Ed Davey Opens Lib Dem Conference by Challenging Reform UK
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised Nigel Farage's Reform UK and Elon Musk on 19 September 2026, the opening day of the party's annual conference. The Guardian
Davey spoke from the main stage at the Brighton Centre. He said the Liberal Democrats "won't give up the fight" to defeat "nasty populism" and what he described as Reform UK's "£72m arsenal of hate and lies".
He claimed Reform UK had received £72m from two crypto billionaires. That term points to investors who built large fortunes from digital currencies such as bitcoin.
Davey recalled campaigning as a student for his university college to boycott Barclays over its investments in apartheid-era South Africa. A boycott means refusing to use a business to apply political pressure.
He also called for defending the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after volunteers were targeted online amid anti-migrant protests. The Institution is the charity whose crews rescue people at sea.
On health, Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan set out a £600m plan to improve maternity care on the first day of the conference. The plan includes one-to-one midwifery for every woman in labour, backed by a senior consultant available around the clock. The party said NHS spending on compensation for maternity negligence claims totalled £1.3bn in 2024-25.
On education, Lib Dem education spokesperson Munira Wilson said the party would introduce a guarantee of 100 hours of work experience for students from GCSE age to 18.
The speech followed earlier messaging and pre-conference scrutiny. The Liberal Democrats published an article titled "The Global Fight for Liberal Values" by Ed Davey dated 9 Sep 2026. Liberal Democrats The BBC questioned Davey on Brexit and bin strikes ahead of the party's 2026 autumn conference in Brighton. BBC Davey also spoke to BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg during coverage of the conference.
The broader context here is about positioning rather than lawmaking. A party conference works like a public team talk. The leader names an opponent, puts a funding number on that opponent, and pairs the attack with promises on everyday services such as hospitals and schools. Activists get lines to repeat. Reporters get claims to check.
Looking to what comes next, the test will be detail and repetition. Funding claims lead to requests for proof. Care and school promises lead to questions about staff, delivery and cost. Support for a rescue charity leads to debate about where party politics should stop. How opponents answer, and whether the party keeps using these lines after Brighton, will shape whether this opening lasts through the week.
