Ed Davey vows to stop Farage turning UK into 'Trump's America' at Lib Dem conference

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey told delegates at the party’s conference that he would lead the fight against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, warning that the party would turn the United Kingdom into “Trump’s America” if it won power.

In a 49-minute speech delivered without notes, Davey painted a stark contrast between Reform and the values he said the Lib Dems defend. He argued Reform would saddle Britons with “crippling” health insurance, deepen rural damage through shale gas fracking, and trim Britain’s ties to the European Convention on Human Rights. “That is Trump’s America. Don’t let it become Farage’s Britain,” he said, urging Conservatives to “come and join us.” He referenced Farage 31 times, using the critique to cast Reform as a threat to the country’s norms of tolerance, decency, and respect.

Davey’s remarks also targeted tech magnates and policy platforms he said could accompany Reform’s agenda. He accused Elon Musk, owner of X, of seeking a “Wild West on social media” under Reform’s plan to repeal online safety rules introduced two years ago. A spokesman for Sir Ed said the gun-rights reference was tied to Farage’s 2014 remarks when he criticized post-Dunblane restrictions, but Reform rejected the accusation, saying there were no plans to change the UK’s gun laws.

Framing the election as a “battle of ideas” for the country’s future, Davey sought to position the Lib Dems as the natural home for “One Nation conservatives” who reject the direction taken by current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. He invoked quintessential British imagery—county shows, fish and chips, village greens, cricket pavilions—to cast the party as the defender of national identity and common-sense governance. He celebrated Britain as a place where Hollywood films are shot, where the Lionesses excel, and where Formula One thrives, while contrasting that with Reform’s proposed policies.

On immigration, Davey attacked Reform’s proposals to deport hundreds of thousands of migrants, arguing that sending asylum seekers back to Afghanistan to face the Taliban ran counter to the country’s values. He stressed that Britain remains a “caring country” and insisted the Lib Dems would oppose what he called unpatriotic plans while advocating humanitarian policies.

The Lib Dem leader also floated a package to facilitate international scientific collaboration, urging discounted visas for US cancer scientists who had lost funding during the Trump administration’s “anti-science agenda.” He framed science and openness as essential to Britain’s economic growth and global standing.

The speech then pivoted to foreign policy and domestic politics. Davey criticized Labour as moving toward a Continuity Sunak stance and asserted that his party would deliver stronger growth by negotiating a “new customs union” with the European Union. He welcomed Sir Keir Starmer’s recent decision to recognize a Palestinian state, saying the Lib Dems had long urged the diplomatic move and had “led the charge” on it for years. He also accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, while noting that Israel has rejected such allegations and that the International Court of Justice is examining the matter. He warned that Farage enjoyed a relatively easy media ride and that the BBC should scrutinize all parties with equal rigor; in response, BBC representatives rejected the allegation of bias.

The conference remarks came as the Lib Dems, after their success last year in winning a notable number of seats, outlined an ambition to overtake the Conservatives at the next general election, due by 2029. Davey’s narrative framed the contest not only as a policy debate but as a clash of democratic values and national identity, with the Lib Dems casting themselves as the guardians of tolerance, decency, and respect in British public life. The party did not publish a detailed policy platform during the speech, instead emphasizing a principled contrast with Reform UK and Labour, while calling for a broader, values-driven national conversation about the country’s future.

The remarks highlighting a potential Trump-era model for the UK drew immediate attention from Reform UK supporters, who dismissed the speech as unfounded rhetoric. A Reform spokesperson dismissed the Lib Dems’ portrayal as “total madness” and said there were no intentions to alter Britain’s gun laws or other core policies. The exchange underscored the deep-seated sharpness of the current political climate as parties prepare for a consequential national vote.

As Davey depicted the competition as a quintessentially British struggle to preserve shared values, he urged the public to choose a government that would safeguard a tolerant, lawful, and prosperous nation. The Lib Dem leader contends that the battle is not only about policy differences but about who best represents the country’s long-standing ideals and its place in a global landscape shaped by American political discourse, technology platforms, and international diplomacy.