Lisa Smart defends Ed Davey and rejects Tory pact suggestion at Lib Dem conference

Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart has defended Ed Davey's leadership and rejected suggestions that she had opened the door to a Conservative election pact, in a broadcast interview from the party's conference in Brighton.

The interview began with the presenter challenging the Lib Dems' record and direction. The presenter noted the party won 72 seats at the last general election but said its poll rating had stagnated in the low teens. Some people, the presenter said, were questioning whether Ed Davey should go the distance, pointing out that he was giving his seventh speech to conference and asking whether he was a busted flush.

Smart rejected that framing. She said Liberal Democrats debate and decide policy at conference, unlike what she described as a series of drab speeches at other party conferences. She cited the record-breaking 72 MPs, the most Lib Dems ever and the largest third party in Parliament for a century. She also pointed to eight straight years of local election wins and a 150% increase in MSPs in the Scottish elections in May. She said Ed Davey and the Lib Dems were the only ones who could convert votes into seats with that level of efficiency, and that there was a genuine buzz about what might come next.

The presenter then said voters asked to describe Ed Davey in their own words had largely said they did not know him or asked who he was, with 42% effectively falling into that category. Smart said that was an opportunity. She argued Ed Davey does not take the approach of saying mad things to get coverage, but takes a thoughtful approach to big challenges. She highlighted social care, saying too many families are not getting the care and support they need. She said Davey had pushed the issue for longer than other politicians, partly because of his own experience caring for his nana and his mum, and now caring for his son John. She added that Davey had been part of cross-party talks with the Prime Minister over the summer and that the Labour government had said it would take three years to look at how to fund social care, which she said was too long for families.

The presenter suggested that calling Davey a serious, thoughtful statesman overstated his strengths, citing his clown-like antics. The presenter also asked whether the Lib Dems were too close to Labour, saying the public could not distinguish the two parties because of Lib Dem opposition to welfare cuts, support for wealth taxes and mansion taxes, and advocacy on reversing Brexit and realigning with Brussels. Smart said Davey had disagreed with the government's approach to Donald Trump and had raised it at PMQs. She said constituents often ask why parties cannot work together on issues they agree on, pointing to the threat from Russia and hybrid war.

On election pacts, the presenter said the Lib Dems were keeping their options open and suggested a pact with Labour, possibly the Greens, and that Davey had said he was open to a deal with the Conservatives. Smart said she wanted as many Liberal Democrats elected as possible because that would give the party the most power to implement its values in government. She said the party exists to fight and win elections so it can get things done. She argued it would be a really weird thing for the Lib Dems to fight the Conservatives tooth and nail and then do a deal with them. She said a scenario in which the party helped Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives give the keys to Number 10 to Nigel Farage and then did a deal with them felt far-fetched.

When pressed on whether she would entertain a pact with Kemi Badenoch or another figure to stop Nigel Farage, Smart rejected the suggestion. She said she had been talking about fighting the Conservatives seat by seat. She noted she won her own seat from the Conservatives and that many seats where the Lib Dems are second are currently held by the Conservatives. She added that it was hard to distinguish what Kemi Badenoch says from what Nigel Farage says.

The exchange ended with Smart maintaining that her position was not an opening to a Conservative deal. She restated the Lib Dems' aim to win more seats and advance their own programme.