Lib Dems hint at coalition with Labour to block Reform UK, Davey says

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey signaled that his party would be prepared to back Labour after the next election to prevent Reform UK and its leader from taking power, telling supporters at the Lib Dems' annual conference in Bournemouth that he intends to enter government with a large contingent of Lib Dem MPs. He said there is a moral duty to stop Reform out of power and argued that the party could win well over 100 seats, with no ceiling on its ambitions.

Davey also indicated that the best route to a governing bloc would be through a traditional coalition rather than a formal alliance with Reform. In separate remarks to Sky News, he made clear that a pact with Reform was off the table and that he did not want any deal with them, instead pointing toward governance through a Labour-led administration if electoral arithmetic allowed.

The comments underline a potential path for the Lib Dems after the election but also highlight internal tensions. Activists at the conference have historically shown mixed signals toward coalitions, including songs critical of Tony Blair, reflecting the party's long struggle to recover from entering government in 2010 as a junior partner in a Conservative-led administration. The Lib Dems’ post-2010 recovery took more than a decade, and the prospect of a Lib-Lab arrangement could provoke further debate within the party about its identity and electoral strategy.

During a Q&A session at the conference, a straw poll on forming a Lib-Lab pact drew only a small showing of support from attendees, illustrating lingering caution about any cross-party arrangement before voters head to the polls. In parallel, Calum Miller, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman, did not rule out coalitions in principle but stressed that MPs owed their constituents their own judgment. He noted that voters in his own constituency elected him as a Liberal Democrat, not as a Labour candidate, signaling the delicate balance the party faces in balancing national ambitions with local loyalties.

Taken together, the remarks place the Lib Dems at the center of a broader debate about how to prevent Reform UK from gaining influence while trying to recapture broad swaths of the electorate. Davey’s comments reflect a strategic shift toward present-tense negotiations that would help the party position itself as a possible kingmaker in a hung Parliament, rather than a strictly opposition party. If the political winds shift in the Lib Dems' favor, the party could be drawn into a Labour-led government, a scenario that would reshape the near-term dynamics of British politics and redefine comparisons with Reform and other challengers on the right.