Whether the Lib Dems and Labour like it or not, the best way to defeat the Tories is to join forces

Editorial: There are hopeful signs that Ed Davey and Keir Starmer understand the need to concentrate their fire on the Tories rather than waste it on each other

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says: ‘These Conservatives can’t be defeated next time unless we Lib Dems win Tory seats’ (PA)

In his speech to the Liberal Democrats’ conference on Sunday, Ed Davey argued: “These Conservatives can’t be defeated next time unless we Lib Dems win Tory seats. Boris Johnson will stay in Downing Street unless we throw him out.”

Although party leaders often make exaggerated claims to rally their troops, on this occasion Sir Ed’s ambitious goal was based on solid ground. In June, his party overturned a 16,000 Tory majority in the Chesham and Amersham by-election with a 25 per cent swing, prompting a panic among Tory MPs and activists in their “blue wall” in the south of England. Michael Gove, the new housing secretary, has paused controversial plans to reform planning rules to ensure more housebuilding, which the Lib Dems attacked as a “developers’ charter”.

As the Lib Dems have learnt, to their cost, it is not easy to replicate a stunning by-election success at a general election. The party has only 12 MPs and is no longer the third party at Westminster due to the Scottish National Party’s advance. The Lib Dems averaged 10 per cent in the 17 opinion polls taken last month – up slightly from 7 per cent in January but still trailing the two biggest parties. Yet Chesham and Amersham shows they are back in business and capable of playing a significant role at the next general election.

In his speech, Sir Ed made a pitch for the many natural Tory voters who are repelled by Boris Johnson, saying: “We must be the gathering point for everyone fed up with the indecency and incompetence of this Conservative government.”

He is rightly concentrating energy and resources on the 80 seats held by the Tories in which the Lib Dems are in second place. Although he served in the cabinet from 2010 to 2015 when his party was in coalition with the Tories, he is making it clear he would not prop them up in a hung parliament in the way Nick Clegg did. There was no mention of the coalition in his speech; instead, Sir Ed recalled another of his predecessors, Paddy Ashdown, whose goal was to work with others to construct “a non-socialist alternative to the Conservatives”.

To maximise the chances of ousting the Tories, Sir Ed will need to copy Lord Ashdown’s informal agreement with Tony Blair, under which the two parties soft-pedalled in seats where the other was best placed to beat the Tories. This contributed to Labour’s 1997 landslide. Although a formal electoral pact is unlikely at the next election, there are hopeful signs that Sir Ed and Sir Keir Starmer understand the need to concentrate their fire on the Tories rather than waste it on each other. Labour did not mount a strong campaign in Chesham and Amersham and the Lib Dems reciprocated in the Batley and Spen by-election, helping Labour to hang on to the seat. The two parties should put traditional hostilities and relatively small differences behind them and look forward.

Like Labour, the Lib Dems have struggled to get a hearing during the coronavirus pandemic. Sir Ed was right to acknowledge that his party needs “to show people we have the new bold ideas our country needs”. He produced one worthy of consideration: an annual £200 voucher for the next three years for parents to choose how to spend catch-up funding for their child, whether on tutoring, music lessons, sports coaching or counselling. The Lib Dems need to offer similar eye-catching ideas across the policy spectrum and to construct a credible programme for the general election.

The Lib Dems and Labour have a lot to gain from sensible cooperation. Although Labour will not want to admit it, it will be extremely difficult for the party to win an overall majority at the next election. But a non-Tory alternative remains possible. The Tories, without the Lib Dems and having alienated the Democratic Unionist Party, would struggle to find any partners in a hung parliament. Sir Ed and Sir Keir need to ensure their parties keep their eyes on the main prize.