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Ed Davey’s defeat on conference floor crushes Liberal Democrat hopes of abandoning housing target

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Good morning from Bournemouth. One of the delights of conference season is the inevitable prospect of the Liberal Democrat leadership being defeated on the conference floor. This year’s “bruising defeat” comes on housing policy. Some thoughts on that and what it means in today’s newsletter.

Inside Politics is edited today by Leah Quinn. Follow Stephen on X @stephenkb and please send gossip, thoughts and feedback to insidepolitics@ft.com

I will (not) survive

The last time that the Liberal Democrats gathered here for their autumn conference, the place was giddy with excitement. Defectors from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party and Boris Johnson’s Conservatives wandered the halls, causing excitement wherever they went.

Rumours spread through the place that the party was going to unveil another defector to mark the conference rally. Activists speculated about doing so well that they would be able to realign politics and replace Labour as the main anti-Conservative alternative.

In the end, politics did not realign. Every one of the Liberal Democrat defectors failed to be re-elected, the Liberal Democrats got fewer seats in 2019 than 2017, and the party’s leader, Jo Swinson, lost her seat.

That election is a vital part of what you might call the prehistory of this year’s conference. Ed Davey came into this conference wanting to shed and downplay any policy that might harm the party’s hopes of winning over Conservative voters and gaining Tory seats at the next election. (One happy consequence of the 2019 election, from a Liberal Democrat perspective, is that all but one of the party’s target seats are in Conservative territory, which makes it much easier for the leadership to tailor its national message accordingly.) The party’s historic commitment to EU membership has been downplayed. Pledges to raise income tax have been scrapped. But Davey’s hopes of abandoning the party’s housing target were crushed, after the leadership was defeated on the conference floor.

Part of the reason for the defeat was organisational: the Young Liberals, the main opponents of the move, were very well organised and did a great job making sure their people were around to vote. Some of it simply tactical: Liberal Democrats targeting seats in London’s suburbs and exurbs, on the frontline of the UK’s housing shortage, thought their interests were better served by resisting moves to water down the housing target, and outnumbered Liberal Democrats targeting bucolic rural seats.

But part of it was ideological: Liberal Democrats committed to building more houses outnumber those who are committed to winning seats by opposing development, at least on paper. In practice, it is more complicated than that: the members who defeated the leadership happily knocked on doors for an anti-HS2 candidate in the Chesham and Amersham by-election and are doing the same for an anti-development candidate in the Mid-Bedfordshire by-election. But in theory, at least, Liberal Democrat activists don’t want to be an avowed opponent of housebuilding nationwide, even though the party will continue to oppose it locally when it serves their interests.

Both the Liberal Democrat leadership and the Conservative party think this is a gift to the Tories. CCHQ’s attack machine has fired into gear to highlight the row.

One consequence of the vote is that one barrier to smooth working in a Labour-Liberal Democrat arrangement of one kind has been torn down. Labour wants to liberalise planning as part of their growth strategy, and I think this vote makes it less likely that the Liberal Democrats will block those plans or trade them away in a coalition negotiation.

But another consequence, at least if Ed Davey and his Conservative opponents are right, is that the Liberal Democrats have become a lot more vulnerable in the seats they are trying to win from the Tory party.

Now try this

This week, I mostly listened to Dove Cameron’s Boyfriend while writing my column. I’ve added it to the Inside Politics playlist, which also now includes some of the pieces you pointed out I had missed, including Chvrches’ excellent new record, Screen Violence, and, more embarrassingly, Philip Glass’s brilliant Glassworks, which my partner bought me tickets to for my birthday.

Top stories today

  • ‘Blue wall’ vow | The Lib Dems will vow in the Tuesday closing speech to knock down the Tory ‘blue wall’ in the south of England, prompting accusations that the party is watering down policies to wander to Tory voters.

  • Scrapping HS2 will damage trust | That is according to Tom Wagner, the new US chair of Birmingham City football club, who says “any deviation [from the plan] could result in a loss of investor trust.”

  • Inheritance tax shake up | Exploration into major changes to inheritance tax by Rishi Sunak’s government may include cutting the rate at which it is levied or scrapping it altogether.

  • Tory climate U-turns | Manufacturing groups have hit out at Rishi Sunak’s watering down of some of Britain’s net zero emission targets, saying it is a “huge setback” to the sector.

Recommended newsletters for you

One Must-Read — Remarkable journalism you won’t want to miss. Sign up here

Britain after Brexit — Keep up to date with the latest developments as the UK economy adjusts to life outside the EU. Sign up here



Summarize this content to 100 words Receive free Liberal Democrats UK updatesWe’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Liberal Democrats UK news every morning.This article is an on-site version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekdayGood morning from Bournemouth. One of the delights of conference season is the inevitable prospect of the Liberal Democrat leadership being defeated on the conference floor. This year’s “bruising defeat” comes on housing policy. Some thoughts on that and what it means in today’s newsletter. Inside Politics is edited today by Leah Quinn. Follow Stephen on X @stephenkb and please send gossip, thoughts and feedback to insidepolitics@ft.comI will (not) surviveThe last time that the Liberal Democrats gathered here for their autumn conference, the place was giddy with excitement. Defectors from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party and Boris Johnson’s Conservatives wandered the halls, causing excitement wherever they went. Rumours spread through the place that the party was going to unveil another defector to mark the conference rally. Activists speculated about doing so well that they would be able to realign politics and replace Labour as the main anti-Conservative alternative. In the end, politics did not realign. Every one of the Liberal Democrat defectors failed to be re-elected, the Liberal Democrats got fewer seats in 2019 than 2017, and the party’s leader, Jo Swinson, lost her seat. That election is a vital part of what you might call the prehistory of this year’s conference. Ed Davey came into this conference wanting to shed and downplay any policy that might harm the party’s hopes of winning over Conservative voters and gaining Tory seats at the next election. (One happy consequence of the 2019 election, from a Liberal Democrat perspective, is that all but one of the party’s target seats are in Conservative territory, which makes it much easier for the leadership to tailor its national message accordingly.) The party’s historic commitment to EU membership has been downplayed. Pledges to raise income tax have been scrapped. But Davey’s hopes of abandoning the party’s housing target were crushed, after the leadership was defeated on the conference floor. Part of the reason for the defeat was organisational: the Young Liberals, the main opponents of the move, were very well organised and did a great job making sure their people were around to vote. Some of it simply tactical: Liberal Democrats targeting seats in London’s suburbs and exurbs, on the frontline of the UK’s housing shortage, thought their interests were better served by resisting moves to water down the housing target, and outnumbered Liberal Democrats targeting bucolic rural seats. But part of it was ideological: Liberal Democrats committed to building more houses outnumber those who are committed to winning seats by opposing development, at least on paper. In practice, it is more complicated than that: the members who defeated the leadership happily knocked on doors for an anti-HS2 candidate in the Chesham and Amersham by-election and are doing the same for an anti-development candidate in the Mid-Bedfordshire by-election. But in theory, at least, Liberal Democrat activists don’t want to be an avowed opponent of housebuilding nationwide, even though the party will continue to oppose it locally when it serves their interests.Both the Liberal Democrat leadership and the Conservative party think this is a gift to the Tories. CCHQ’s attack machine has fired into gear to highlight the row.One consequence of the vote is that one barrier to smooth working in a Labour-Liberal Democrat arrangement of one kind has been torn down. Labour wants to liberalise planning as part of their growth strategy, and I think this vote makes it less likely that the Liberal Democrats will block those plans or trade them away in a coalition negotiation. But another consequence, at least if Ed Davey and his Conservative opponents are right, is that the Liberal Democrats have become a lot more vulnerable in the seats they are trying to win from the Tory party. Now try thisThis week, I mostly listened to Dove Cameron’s Boyfriend while writing my column. I’ve added it to the Inside Politics playlist, which also now includes some of the pieces you pointed out I had missed, including Chvrches’ excellent new record, Screen Violence, and, more embarrassingly, Philip Glass’s brilliant Glassworks, which my partner bought me tickets to for my birthday. Top stories today‘Blue wall’ vow | The Lib Dems will vow in the Tuesday closing speech to knock down the Tory ‘blue wall’ in the south of England, prompting accusations that the party is watering down policies to wander to Tory voters.Scrapping HS2 will damage trust | That is according to Tom Wagner, the new US chair of Birmingham City football club, who says “any deviation [from the plan] could result in a loss of investor trust.”Inheritance tax shake up | Exploration into major changes to inheritance tax by Rishi Sunak’s government may include cutting the rate at which it is levied or scrapping it altogether. Tory climate U-turns | Manufacturing groups have hit out at Rishi Sunak’s watering down of some of Britain’s net zero emission targets, saying it is a “huge setback” to the sector.Recommended newsletters for youOne Must-Read — Remarkable journalism you won’t want to miss. Sign up hereBritain after Brexit — Keep up to date with the latest developments as the UK economy adjusts to life outside the EU. Sign up here
https://www.ft.com/content/58a0d149-dd54-4925-b8e1-9d0e2764e98e Ed Davey’s defeat on conference floor crushes Liberal Democrat hopes of abandoning housing target

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