In the years when the Greens cared more about hedgehogs than Hamas, those opposed to military action made the Lib Dems their political home. The height of this came under the leadership of Charles Kennedy when he bravely led his party in opposition to the disastrous Iraq war. Ed Davey – the current Lib Dem leader – is no Charles Kennedy, though. Iran in 2026 is not Iraq in 2003.
Davey is taking increasingly absurd and tokenistic positions when it comes to the Middle East, the US and its president, Donald Trump. This has included pathetic social media offerings, such as sharing a picture of Winston Churchill making a V-sign above a post of Trump criticising the UK’s approach to the current conflict. Very statesmanlike from the knighted former cabinet minister.
Sir Ed’s latest tantrum has seen him demand that King Charles cancel his state visit to the US in response to the ‘illegal’ war against the oppressive Iranian regime. It is scheduled for April as part of that country’s 250th independence anniversary celebrations.
This war is about ending the globe’s biggest funder of terrorism
There can, and should, be serious debates about the current action against Iran, its consequences and Britain’s involvement. Opposition parties should be pressing Keir Starmer on his hokey-cokey, one leg in, one leg out approach. That is not the level on which Sir Ed is engaging, though. It’s all memes and petulance. He has not really focussed on geopolitics; instead, his attention has been parochial, using precious parliamentary questions to ask about tax exiles and energy bills at home.
We all may have had a sense of schadenfreude upon seeing the dramatic change in tone of content from Dubai-based influencers. We most certainly do not want our energy bills to go up again. However, are those really the main things that the leader of parliament’s third biggest party should be emphasising while military action is still taking place? When British military bases abroad have been targeted?
This war is about ending the globe’s biggest funder of terrorism. It’s about freeing Iranians from authoritarianism and repression. It’s about giving women in the country equality and fundamental rights. You might think that the Liberal Democrats would be in favour of those things. Instead of being a constructive opposition party, they have chosen to take lazy positions.
Some of this may well be out of genuine concern and distaste at military action. Some of it, though – probably quite a lot of it – is about trying to be politically distinctive at a time when nobody really cares about the Lib Dems. It is the foreign policy equivalent of putting on a wetsuit and theatrically falling off a paddleboard.
Since winning 72 MPs at the general election, the Lib Dems have been outflanked by Reform when it comes to attention. Now they have the Greens taking all the disgruntled lefty crank votes too, something they could previously win at least a proportion of.
The latest polling from YouGov shows the Lib Dems languishing on 14 per cent, just behind Labour and the Tories on 16 per cent. More significantly, they are behind both Reform and the Greens too, who are at 23 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.
Maybe these numbers will change as the action in the Middle East goes on, but at the moment it just doesn’t seem like anyone is buying what Sir Ed is selling. He has totally given up on being a distinctive liberal voice – socially and economically. Instead, he is going for the positions that will get the most likes on social media. I’m sure someone in Lib Dem HQ thinks it’s clever. I just find it rather depressing.
In fairness to Sir Ed, there is some consistency. His obsession with Trump has been going on for a while. He has often chosen to criticise the White House instead of Downing Street.
I have no time for the 47th President of the United States, but Davey is taking the approach of a student union activist. Thankfully, his outburst will have about as much impact as someone waving a sign on a university campus.
If he ever wants that to change, Sir Ed Davey and his party have to get serious. They should start by showing they understand what this war is really about.
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