The Lib Dem conference is still in full swing in Bournemouth and the party’s long-suffering activists seem to have something of a spring in their step. After a triumphant local elections and a quartet of by-election victories, the party looks set to double their parliamentary contingent, come next year’s contest. Lib Dem aspirations in the Blue Wall were demonstrated by leader Ed Davey’s visit to a Winchester farm this morning to pose with various sheep in front of the assembled snappers. Talk about Have I Got Ewe for News…
But not all has gone Davey’s way. A big battle was waged over a motion to scrap the party’s plan to scrap their existing housing target to try and attract new voters in the true-blue Tory shires. The highlight of the day was Tim Farron, Davey’s predecessor, being wheeled out to attack the Lib Dem youth wing for proposing an amendment to restore the 380,000 a year target. He decried the proposal as ‘pure Thatcherism,’ labelling the Young Liberals’ amendment as ‘the most right-wing thing that I’ve seen at party conference since we sent Liz Truss off to go and work undercover.’ But to Davey and Farron’s chagrin, the housing targets amendment and the motion were both passed, to cheers from attendees wearing YIMBY slogans.
That’s the problem with internal party democracy: it often doesn’t go your way. Second vote anyone?
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