As this political year draws to a close, it has revealed something fundamental about the state of our country: Britain is crying out for change, but all too often is being offered more of the same.
After years of Conservative failure, voters rightly demanded competence and decency.
Yet while the Conservatives have continued to implode-trapped between ideological exhaustion and an inability to reckon honestly with the damage they have done-the change on offer from Labour has too often felt cautious, managerial and constrained by self-imposed limits.
Stability matters, of course. But stability without ambition risks becoming stagnation.
This has been most obvious in the economy.
Inflation has eased, but living standards remain under severe pressure, particularly for younger people locked out of secure housing and good work.
Labour’s insistence on tight fiscal rules may reassure markets, but it has yet to reassure families wondering when life will actually get easier. The Conservatives, meanwhile, continue to talk as if they were not in charge for fourteen years – a political amnesia that convinces no one.
Nowhere is the failure of old politics clearer than in our public services. The NHS has endured yet another year of crisis, with strikes reflecting not militancy but desperation. Conservative neglect created this mess; Labour’s reluctance to be bold risks managing rather than fixing it.
For liberals, this is not an abstract debate.
A society that cannot deliver safe, timely healthcare is one that has lost sight of its moral purpose.
Internationally, the contrast is just as stark. Russia’s war on Ukraine has continued to test Western resolve and, whilst most parties agree on supporting Ukraine, too often the language of values has been replaced by the language of caution.
At the same time, the rise of populist forces – including Reform – has fed off public anger, offering easy answers rooted in division, suspicion and retreat from international cooperation.
We should be clear: this is not a credible alternative, but rather a politics of grievance dressed up as authenticity. In this context, the Liberal Democrats have a vital role to play.
We are the party willing to say that freedom and fairness go hand in hand; that economic competence must serve human dignity; and that human rights are not optional extras to be traded away when they become inconvenient. While others triangulate or posture, liberalism offers something rarer: consistency grounded in principle.
This year has shown that Britain does not just need a change of personnel, but a change of mindset. Politics must once again be about rebuilding trust, and treating people as citizens rather than problems to be managed.
As we look to the year ahead, the challenge for liberals is clear. We must argue – confidently and unapologetically – that there is a better way than Conservative chaos, Labour caution, or populist rage. A way rooted in compassion, competence and courage. That is the argument worth making and it is one worth renewing in the year to come.
Standing together against anti-Jewish hatred
The truly horrific anti-Semitic attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, yesterday, which saw 15 people killed and many others seriously injured, is deeply disturbing. It is a reminder – if one were needed – that anti-Jewish hatred is not a relic of the past, nor confined to any one country. It is a current, dangerous prejudice that continues to cause fear and harm to Jewish communities around the world.
Such acts must be condemned clearly, without equivocation, and recognised for what they clearly are: acts of anti-Jewish hatred. There is never any justification for targeting people because of who they are, to whom or how they worship, or the community to which they belong. Jewish people have the right to live freely, safely and visibly, without intimidation or threat.
But, and let’s be very clear about this too, condemnation alone is not enough. We must also be honest about the root causes of anti-Semitism: ignorance, conspiracy thinking, dehumanising rhetoric, and the casual normalisation of prejudice – both online and offline. These forces thrive when they go unchallenged.
We Liberals believe in tackling hate at its source. That means needing education, responsible political leadership, and strong cross-faith and cross-community working. It means Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and non-religious communities standing together, not allowing extremists or bigots to drive a wedge between us.
At moments like this, solidarity matters.
So does moral clarity. We must choose both – and act on them.
Until the New Year
This is my final Lib Dem Voice column of 2025, and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, share, and engage with what I’ve written – whether you’ve agreed with me or not. Healthy debate matters in a liberal democracy – and I’m genuinely grateful for it.
Very big thanks to LDV Editor Caron and my own regular Monday Editor Mark for putting up with me.
As we head into the festive period, I wish you and all whom you love a happy, peaceful and restorative Christmas and New Year.
I’ll be taking a short break, but my column will return, bright eyed and bushy tailed, on Monday, January 5th, as we head into what already promises to be a fascinating – and, indeed, consequential – political year.
Thank you again, and see you in 2026!
* Mathew Hulbert is a former Councillor, is a regular commentator on TV and Radio, and is Co-Host of the Political Frenemies podcast.
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12 Comments
Mathew, I like what you say about freedom and fairness going hand in hand. The fairness goes with enabling people to respect each other and behave responsibly, working together where possible.
SO have a good Christmas break, a season where perhaps we tend to forget that the birth we celebrate happened right in the middle of cruel rule and strained circumstances yet came with hope.
“The NHS has endured yet another year of crisis, with strikes reflecting not militancy but desperation”.
Sorry, I don’t agree. Resident doctors received a 28.9% pay rise last year. Now they want a further amount in excess of 20% this year. This is most certainly not ‘desperation’, Mr Hulbert. It puts patients at risk, especially the elderly and the vulnerable now when there is a ‘flu epidemic. I don’t hear much from the Lib Dem party about this…… which disappoints me.
Great article. I completely agree that “freedom of” needs to be complimented with the “freedom from”. And I do agree that the LibDems, if played right, could be in a unique advantage of providing those answers against the tides of populism.
Also agree the disturbing and upsetting news regarding the attack in Australia. We must be show that in a world which seeks to divide on faith or groups we are united by the common goal of humanity. And as someone that has many friends of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and irreligious faith; I am blessed these friends all meet with humility, respect and love for each other. And we need to show leadership on this.
Have a great Christmas mate, look forward to seeing you during the Christmas period.
It seems strange to me that the Bondi beach attack has had very wide coverage while the 400 or so Palestinians killed since the “ceasefire” and the ongoing genocide there are almost ignored.
Rather an excess of wishful thinking and slogans and a severe shortfall of thought-out analysis of the fundamental problems our country and indeed our world faces. Quite simply the UK and indeed the western democratic world has gone through decades of live now pay later economics, coupled with an ever-growing wish list of rights which are wonderful as aspirations to be perpetually worked towards throughout society, but totally unachievable in what it would cost in terms of time, resources, effort, dedication and hard work to fully achieve, even if full achievement was ever possible. Equally, the gap between the list of responsibilities a democratic society needs its people to accept in order to keep it functioning at a satisfactory level and what its government dare require its citizens to accept has grown ever bigger.
At a very simple level, we all know that local government is totally broke, both financially and operationally, with a huge gap between what services local councils are required to provide and the resources they can raise to deliver those services. However, all government is prepared to offer is yet another raft of chaotic reorganisation called change, designed to centralize power and remove democratic accountability – all hidden behind the name of devolution.
But do we say anything against it – NO!
We are great at producing carefully wordcrafted policies calling on government to build a perfect liberal solution, but never a single policy about how to safeguard what we have.
We have to change focus.
As Jenny says the daily killings occurring in the West Bank and Gaza are not given the same coverage in the media, with the exception perhaps of Channel 4.
I agree with Mathew when he says
“We must also be honest about the root causes of anti-Semitism: ignorance, conspiracy thinking, dehumanising rhetoric, and the casual normalisation of prejudice – both online and offline. These forces thrive when they go unchallenged”. This statement applies equally to Israel and is probably the cause of some of the anti Israel attitudes.
I have been struck by the unchallenged statements by Jewish spokes people accepting sympathy for their trauma but who are incapable of allowing empathy with the trauma of Palestinians by stating that all pro Palestine action is anti semitic and should be banned.
An Australian Jewish journalist Antony Lowenstein living in Sydney makes these and other points eloquently in his blog :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXQ4g_ZAAt8
What happened at Bondi Beach is disgusting, and yet another reminder of why Antisemitism must be faced down and defeated.
Alongside this, the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza are nothing short of barbaric, and it is clear that Netanyahu is refusing to listen to hostage families, liberals, and peace protestors in the country who condemn him.
But I cannot accept the idea that because of what the government of Israel is doing and saying, it is therefore understandable on any level that Jews be targeted.
Imagine if we – not GB News, not Farage, not Robinson, we, as liberals – used that same rhetoric against immigrants, or gay people, or Muslims, or any member of a minority group at all. We would rightfully be condemned for being bigoted.
And yet, whenever it is a tragedy involving Jews, an equivalence is always drawn between them and Palestine, not allowing those who have lost loved ones to grieve, to allow communities who now require armed police to protect their own places of worship to come to terms with what happened, despite those very same Jews having nothing to do with the situation.
I’ve no doubt the people who made such comments will not recognise this, as it’s almost become the “in thing” to water down Antisemitism from the horror that it is – the same level of hate that brought about the Holocaust – to just another low-level issue that can be swept away.
David Evans is spot on.
Netanyahu and pro-Israel groups have spent years trying (successfully) to present any criticism of Israel as antisemitism… it is no surprise then, that the blurring of any distinction between Israel and Judaism encourages misguided extremists to equate the genocide by the state of Israel as a crime committed by all Jews…
This, of course, does not in any way justify the attacks but is does highlight the reasons those terrorists act as they do..
I note the dumping of pig’s heads and entrails into the Muslim cemetery and how that shows the same mindset i.e. a Muslim terrorist reflects the views of the whole Muslim community….
re. Resident Doctors strikes……. I now gather Sir Ed Davey did make a press statement about this matter a couple of days ago, but there has been no mention of that fact on or by Liberal Democrat Voice.
Perhaps the editors could publish the press release now given the prominence of the issue.
@David Raw – apologies, it was stuck in draft. I have now released it.
https://www.libdemvoice.org/15-december-2025-todays-press-release-78864.html
Thank you, Mary, much appreciated.
I note Sir Ed fails to criticise the current action taken by resident doctors. This is disappointing given that last year Mr Streeting (to quote Nye Bevan ) “stuffed their mouths with gold” with a 29.8% pay rise. Now they now want another 20% plus pay rise.