Resisting Faragism offers the Lib Dems a rare clarity of purpose | Rafael Behr

"In the polarised climate of British politics, irritation with Liberal Democrats is one of the few things that Labour and Tory MPs have in common. Parliament's two biggest parties see each other as arch enemies — a status that affords some mutual respect. The Lib Dems are treated more like pests, ideological shapeshifters, wheedling their way into voters' affections, burrowing into local politics. If allowed to nest in a constituency, they are notoriously hard to shift."

"Kemi Badenoch has a severe infestation in her back yard. Of the 72 seats currently held by Ed Davey's party, 60 were taken from Conservatives. The former seats of three Tory prime ministers — David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson — are now represented by Lib Dem MPs. That pattern was repeated in this year's local elections, when the Lib Dems gained 163 seats almost entirely at the Tories' expense."

"Badenoch shows no inclination to fight back, nor any comprehension of why her party surrendered its heartland. Earlier this year she dismissed Davey's troops as people who don't have much of an ideology other than being nice; the sort of busybodies who are good at fixing their church roof. Such disdain for undogmatic civic engagement explains why the Conservatives, who once defined themselves as little platoons fired by that spirit, are slumped in irrelevant torpor."

Labour and Conservative MPs share irritation with Liberal Democrats, who are viewed as ideological shapeshifters that entrench themselves in local politics and prove hard to dislodge. The Lib Dems hold 72 parliamentary seats, 60 of which were taken from Conservatives, including former seats of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Local elections delivered a further 163-seat gain largely at the Tories' expense. Conservative figures have shown little appetite to counter the trend and have dismissed Lib Dem activists as undogmatic busybodies. Ed Davey seeks to attract one-nation Conservatives who reject divisive populism represented by Reform UK.

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