Party strategists are pondering an offer from the BBC which could have a serious impact on our party’s fortunes.

Ed Davey has been invited to appear on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Those in favour of the move argue that appearing on the programme could boost Ed’s popularity and, with it, the party’s electoral success as well as cheering up the nation.

It’s ten years since his namesake, former Labour Cabinet Minister Ed Balls, achieved national treasure status after his hilarious efforts on the show, performing Gangnam Style with great aplomb.

It’s just over fifteen years since our then Deputy Leader Vince Cable performed a stunning foxtrot in the Strictly Christmas special with professional dancer Erin Boag. At the time, Euan Ferguson wrote in the Guardian:

Vince was the man who made sense of the downturn: had warned, had made even more sense of it than Robert Peston. A Liberal Democrat with cojones and charisma, and a fine line in ballroom dancing. His appearance on the special should have been a coronation, a culmination: the most astounding year in living memory for his party and then a foxy foxtrot with Erin Boag.

The BBC hope that Ed’s appearance could help revive the show, retaining and increasing its audience after a time of instability following negative media stories and the departure of popular hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. The surprise news that several audience favourite professional dancers including Karen Hauer and Nadiya Bychkova are leaving also poses another threat to the show.

However, Ed’s dancing at Spring Conference in York came in for criticism amongst a small but vocal minority of party members, so our version of the Tories’ “men in grey suits” are concerned that they could become a distraction and there could even be an attempt by critics to submit an emergency motion calling for his withdrawal at his Party’s Autumn Conference  which would be launching at the same time as the rally.

On balance, though, I understand that the feeling inside LDHQ at 66 Buckingham Gate is that this could be just what is needed to knock down the final remaining bricks in the “Blue Wall” and prove that Ed has the charisma to charm the nation away from the magnetic Zack Polanski. I can exclusively reveal that the party has commissioned secret polling to ascertain whether there is any substance to that theory.

Polling company AI for Poll will be using a new form of AI to conduct the research which claims to provide more accurate results for a fraction of the cost.

Former Party President Lord Pack, who has recently been appointed Chair of the Federal Campaigns and Elections Committee,  has been put on standby to analyse the results which will be published after the series ends in a festive special edition of his newsletter “The Week in Polls.”

In anticipation of a final decision, Ed has been measured for costumes and done screen tests for a possible bungee jump or slide onto the stage. Producers are also trying to source an alternative fake tan supplier as he proved to be allergic to the usual brand.

As a die-hard Strictly fan, I am very excited by this news and, if Ed does decide to take part, you can be sure that LDV will have a glittering, sequin laden cocktail watch party in Brighton in September.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social