Liberal Democrat conference: Sir Ed Davey hints at post-election deal with Labour
Sir Ed Davey has hinted his party would be prepared to do a post-election deal with Labour to prevent the Conservatives from forming a government.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Liberal Democrats annual conference, the leader categorically ruled out any agreement with the Tories, saying his party could “play a critical role” in removing them from power.
But pushed over whether he would consider some form of deal with Labour, Sir Ed appeared to be keeping his options more open, saying instead he would not “speculate what else may happen after polling day”.
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The question of whether the Lib Dems would be willing to join a coalition with Sir Keir Starmer’s party or offer more informal support if the next election leads to a hung parliament has been a key question during their annual gathering in Bournemouth – but the leadership continues to be cautious when the topic is raised.
Asked if he would “emphatically” rule out any formal or informal deal with the Tories, Sir Ed told Beth Rigby: “I have ruled out doing [a deal] with the Conservatives for a very good reason.
“First of all, I have personally fought the Conservatives all my life, I took my seat from the Conservatives, I fought them at every election, so I and many Liberal Democrat MPs have always been against the Conservatives.
“And even in the coalition… we fought them every day, I fought them really hard, and I said when I became leader of the Liberal Democrats that my job was to beat as many Conservative MPs as possible and to do that, the logic is that we would not put the Conservatives back having beaten so many of their MPs.”
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Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News that he is “going for an outright majority”, but doesn’t rule out a deal with the Lib Dems.
Pushed several times on whether the Lib Dem leader would take a different approach to Labour or not, Sir Ed said: “Beyond ruling out a coalition with the Conservatives and any dealing with the Conservatives, I am not going to speculate what else could happen.
“I am clear about our need to beat lots of Conservative MPs to get more Liberal Democrat MPs elected and I am not going to speculate what else may happen after polling day.”
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After further attempts for a yes or no answer, he said there was a “big difference” between the two options, adding: “The difference is… the Conservatives are in government.
“And I think people across our country have never known our country so badly governed [and] the Conservatives are so divided. [We] have to go and by being clear on that, I think that really helps people understand where I’m coming from as leader and where the Liberal Democrats are coming from – we want to defeat as many Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Sir Ed will close the year’s conference with his leader’s speech on Tuesday.
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Sir Keir Starmer continues to face the threat of a major rebellion during a key vote on welfare reforms later – despite making last-minute concessions to disgruntled Labour MPs.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that all existing claimants of the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, will be protected from changes to eligibility.
The combined value of the standard Universal Credit allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year of this parliament.
And an additional £300m for employment support for sick and disabled people in 2026 has been announced, which will rise every year after.
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Welfare cuts ‘needed to be made’
Ms Kendall has also promised that a consultation into PIP – “co-produced” with disabled people – will be published next autumn.
She said the U-turn on welfare cuts will cost taxpayers about £2.5bn by 2030 – less than half the £4.8bn the government had expected to save with its initial proposals.
Modelling by Ms Kendall’s own department, released yesterday, suggested the proposals would push 150,000 more people into poverty by 2030, down from the 250,000 estimated under the original plan.
But after announcing the U-turns, Labour MPs were still publicly saying they could not back the plans as they do not go far enough to allay their concerns.
Disabilities minister Stephen Timms would not say he was “confident” the proposals would pass the Commons when asked on Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge.
“We’ve got a very strong package, I certainly hope it passes,” he replied.
Read more: What are the concessions to the welfare reform bill?
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‘Disabled people thrown under the bus’
A total of 86 charities united yesterday to call on MPs to reject the reforms, saying they will harm disabled people and calling it “a political choice”.
The likes of Oxfam, Child Action Poverty Group, Mind and Shelter said the bill has been brought to a vote without consulting disabled people and without any assessment “of its impact on health and employment outcomes”.
When asked to name “a single” disability organisation in favour of the reforms, Ms Kendall declined to do so.
Several Labour MPs indicated they would still vote against the changes, leaving the government in the dark over how big a rebellion it still may face.
Ms Kendall tried to allay their fears, telling MPs: “I believe we have a fair package, a package that protects existing claimants because they’ve come to rely on that support.”
Richard Burgon presented a petition to parliament yesterday evening against the cuts, signed by more than 77,000 people.
Several Labour MPs questioned why the vote was going ahead before the review into PIP is published – including Rachael Maskell, who said she could not “countenance sick and disabled people being denied support” and added: “It is a matter of conscience.”
Connor Naismith said the concessions “undoubtedly improve efforts to secure welfare reform which is fair”, but added: “Unfortunately, I do not believe these concessions yet go far enough.”
Labour rebel Nadia Whittome said the government was ‘ignoring’ disabled people
Nadia Whittome accused the government of “ignoring” disabled people and urged ministers to go “back to the drawing board”.
Ian Byrne told the Commons he will vote against the “cruel cuts” to disability benefits because the “so-called concessions go nowhere near far enough”.
The vote will take place this evening, with coverage on Sky News’ Politics Hub live blog and on TV.
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