Four things we learned at the Lib Dems’ reliably eccentric seaside conference

Ed Davey ‘warmed up’ for his speech on Tuesday with a game of beach cricket in Bournemouth (Picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the people who go along to party conferences are a little strange.

You need to be really, really into your brand of politics to make the trip. But even taking that into account, the Lib Dems are in a class of their own.

The party has a bit of a reputation for being inoffensive and soft, but the annual autumn conference – held this year in Bournemouth – is where they can really let their hair down.

Die-hard Liberal Democrats are given free rein to embrace the deep political nerdery that’s discouraged by the outside world, and as a result they can sometimes go a little nuts.

That’s the reason it’s often the one party conference that political journalists most look forward to – it’s not riddled with anxiety like Labour, nor self-satisfied like Reform, nor bleak like the Conservatives.

It’s just a self-aware celebration of obsession with esoteric politics, and who wouldn’t enjoy some of that once a year?

Here are a few things we learned at the 2025 Lib Dem conference.

These guys are totally not obsessed with Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage unveiled his plan to deport hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants while the Lib Dems were holding their conference (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

Well, OK. Maybe they are just a little.

There’s just one thing the Liberal Democrats love more than complaining about how much the media talks about Reform – and that’s talking about Reform themselves.

Farage popped up in just about every major speech I sat in on at the Bournemouth International Centre over the past four days.

That included a bizarre attempt at a stand-up routine where Lib Dem peer Shaffaq Mohammed and Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller said they didn’t want to use the Reform leader’s name, so would be referring to him as ‘Nile Garbage’.

But the most eye-catching reference came in Sir Ed Davey’s keynote speech earlier today, where he suggested Farage would roll back gun laws to the point where British children need to do mass shooting drills at school.

This effort isn’t really aimed at winning over Reform voters to the Lib Dems – it’s more about indicating to Labour and Tory voters who aren’t happy with the direction their parties are taking where they’ll find full-throated opposition to Farage’s politics.

They still struggle to catch media attention, not that they’re bitter about it

Annual conferences often present a rare opportunity for political parties to get a guaranteed media spotlight.

This doesn’t always work. For example, Reform’s conference a couple of weeks ago was overshadowed by Angela Rayner’s resignation from government and the ensuing reshuffle.

Lack of coverage in the press has been a favourite Lib Dem moan for a long time, and it’s really stepped up since the party won a record 72 MPs last year.

There were a couple of moments where attention did stray outside Bournemouth – the UK announcing it would recognise Palestinian statehood, and Farage’s plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain.

But Ed Davey’s decision to label Elon Musk a criminal did manage to make headlines, while the mass shooting line in his speech will no doubt also draw plenty of focus.

And of course, there was no shortage of eccentric photo ops, from feeding bees and flower-arranging to playing cricket on the beach with a group of his MPs.

That didn’t stop the Lib Dems from singing a new tune in their legendary annual Glee Club night, bashing the media for their focus on Reform. Speaking of which…

It’s still all about sun, sand and singing cringey songs

Davey made a grand musical entrance to the strains of Sweet Caroline (Picture: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

For those unfamiliar, the Glee Club is traditionally held on the final night of the party conference. It involves a huge crowd of Lib Dems cramming into a room to drunkenly sing often obscene songs at the top of their lungs.

Favourites include an extremely sweary song about Brexit to the tune of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and the party anthem, The Land.

The new addition to the repertoire this year was called the ‘Impartial Media Song’, to the tune of the Wild Rover:

There’s only one issue I choose to engage
Other topics won’t give me my bait for the rage
I’ll cover Reform in the way that they like
My filings will always have room for their spite

And it’s no, nay, never
No, nay, never, no more
Will I cover the Lib Dems
No, never, no more

Musical delights at the conference aren’t restricted to the last night, though. On Saturday there was the Lib Dem disco, and Sunday we had ‘communioke’ – a version of karaoke where the screen faces the crowd.

Then, of course, there was Ed Davey’s entrance on the first day, with a choreographed baton routine at the head of a marching band.

Lib Dems are, at least, still winning in the merch stakes

Bumper stickers, teddy bears, bum bags, baseball caps, hi-vis vests, balloons, hoodies.

The other parties may try, but none can hold a candle to the Lib Dems for sheer range of merch, and all of it is proudly emblazoned with their bird blob logo.

It was a particular joy to see the traditional set of MP mugs, most of which feature faces less familiar to the average person than the checkout operator at their local supermarket.

These are products designed for people who are totally unashamed to show off how dedicated they are to the Liberal Democrat cause.

For now, those people are facing a sad return to the drudgery of regular life. But there will always be next year.

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