Why aren’t the Liberal Democrats doing better in the polls?

Resurgent Lib Dems have reasons to be cheerful as they gather for the party conference in Bournemouth, but they need to be tactical, says Sean O’Grady

A chance to hear the party’s message for the next election (PA)

An oddly worded invitation from the Liberal Democrats arrives on Twitter: “Winter is coming...but this Saturday-Tuesday, let the Lib Dem Autumn Conference cheer you up! 4 days of lively debates, 95+ training sessions, 125+ fringes, 50+ stands...we have concessionary, day, first-timer, weekend, online rates.”

It recalls one of the more charming aspects of the old Liberal Assembly, before the merger with the technocratic SDP in 1988, when any Liberal Party member could just turn up and vote on party policy, no questions asked. A bit too liberal, that – and things are run more like the other two parties now.

At any rate, it’s almost certainly the last conference (we must pray) before the 2024 general election. For the first time in many years, the party has something to look forward to. They’ve been winning lots of by-elections, regaining their traditional strength in local government and are gradually emerging from the wreckage of the Cameron-Clegg coalition and the tuition fees fiasco. It’s been more than a decade, after all.