Lib Dems Warn Against Farage-Led 'Forces of Darkness' at National Conference

At the 2025 Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Bournemouth, party leader Sir Ed Davey delivered a fiery keynote speech positioning Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as the primary adversary, likening him to Donald Trump and warning that Farage's potential leadership would transform Britain into a "Trump-inspired country." Davey predicted dire consequences including the dismantling of the NHS, destruction of the countryside through fracking, and a rollback of gun laws necessitating school preparedness for mass shootings, drawing on Farage's past criticisms of the UK's handgun ban. The conference atmosphere was charged with anti-Farage sentiment, with attendees and speakers repeatedly referencing him as a symbol of "the forces of darkness" threatening the UK. Farage's critics accused him of enabling racism and misogyny, while Reform UK dismissed Davey's claims as exaggerated and labeled the Liberal Democrats irrelevant. Davey also criticized both the Conservative and Labour parties, positioning the Lib Dems as the sole credible opposition to Farage's agenda and calling on supporters to prevent his rise to power. The debate highlighted the Lib Dems' strategic struggle to define themselves against both the right-wing Reform UK and traditional parties, casting Farage as a central figure in their political narrative.