Sir Ed Davey kicked off the Lib Dem conference by attacking Reform and Nigel Farage as he pushed for emergency measures to clear the asylum backlog in a “humane” way.
The Lib Dem leader, on the first day of his party’s conference in Bournemouth, launched into their new tactic of criticising Reform with renewed vigour after a summer of Mr Farage holding headline-grabbing news conferences.
He accused the Reform leader of not being a patriot after Mr Farage denigrated the UK during a speech in the US. Sir Ed also put the Lib Dems forward as the party that is “true to British values”.
He said asylum hotels could close within six months by setting up emergency processing centres modelled on the large-scale temporary Nightingale hospitals used during COVID.
Under the plan, they would use the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to allow the government additional powers to secure the funds to hire and train more asylum case workers to tackle the backlog.
MP Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, said it would only take “weeks” to train up more case workers but training was key to ensure the right decisions were made and appeals could not be made, which would increase the backlog.
Sir Ed told Sky News: “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.
“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.”
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Quickfire questions with Sir Ed Davey
And after telling Sky News earlier in the week we need to “stop the boats” – a hardening of Lib Dem language – he said: “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.”
Will the Lib Dems’ immigration message cut through?
Sir Ed Davey’s all-singing, all-dancing entry to the conference was designed to promote two messages.
The first, most obviously, was to highlight his party’s buoyant mood after last year’s record haul of 72 MPs and a series of local election wins – quite a contrast to the increasingly public infighting amongst both the Conservatives and Labour.
The second was a bid to wrest back the concept of patriotism away from what he described as the “divisive politics” of Reform UK.
The tunes were cheerful pop classics and ticker tape rained down on the assembled activists, joyfully waving their union flags – quite a contrast to the divisive debate over the use of flags this summer.
Sir Ed is adamant his party is not dancing to Farage’s tune.
But they are certainly turning their fire on Reform – with Lego Farage figurines labelled “plastic patriots”, complete with MAGA hats, handed out to conference attendees.
While the policies may not have changed all that much, Sir Ed’s comments about the importance of deporting illegal migrants from safe countries such as Turkey and Brazil certainly sounded like tougher rhetoric than we have heard before.
Less than a mile away there was a very different kind of march. Demonstrators brandishing much bigger flags made their way from Bournemouth pier to one of the town’s three asylum hotels, chanting about stopping the boats, wanting their country back – and even – when the procession passed two women wearing them – banning burqas.
They were met by a group of counter-protesters keen to welcome refugees (separated by several rows of police officers).
Neither side was especially impressed by what the Lib Dems had to say – though counter-protesters welcomed the party’s commitment to safe and legal routes, and calls for asylum seekers to be allowed to work and contribute to society.
The Lib Dems then held a rally of their own – but the debate over asylum and patriotism is a loud one. Will they be able to cut through the noise?
Ms Smart also took a strong line on flags in reaction to people hanging them all around the country in response to asylum hotels.
She said she was “relaxed” about people flying a flag, adding: “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.”
While the Lib Dems may have changed their tone on immigration, they showed their signature style is still there, with Sir Ed arriving at conference leading a marching band that played classics such as Sweet Caroline and Crocodile Rock.
