'Niall Gabage' not Nigel Farage: Taking on right-wing populism, Lib Dem style
'Niall Gabage' not Nigel Farage: Taking on right-wing populism, Lib Dem style
Donald Trump and Nigel Farage were the two figures who loomed almost omnipresent in the Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth.
"Trump's America. Don't let it become Farage's Britain," party leader Ed Davey repeatedly warned during his conference address on Tuesday.
He presented the US president and his administration as a nightmare which Reform UK leader Farage threatens to bring to this country.
The Reform leader on Monday threatened to deport hundreds of thousands of people (including some who have lived in Britain for decades) by cancelling indefinite leave to remain, the British equivalent of permanent residency.
His name was repeated endlessly in almost every fringe event, even more so than at the Reform conference two weeks before.
The major theme of the Lib Dem conference was the threat of rising "right-wing populism", and the importance of patriotism and "British values" over divisive nationalism, and the weapon of choice seemed to be a middle-class British approach to humour.
At a rally in the main conference hall on Saturday afternoon, MP Danny Chambers came on stage to the Baha Men classic Who Let the Dogs Out, carrying a dog.
He spoke about animal rights and declared that "Donald Trump doesn't care about British farmers".
Next up was Tim Farron, a former party leader, who declared that Trump "is the first US president in 50 years not to own a dog", to outrage from the audience.
Later on came his punchline: Farage, he said, wants to be the "household pet that Donald Trump has been so sadly lacking".
Lib Dem MP Jess Brown-Fuller, who spoke later, bucked the trend by refusing to say Farage's name in her speech.
She described him instead as "Niall Gabage", calling for a "progressive fightback".
The party's deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, warned that "Nigel Farage - sorry, Gabage - thinks he can be the next prime minister."
She urged the party to "turbo-charge our liberal revival".
Tory defector Jamie Greene, a member of the Scottish parliament, emerged on stage and briefly danced with MP Brown-Fuller.
"Until this year I was Conservative," he announced. There was a large "boo" from the crowd. "Aww," said one sympathetic woman quietly.
Courting former Tory voters
Greene accused the Tories of "parroting Nigel Farage - oh sorry, Gabage."
This pointed to what seems to be at the centre of the Lib Dem strategy. The party is far from the front line of fighting Reform and is unlikely to win over many Reform supporters.
Its base is largely middle-class, and economic policy was not particularly prominent at the conference.
Previously, the party has even targeted its campaigns on towns which have a Gail's (a particularly expensive coffee shop) in them.
Now the main goal, as Davey has acknowledged in interviews, is to win over (largely wealthy) former Tory voters who are uncomfortable with the former governing party's turn into anti-immigrant and nationalist territory, which is its response to Farage.
This means that the extraordinary rise of Reform and corresponding near-decimation of the Tories have the potential to greatly benefit the Lib Dems.
The ultimate ambition, then, is to be kingmaker come the next election. Indeed, Davey refused on Monday to rule out a coalition with Labour.
That pushback against right-wing populism has been welcomed by Muslim Liberal Democrat supporters.
"I'm pleased Ed Davey has been so vocal about this," Hina Bokhari, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group in the London Assembly, told Middle East Eye.
'I've never felt more comfortable being a Muslim than in this party'
- Hina Bokhari
"The Muslim community has been ignored, sidelined and misrepresented" in the country at large, Bokhari - one of the party's most prominent Muslim figures - said.
"But I've never felt more comfortable being a Muslim than in this party that I'm in right now. I'm not alone - I'm supported," she added.
"I seriously think that if Muslims are feeling they need a political home, this is it."
Nailah Sharif, a retired Metropolitan Police detective, joined the party less than a year ago and is now an assistant regional development officer in London.
"It's a very family vibe," she told MEE.
"Joining the party was a shock to my system. It's a much older, white membership and I didn't feel like I fit in.
"I struggled when I started. I found it very hard.
"But slowly I started to do my own thing, to challenge the party on issues like racism and I wasn't gagged at all. I've even been encouraged by Ed Davey."
Sharif recalled how, during the far-right riots in summer 2024, Davey put out a statement which, like the government's, avoided the word "racist".
She said she challenged the leader on this, and "the following day he publicly called the riots racist.
"That gave me validation, hope and a sense of security. There have been times when I've been frustrated by [Davey] but in the end, he has delivered above and beyond."
Sharif has found particular happiness in the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine group, of which she is an executive member.
"After I joined, my life changed," she reflected, tearing up as she spoke.
"They share my values on life, on humanity, on friendship, on togetherness. It's a real safety net for me."
The overwhelming mood at the conference was fear that right-wing nationalism could destroy the Britain that party members feel they know and love.
"For the British people, there is a real choice right now," Davey said in Tuesday's speech, in a spirit of conservatism.
"Between the traditional values that have made the United Kingdom great - and dark forces that have threatened our country before."
Davey hailed the "incredible strengths this United Kingdom has going for it" - including being "the place Hollywood comes to make Barbie, Spider-Man and Mission Impossible", as well as having "county shows and school fairs" and "the best rollercoasters and waterslides on the planet".
The Lib Dems also have a newfound love of the Union Jack flag, in response to its increasing usage by far-right groups.
"I am a proud patriot," former leader Farron declared in his speech. "Woof" came the response, apparently from a dog on the conference floor.
After the declaration, Farron told the crowd to stand up and wave little Union Jack flags, which had been placed under chairs.
The party members - including the ethnic minorities among them - all rose and did so, enthusiastically and emotionally, to Land of Hope and Glory.
