On a bright Saturday morning, the usually serene Bournemouth Gardens pulsed with the brassy energy of a marching band, setting the stage for the Liberal Democrats’ annual autumn conference. Sir Ed Davey, the party’s leader, didn’t just arrive—he made an entrance, baton in hand, leading the Vectis Corps of Drums through the gardens. According to Bournemouth Echo, the band had traveled by ferry from the Isle of Wight that very morning, filling the air with brass renditions of pop classics like Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” Tony Christie’s “Is This The Way To Amarillo?,” Monty Python’s “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life,” and even the theme from the A-Team. Lib Dem activists, waving Union flags and party banners, cheered as their leader twirled past, setting a festive tone for what many in the party hope will be a watershed weekend.
But behind the pageantry and the pop tunes, deeper questions simmered. The conference, which began on September 20, 2025, comes at a pivotal moment for the Liberal Democrats. After a year of record-breaking gains—including the election of 72 MPs and overtaking the Conservatives to run more councils than their rivals—the party is eager to prove that its resurgence is more than a fleeting burst of energy. “We are on the march, with no ceiling on our ambitions,” Sir Ed Davey declared, according to BBC and The Guardian. “The public are fed up with a Labour government too timid to deliver the change they promised, and voters have rightly deserted the failed Conservative Party who got us into this mess in the first place.”
This confidence is built on hard numbers. The Liberal Democrats swept up 60 seats from the Conservatives in the recent general election, focusing their campaign on winnable constituencies, particularly in the south of England. Their relentless targeting strategy paid off, but it also means the next phase of growth is less obvious. As one MP candidly put it to BBC: “Where do we go now, to make sure it’s not a false start?”
For Sir Ed Davey, the answer has often been to grab attention by any means necessary. Over the past two years, he’s bungee-jumped, jet-skied, and even ridden a hobby horse into the public’s imagination. These antics have certainly raised his profile—and, to some extent, the party’s. But fresh polling by More in Common, cited by BBC, suggests that the joke may be wearing thin. Sixty-one percent of Britons, including nearly half of Lib Dem supporters, say these campaign stunts make the party look less serious. Only 21% see them as a good way to grab attention. “He does these photo opportunities where he comes across as a slightly embarrassing dad, but he can do serious speeches about foreign affairs and care and hold his own—we are going to keep doing all of those things,” one party insider told BBC.
Yet, the party’s recent achievements are hard to ignore. Since the general election, the Lib Dems have secured better support for family carers, mandated solar panels on every new home, and delivered free school meals for every child in poverty. These tangible wins, highlighted by The Guardian, have helped reinforce their claim to be “the real party of change.” Their community politics approach, which emphasizes local engagement and grassroots activism, was credited as a key factor in their May 2025 local election successes.
Still, the party faces a classic political conundrum: how to excite voters about moderate, pragmatic policies in an era dominated by louder, more polarizing voices. As one senior source mused to BBC, “How do you excite people about moderate positions?” The rise of Reform UK, which garnered more votes than the Lib Dems in the last election and has led national polls for months, is a constant reminder that attention and momentum can be fleeting.
Some in the party believe the answer lies in digging deeper into the communities they now represent. “Our first priority is that our 72 MPs become like Japanese knotweed, you can’t unroot them—why would you not do that?” one MP told BBC. The idea is to build an unshakeable local presence, ensuring that the recent gains are not lost in the next electoral cycle.
But insiders also acknowledge the need to expand the party’s message beyond Sir Ed’s personal campaigning on care and his penchant for stunts. At this year’s conference, he is expected to outline new ideas on immigration and government accountability, and to call for temporary “nightingale” courts to address the backlog of cases that has left thousands languishing in hotels across the country. The party is also pushing for more action on the cost of living crisis and NHS and social care reform—issues that resonate deeply with voters weary of political gridlock and empty promises.
In the realm of political positioning, the Lib Dems are striving to reclaim the mantle of positive, patriotic British values. Sir Ed boycotted a state banquet the previous week, and party headquarters has been quick to issue press releases criticizing figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage, as well as tech mogul Elon Musk. “We are the only party standing up for British values against the divisive politics of those who talk down our great country,” Sir Ed said, according to The Guardian. The party hopes that by confronting populism and condemning controversial rhetoric, they can attract voters “unconvinced by Badenoch, but horrified by Farage,” as one source put it to BBC.
This strategy is not without its risks. The media landscape remains crowded, and Reform UK’s ability to dominate headlines with provocative statements has left some Lib Dem MPs frustrated by their own lack of coverage. “There was probably an assumption that party numbers would naturally translate into more media coverage,” one MP admitted to BBC. “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.”
As the conference unfolds, Sir Ed’s anticipated keynote speech will seek to define what being British means to the Liberal Democrats, stepping firmly onto the political terrain of values and national identity. The party’s new focus, as one frontbencher described to BBC, is “to reclaim the space of being positive and patriotic and standing for British values.”
For now, the mood in Bournemouth is buoyant. Sir Ed Davey’s parade through the gardens may have looked like a bit of fun, but it symbolized a party eager to be seen, heard, and—most importantly—taken seriously. Whether the Lib Dems can convert their recent gains into lasting influence remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: they are determined to keep marching, brass band and all, into the political spotlight.
