Political activists in the United States watch on in anguish as the liberal Democratic Party struggles to rediscover a sense of urgency, and self, after its bruising defeat at the hands of Donald Trump last November. The Democratic leadership in congress is accused of mounting a feeble defence of political norms and institutional memory — as MAGA lackeys work overtime to decommission them.
An emboldened Trump is making good on his threats. He is “flooding the zone” with a deluge of executive decrees, outlandish cabinet nominations and White House proclamations. His opponents merely tread water as the new order of things sweeps them away.
In this regard, across the Atlantic in the United Kingdom, the big “L” Liberal Democrats may well be showing their unofficial sister party how it’s done.
***This content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, sign-up for free and never miss our daily briefing.***
The Lib Dems, after a historic general election campaign under Ed Davey’s buccaneering leadership secured 72 MPs, have found their voice in a crowded UK political scene as the prime critics of Trump’s revolution.
The Lib Dems have assumed this anti-MAGA mantle largely by default, that said. The Labour Party, a natural ideological opponent of Trumpism, has been silenced by its government duties and diplomatic responsibilities. The Conservative leadership has positioned itself as supportive of Trump’s general initiative. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is MAGA’s British spin-off. Meanwhile, the Green party — whose criticism might even trump Davey’s — still struggles to cut through the Westminster noise.
The bottom line is this: political circumstance, on both sides of the Atlantic, has conspired to carve a neat niche for Ed Davey’s party — one it is excitedly exploiting.
Davey used both of his questions at PMQs yesterday to direct his fire at the Trump White House. “Eighty years ago this week”, the Lib Dem leader began, “the allies began a pincer movement against German forces between the Ruhr and the Rhine.
“British and Canadian troops attacked from the north, Americans from the south. British, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting shoulder to shoulder to defeat fascists.”
He added: “Eighty years on, president Trump seems to have forgotten all that. His tariffs against steel and aluminium will hit Canada the hardest, but they will also hit jobs and the cost of living in our country.”
Davey called on the government to draw up plans for retaliatory “Tesla tariffs” on Elon Musk’s electric vehicle firm if Trump carries out his threat to hit the UK steel industry. Musk, the tech billionaire Tesla CEO, is a prominent member of Trump’s administration as its efficiency tsar and chief social media propagandist.
Responding, Starmer promised a “level-headed assessment of the implications” of Trump’s avowed actions — but no “Tesla tariffs”. Davey’s comeback was measured: “It seems to me that, given the way in which president Trump and his ally Musk are operating, they need to hear of strong measures and hear strong words even from their allies.”
***This content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, sign-up for free and never miss our daily briefing.***
The Lib Dem leader moved onto the subject of Ukraine and warned that if Trump forces the surrender of its sovereign territory “that will be the greatest betrayal of a European ally since Poland in 1945”.
He asked: “Can the prime minister reassure the House that he and other European leaders have given sufficient support to president Zelensky so that he cannot be bullied by Trump and Putin into accepting a deal that would effectively hand victory to Russia?”
Starmer repeated the Nato line that his aim is to “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.”
This morning, the Liberal Democrats issued a press release calling for emergency legislation “in the next few days” to seize frozen Russian assets and “back Ukraine”. Davey accused the government of “sitting on its hands” and urged Downing Street to cancel the upcoming recess to ensure the requisite legislation is passed. (Some old Lib Dem habits die hard).
As a party willing to break a Westminster taboo and take on Trump, the Liberal Democrats are honing a distinct political identity. The MAGA worldview of course, is an anathema to the liberal democratic values Davey’s party champions. But since the coalition government (2010-2015), the Lib Dems — like the US Democrats today — have struggled to forge a unique, compelling sense of self. “Remain” (or indeed “revoke”) under leader Jo Swinson was, after all, an electoral dud.
Today, Davey is finding purpose for the Lib Dems — in a parliament teeming with parties and led by a progressive government no less — with his Trump criticism.
The anti-Trump stance also reinforces the Lib Dem commitment to strengthening Britain’s ties with Europe. Davey called on the government to negotiate a bespoke EU-UK customs union arrangement in a set-piece speech last month; that, he said, would allow the UK to handle “president Trump from a position of strength, not weakness”.
***This content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, sign-up for free and never miss our daily briefing.***
At Westminster, the Lib Dems are the main party urging the government to invigorate its Brexit “reset”. In other words, the Liberal Democrats are driving against the grain and saying and doing things that are, well, popular. A bold strategy if there ever was one.
According to recent Ipsos research, just 22 per cent of Britons hold a favourable view of Donald Trump, compared to 63 per cent who hold an unfavourable one. Only 17 per cent hold a favourable view of Elon Musk — again, with 63 per cent unfavourable.
A majority of voters (57 per cent) back a UK-EU youth mobility scheme, according to BMG Research for The i Paper. Just 14 per cent are opposed. (The Lib Dems recently introduced a bill in the commons calling for exactly this).
YouGov polling suggests 48 per cent of voters support rejoining the customs union, with 20 per cent opposed. (That is similar to, but not the same as, the Lib Dem proposal to negotiate a new UK-EU customs union).
The Lib Dems’ parliamentary largesse presents the party with far more opportunities to voice these opinions than have come their way in recent years. Ahead of the 2024 general election, the Lib Dems had 15 MPs at dissolution despite a string of by-election victories. Davey was forced to hopefully “bob” at PMQs in vain hope of catching the speaker’s eye. Today, he is endowed with two questions every week (and the straightforward task of following Kemi Badenoch).
With the Tories tracking to the right under Badenoch, the Lib Dem knotweed could still tighten its grip on the 59 constituencies it won from the party last July. Indeed, a new YouGov survey suggests Britons prefer the prospect of a prime minister Davey to a prime minister Badenoch; on the measure of “who would make the best PM”, the Lib Dem leader is selected by 26 per cent. Just 17 per cent prefer his Tory counterpart.
The local elections on 1 May will no doubt prove a happy hunting ground for Davey’s “Tory removal service”.
Subscribe to Politics@Lunch
Lunchtime briefing
Rachel Reeves vows not to accept an ‘economy that has failed working people’
Lunchtime soundbite
‘The BBC’s investigation raises serious questions for Rachel Reeves. Keir Starmer said “restoring trust in politics is the great test of our era”.
Until she comes clean — not just about her CV but about the circumstances in which she left HBOS, no one will take him seriously.’
— Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch responds to a BBC Newsinvestigation (see below) into Rachel Reeves’ work at HBOS and her expenses.
Now try this…
‘The chancellor and her expenses before she became an MP’
According to BBC News, one ex-colleague of Rachel Reeves said she nearly got sacked following an investigation into three senior managers accused of “signing off each other’s expenses”.
‘Reeves’s CV exaggerated time at Bank of England’
More from the BBC.
‘Trump and Putin stun Europe with peace plan for Ukraine’
US president announces that talks with Russia’s leader on ending the war will start “immediately,” after his defense chief warns that Ukraine’s peace goals won’t be met, Politico reports.
On this day in 2023:
‘Cash for Boris’ row: Can Richard Sharp survive as BBC chair?
Subscribe to Politics@Lunch
Source: Politics
