Pity the Liberal Democrats. You win 72 seats at an election – and all anyone wants to talk about is Nigel Farage. You then schedule a big morning pre-Budget press conference – and the government decides to tear itself apart. Like most of HM Lobby, Steerpike was unable to make it to this morning’s event with Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader. But he could not let the occasion pass without comment.
For as Ed Davey’s party desperately tries to insert itself into the political debate, it seems that they have decided that comedy is the best solution to their tragedy. At a time when the nation’s finances are in dire straits, with Rachel Reeves struggling to fill a £40 bn black hole, you might have thought that serious choices were on the menu. Not for the Lib Dems whose big headline policy, two weeks before the Budget is a… five per VAT cut for pubs and restaurants. Quick, someone call the IMF.
Speaking at the Wilton Arms – currently advertising a £1 oyster deal on Mondays – Cooper was asked about her leader’s credibility, given his penchant for lycra and water stunts. The St Albans’ MP told journalists with a straight face that Sir Ed Davey is the ‘most serious person in Westminster and has the best chance of being a serious Prime Minister”, insisting to the Sun that her leader – the Mr Tumble of British politics – was the ‘most credible’ party leader right now. Well, it’s certainly a view.
Steerpike did wonder what Cooper has been smoking – but then he realised that she had been in a pub since 9:45am. That might explain it eh?
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