 coalition, followed by the collapse to eight MPs in 2015, hangs over the question; the new strategy rejects pre-election pacts and says engagement with other parties should be judged issue by issue.
What’s in the report
- The debate over relevance: Roz Savage, Sir John Curtice, Lisa Smart and party president Josh Babarinde
- Daisy Cooper’s Get Britain Growing Again plan and Ed Davey’s tax package
- Keynotes on online crime, maternity care, work experience, water and AI
- The members’ vote on the EHRC guidance and the coalition question
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