What are the LibDems doing wrong?

Image - John Russel

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A few weeks ago, I was listening to “The Rest is Politics” podcast, and there was something said that really caught my attention. During the episode they featured a comment from a young male listener who complained that, as a centrist voter, he felt completely disillusioned with British politics and all its parties. This provoked a discussion on the podcast about the forces on the right and the left, the failings of Labour and the Conservatives, and the lack of a centrist party for voters to get behind. Not once, during either the listeners comments or the conversation that followed, did anyone mention the Liberal Democrats.

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So why is that? They are the third largest party in parliament, they have a long and impressive history in British politics, and they have a huge presence in local government. Despite this, they have almost no media presence and they are completely lost in the national conversation about where this country’s politics is headed. They are hardly even comparable to Reform when it comes to popularity and current significance. A September 2025 IPSOS poll on voting intention saw Reform polling at 34%, Labour at 22% and LibDems joint 4th with the Greens at only 12%. Clearly, something is going desperately wrong for the LibDems. But what is it exactly?

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As mentioned, this is no small, fringe party. They have 72 seats in parliament, while Reform, despite their ever-growing relevance, have just 5. This was the Liberal Democrats best election to date, and a huge improvement on 2019 when they got just 11 seats. They are also the 3rd largest party in local government, with around 3200 local councillors. Evidently, this is by no means an irrelevant party, yet you would be forgiven for presuming they are.

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It seems tome, that the main reason for the LibDems struggling is failures in communications, as well as their management of both social and print media. It would be a fair analysis to say that UK media typically favours the right over the centre or left, and even a supposedly neutral organisation, aka the BBC, can’t seem to help themselves from putting Nigel Farage and Reform at the top of almost every third broadcast. Ed Davey, LibDem leader, has made multiple complaints in the past that the BBC are giving Farage “such an easy ride” and “copy and pasting reform press releases”. In July he said on Facebook, that “the BBC are constantly bending over backwards to please reform”. And the BBC are not the only ones increasingly obsessed with Reform. In August, the LibDems managed to make some headlines in the Daily Telegraph when he stated that, should Elon Musk enter the UK, he should be arrested for crimes relating to hate speech. On the next page, the paper had printed a story about how, in Reform headquarters, they refer to Kemi Badenoch as “Santa Claus.” It is almost laughable how easy it is for Reform to make headlines. So, while, to some extent, Davey is right to moan about media bias against his party, it is therefore the Liberal Democrats job to do something about it.

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In the party’s defence, it’s not as though they haven’t tried to get headlines before. I am sure most people are familiar with Ed Davey’s fairly embarrassing public stunts to grab headlines leading up to the 2024 general election, which included bungee jumping and falling off a paddleboard. While, yes, they were somewhat successful at grabbing some attention, it’s not a long-term strategy for a party who want to have a genuine, serious impact. They end up seeming like a gimmick, rather than a real contender. In a media space where Reform is grabbing headlines for their bold immigration plans and statements about a vision for Britain, it simply won’t do for the LibDems to be in the papers for clowning around in the Thames. Instead, they need proper communications, with clear, powerful messaging, as well as the means to grow a support base.

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When it comes to developing a dedicated support base, one thing I couldn’t help but notice is that the social media presence of the LibDems is miniscule compared to Reform. As of October 2025, Reform has 448,000 TikTok followers, Labour have 235,000, the Greens have 88,000 and the LibDems only have 57,000. In terms of the leaders themselves, Farage has a huge TikTok presence with 1.3million followers, and Davey doesn’t have an account on the app. The story on Instagram is remarkably similar. It may seem menial, but social media is becoming evermore important in politics. A large reason for Reform’s surge in popularity, particularly with young men, is their effective use of social media to get people’s attention and spread their agenda. The LibDems desperately need to improve in this area if they want even a chance of winning over a portion of the youth vote.

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The other thing the LibDems need to do if they want to capture the nation’s is have a clear, powerful message about their policy and vision for the country. Yes, the party did well in the 2024 election, but would anyone on the street be able to tell you what they stood for? A party spokesperson said on another podcast episode that their focus had been local campaigns and forging connections with constituents. Genuine local relationships are, to be fair, a lost art in politics, but they’re not enough if you want to forge a national story.

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That being said, the party do seem to be getting better at simplifying and strengthening their narrative. In September, the party had their annual conference in Bournemouth, producing three policy papers. The third, written by Davey and entitled “leading the way”, lay out their priorities: improving the economy and cost of living, ending the sewage scandal, protecting the environment, and helping the NHS. The paper was also highly critical of Reform, linking them to Trump and other parties on the far right across the globe, and stating “from his (Farage’s) hatred of the NHS to his love of Trump and Putin, Farage clearly does not share our fundamental British values”.

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Davey’s speech at the conference carried the same sentiment, with his leading line of “don’t let Trump’s America become Farage’s Britain.” He spoke of the dangers of a Reform government, as well as criticising Labour for having no vision. He also took a strong stance on Gaza, urging the UK to “do all it can to make Netanyahu stop,” and made multiple pro-EU comments. All this is certainly a step in the right direction for the LibDems in establishing a powerful public narrative. What they need to do now is keep hammering in these points, be it in parliament, on social media, or in mainstream media. It’s the only way they can truly position themselves as real contenders.

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The truth is, I believe this country needs the LibDems now more than ever. With Labour in government and seeming to not know where they stand and the Conservatives in what can only be described as a right-wing mess, there is a gap in the centre that the LibDems are primed to fill. They have the seats, they have the history, and they have some really strong and important local links. Despite their lack of media presence, the party managed to come 2nd in the May 2025 local elections, winning 370 local seats. If they can use social media and a powerful narrative to embolden themselves, then I can see the LibDems really making a mark.

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It's also prudent to mention that they’ve done it before: I’m sure many people with an interest in politics will remember the “I agree with Nick” phenomenon during the 2010 general election, when the LibDems got sizeable coverage and were taken seriously. Yes, Reform has the momentum right now, but that is not to stop the LibDems from being able to repeat, or maybe even improve upon, the 2010 success. Plus, during this time when hope and trust in politics is so desperately low, maybe a strong but smiling centrist party like the Liberal Democrats is just what Britain will go for.