Tag Archives: press coverage

EXCLUSIVE: “We need to be bold, we need to be relevant, and we need to show people that we’re serious” – party figures react to news of strategy review

This weekend news broke, via PoliticsHome, that the Lib Dems are conducting an internal review of policy after concerns that had previously been kept mostly behind closed doors became public, with figures including former leadership candidate and current Chair of the Commons Health Select Committee Layla Moran speaking to the outlet about a “frustration” that the party’s been talking about the same things and that we “weren’t really moving forward.”

Despite achieving the party’s best result in a century in 2024, 72 seats in the House of Commons, it’s widely felt that since then we’ve been lost in the shuffle and all too easy to ignore.

Since the news of the review became public I’ve been speaking to people throughout the party, from parliamentarians to grassroots members for this column, about their reaction and what they want to see from the review.

Lib Dem MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Tom Gordon, who was also quoted in the PoliticsHome piece, told me:

The political landscape is shifting fast, and voters who are frustrated with the status quo are actively looking for somewhere to go. The Lib Dems have a real opportunity here, but we have to be willing to step up with a distinctive, ambitious offer that speaks to the whole country.

He added,

We need to be bold, we need to be relevant, and we need to show people that we’re serious. Our members will not forgive us if we miss the boat.