The party’s ongoing strategy review is welcome. But collecting feedback is only the beginning. Turning it into a successful long-term strategy requires us to answer four fundamental questions.

1. What’s the point of the Liberal Democrats?

I’ve been asked this question, sneeringly, more than once.

But, we do need to be clear what we want to achieve. More seats and votes are important, but they are not our ultimate aim.

This question might seem quite abstract today – but it will be critical in the years to come. We are going to have to make difficult decisions when we are fighting populist parties. For instance if the next election results in a hung Parliament, would we enter power with Labour to stop Reform? What if it meant we had to work with the Greens too?

Without a clear sense of purpose, it’s impossible to know which compromises are worth making and which are not.

I suggest that Lib Dem members would answer something like “building a freer and fairer Britain, both through exercising power and through influencing national debate”.

Our leadership needs to be clear on why we exist, because that purpose—not polling numbers or short-term tactical advantage—should guide the decisions we make when difficult choices arrive. And this answer needs to be public – because you can’t lead in secret.

2. How do we sustainably reach our objectives?

Too often we’ve focused on the next election at the expense of longer-term party-building. At best it’s been ‘strengthening our position’, and at worst it’s been ‘hail mary in hope of achieving electoral reform’. At times we’ve behaved as though electoral reform would solve our problems, rather than asking how to build a larger and more durable base of support. As we have seen in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly, more proportional systems still leave us facing big challenges.

If we are going to make, and keep, Britain as a more liberal country, then we need a strategy that will succeed whatever happens, regardless of whether Reform, Labour or the Greens end up as the largest party after the next General Election.

Whatever happens politically, the one asset that benefits us in every scenario is a larger and more loyal base of voters who identify with the Liberal Democrats. This stronger Liberal Democrat brand* will mean more people voting for us in elections year in and year out.

3. How do we build a stronger Liberal Democrat brand?

If you ask the public what we stand for, by far the most common answer is ‘I don’t know’.

The first step in changing this is to be clear what we stand for. That’s harder than it sounds.

It’s hard, because the public gets a say. In 2010, entering the Coalition, we thought we were protecting liberal values. But Liberal Democrat voters had voted for an anti-Conservative party – and they were very clear in telling us that at the 2015 election.

To establish a stronger brand, we also need to be consistent. We can prioritise lower taxes, or we can prioritise higher public spending. We cannot indefinitely promise both without explaining the trade-offs.

And, hardest of all, we need to be differentiated from other parties. There’s no point trying to be the party of the NHS (Labour have that), or tax cuts (The Tories, just, have that) or the environment (The Greens have that – regardless of their lack of interest these days).

Exactly what that distinctive theme should be is a separate debate – and is rightly a job for our party leader to define. But unless we can identify one, our brand will remain weak.

Building a brand can’t happen by accident – it will only come through careful choices, which will mean some hard decisions on what we focus on.

A real political brand is defined not only by what a party chooses to campaign on, but by what it is prepared to say no to. We already instinctively do this on many issues, for instance standing up for asylum seekers and a liberal immigration policy. But we are campaigning for too many things – and each issue we campaign on dilutes our brand.

Being willing to say no is not a weakness. It is how parties build a recognisable identity.

4. Who are our target voters?

Developing a consistent brand means we need to choose target voters.

For instance if we want our brand to be ‘the party of people with liberal values’ then that, generally, implies a working age and educated target audience.

If we want to be ‘the party of people who live in our held seats’ then it will be a subtly different audience.

A party that tries to speak to everyone ends up speaking clearly to no one. That’s a temptation for us, because we are naturally consensual. Choosing our audience does not mean ignoring everyone else. It means deciding whose support we are trying to earn first.

We have an opportunity today – our opponents are unpopular or incoherent. And public attitudes are more liberal than ever. And we have a record number of MPs. We should use this opportunity carefully. Before we debate the next slogan, policy announcement or campaign tactic, we need to be clear about what we are trying to achieve, how we intend to achieve it, what we want to be known for and who we are trying to persuade. If we can answer those questions honestly, we will not just win more elections. We will be far more likely to achieve the liberal change that winning those elections is supposed to deliver.

* Rob Blackie was Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate in 2024, achieving the best result for 16 years. He has beaten the Greens in competitive elections as an organiser or candidate in 2010 (twice), 2012, 2024 and 2026. https://bsky.app/profile/robblackie.bsky.social