{"id":377036,"date":"2026-01-18T15:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377036\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T15:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:02:07","slug":"it-feels-like-gruel-lib-dem-mps-growing-frustrated-by-ed-davey-approach-liberal-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377036\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It feels like gruel\u2019: Lib Dem MPs growing frustrated by Ed Davey approach | Liberal Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Significant numbers of Liberal Democrat MPs are becoming frustrated by what they view as an overly cautious approach under Ed Davey<\/a> and the party\u2019s failure to spell out a national message to voters.<\/p>\n

Some estimate that as many as half of the Lib Dems\u2019 72-strong group of MPs feel this way. While there is no move against Davey, who led the party to its best election result in a century<\/a> in 2024, MPs said this could change if there was no progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorale is low,\u201d one said. \u201cNo one is saying get rid of Ed. But what they are saying is that those around him need to move with significant pace towards the development of a national story for the party to tell. We need to be a bit more serious about being the third party.<\/p>\n

\u201cReform are assuming a place in the national debate, and so are the Greens. We are content to not do this. And it isn\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party\u2019s success in 2024 was built around ultra-disciplined messaging on a small number of subjects, notably the NHS and care, and sewage in rivers. While the messaging has expanded, particularly with Davey\u2019s criticisms of Donald Trump, a number of Lib Dem MPs believe the atomisation of UK politics means more boldness is needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leadership is very good at getting into the media with some things, but talking about A&E or Trump is no substitute for having a national position,\u201d one MP said.<\/p>\n

Another criticism is a perceived caution in announcing policies. The party spent some weeks working on a plan for film-style age ratings for social media, only to see the Conservatives announce their own policy<\/a> days before, getting most of the attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Ed has a very clear strategy and vision,\u201d another MP said. \u201cThe problem we have in part is that we\u2019re too academic at times. But at the same time, the Tory policy on social media didn\u2019t work. If we have ambitions to run the country, we can\u2019t just rush around saying things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Lib Dem MPs nonetheless agree that the party needs a coherent national policy, particularly on the cost of living. \u201cWe need a big retail offer on the economy,\u201d one said. \u201cWe need to be more radical on this and if we are, Ed is the person to do it as he\u2019s well liked, experienced and won\u2019t scare people.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Davey and his inner circle appear to be focusing more on defending the dozens of seats won in 2024 and seeking out more target constituencies, a gradualist approach that some in the party worry may be not keeping up with events.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the day after the next election we end up with 80 MPs, it would again be the best result for a century and Ed could retire happy,\u201d another MP said. \u201cBut politics is changing fast, and with first past the post if you don\u2019t keep up as a party you can die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davey and the deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, take a selfie with Lib Dem MPs in Westminster Hall in July after their election success. Photograph: Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

On the other side of the argument, when the Lib Dems have gone for a bold national messages, it has sometimes been burned, most recently in 2019<\/a> when a pledge to reverse Brexit racked up votes but the party won just 11 seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2019 election was very heady but we failed. Ed is not willing for that to happen again,\u201d an ally of the Lib Dem leader said. \u201cPretty much any seat we fail to win next time will go to Reform or the Conservatives. We have to make sure we have the biggest number of MPs possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ally said Davey was aware of the need for a national message, pointing to what they called a recent \u201cstep change\u201d in the party\u2019s social media operation.<\/p>\n

The frustrations will not be news to Davey, with some MPs having raised the same issues at recent party awaydays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no shouting, there is no jostling for position. But there are penetrating questions being asked about our purpose and where we are going,\u201d another MP said. \u201cAt the moment it feels a bit like gruel. Ed needs to be mindful that it won\u2019t take much more for colleagues to become really frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key moment is likely to be May\u2019s elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and councils across England. Disappointing results, particularly coupled with a perceived lack of ambition, could prove a tipping point, the MP said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just what the message is, it\u2019s whether the person delivering it is the right person to do so,\u201d they said. \u201cWe all know divided parties don\u2019t go down well with the electorate. But if you look at the history of the party, when our leaders go, they go very quickly. They are secure until suddenly they are not. And I don\u2019t think it would take much for frustrations to bubble over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Significant numbers of Liberal Democrat MPs are becoming frustrated by what they view as an overly cautious approach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-377036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}