When the Liberal Democrats gathered in Bournemouth on September 20, 2025, few could have predicted the flag-waving, brass-blaring spectacle that would mark the opening of their annual party conference. Former party leader Tim Farron, never one to shy away from theatrics, took center stage draped in a flag that combined the Cross of St George with a Union Jack in one corner—a nod to both his beloved Blackburn Rovers and the United Kingdom itself. As confetti cannons erupted and the strains of "Land of Hope and Glory" filled the hall, a giant Union Jack illuminated the backdrop, and a sea of party activists erupted in cheers, waving hundreds of mini flags in a display that would have seemed unthinkable for the party just a few years prior.
Farron’s message was clear and thunderous: “We will not have our history, our heritage, and our home stolen by the poison of nationalism,” he declared to the crowd, according to BBC. Calling on his fellow Liberal Democrats to “reclaim patriotism” from the far right, Farron urged, “Be proud of your country, the British flag and the flags of our four nations. They are ours. They belong to all of us. Let's take them back. Let's wave them with pride.” His rallying cry—"Let us reclaim our flags for those who would reunite and rebuild, not divide and destroy, because we will not yield our identity, our flag, or our country, to the nationalists"—brought the crowd to its feet, a rare moment of exuberant unity for a party often caricatured as mild-mannered and reticent about national symbols.
This patriotic pivot comes as the Liberal Democrats seek to distinguish themselves from Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, whom they have labeled a “plastic patriot.” In a cheeky twist, party merchandise at the conference included a Lego figure of Farage with that very label, handed out to journalists in their welcome packs. The contrast was intentional: while Farage has long wrapped himself in the Union Jack, the Lib Dems now claim that true patriotism is about unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion.
The party’s leader, Sir Ed Davey, echoed this message as he arrived at the conference leading a marching band through Bournemouth Central Gardens, baton twirling in hand. The band, fresh off the ferry from the Isle of Wight, played “Sweet Caroline”—a favorite among England football fans—as activists waved flags and cheered. According to The Independent, this was no mere stunt: “Liberal Democrat spin doctors say that the stunt was designed to reclaim the word ‘patriotism’ from Nigel Farage.”
But the Lib Dems’ new embrace of national symbols is not just about optics. Sir Ed Davey used the opening of the conference to launch a pointed attack on Reform UK and Farage, especially over immigration and asylum policy. After a summer in which Farage dominated headlines with his own press conferences, Davey accused him of not being a patriot at all, pointing to Farage’s critical remarks about the UK during a speech in the United States. “We think you can stop the boats, deal with illegal immigration and close down the asylum hotels, but do it in a way that's still humane,” Davey told Sky News. “Our proposal is really well thought through, far more ambitious, far greater scale than we've seen from either Conservatives or Labour. And it would really show that Farage, for what he is, he's not offering real solutions.”
The centerpiece of the Lib Dems’ policy push is a plan to clear the asylum backlog within six months by establishing emergency processing centers modeled after the Nightingale hospitals deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan, as outlined by Davey and home affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart, would invoke the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to secure the necessary funds and powers to hire and train a surge of new asylum case workers. “It would only take ‘weeks’ to train up more case workers,” Smart explained, but she emphasized that proper training was crucial to ensure correct decisions and avoid appeals that would further clog the system.
Davey’s rhetoric on immigration has notably hardened. He told Sky News, “If people have no right to be here, they should be deported. We just need to get on with the job. There are people there who deserve to be welcomed into our country, who are genuine asylum seekers, genuine refugees, and it's been the British tradition to welcome people who genuinely are refugees. So I think you can do both.” This marks a shift from the party’s previous tone, signaling a willingness to confront head-on the issues that have dominated the national conversation—and perhaps to win back voters who have drifted to other parties.
Yet, the conference was not without its tensions. Outside the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth, a group calling themselves the “Bournemouth Patriots” protested the housing of migrants, waving national flags. They were met by a counter-protest, highlighting the deep divisions that still run through the debate over national identity and immigration. Inside, the Lib Dems sought to offer a different vision—one of inclusivity and pragmatic solutions.
MP Lisa Smart addressed the flag-waving outside asylum hotels directly, noting, “I'm not concerned about some of the motivations behind people plastering them in front of an asylum hotel. I don't think flying the flag means anything.” Her relaxed stance contrasted both with the fervor of the protesters and the party’s own new embrace of patriotic imagery.
Behind the pageantry, the Liberal Democrats are grappling with strategic questions about their future. The Independent observed that Sir Ed Davey’s penchant for attention-grabbing stunts—whether falling off paddle boards or leading a marching band—helped the party rebound spectacularly in the 2024 general election, winning 72 seats, a dramatic recovery from their low point of just eight seats in 2015. Yet, as the party debates whether to stick with a “bland alternative” strategy focused on social care and sewage or to adopt a harder edge on issues like Brexit, immigration, and foreign policy, there are calls for the Lib Dems to articulate a bolder vision. Sir Ed’s recent refusal to attend a state banquet for US President Donald Trump and his outspoken criticism of Israeli policy as “genocide” signal an effort to appeal to disaffected Labour voters, but some within the party worry these moves may be more about positioning than principle.
As the conference continues in Bournemouth, the Liberal Democrats are betting that their new brand of patriotism—one that celebrates the UK’s flags, heritage, and traditions while championing humane, practical solutions to complex problems—will resonate with voters weary of division and ready for healing. Whether this strategy pays off at the ballot box remains to be seen, but for now, the party is marching forward, flags unfurled and band playing, determined to reclaim the national conversation on its own terms.
