That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
At the Liberal Democrats' annual conference in Brighton, leader Ed Davey criticized Nigel Farage's Reform UK and Elon Musk, accusing them of spreading hate funded by wealthy donors. He urged his party members to stay resilient against "nasty populism" despite challenges. The article also mentions plans from Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan for improved maternity care costing £600m, which she claims will save the NHS money on compensation for negligence claims.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Liberal Democrats, led by Sir Ed Davey, are gathering for their party conference in Brighton from October 7th, aiming to address concerns about their recent lack of growth and relevance. Recent polling shows that 43% of respondents were unclear what the Liberal Democrats stand for, with over half describing them as "weak." Ahead of the conference, some MPs criticized Davey's leadership, urging a rediscovery of the party’s insurgent spirit rather than its current role as polite custodians.
Davey has outlined plans to focus on tax cuts and rejoining the EU customs union and single market, arguing that these moves will help ease cost-of-living pressures and stimulate economic growth. He also vowed not to give up fighting against what he terms "nasty populism," targeting parties like Nigel Farage's Reform UK and individuals such as Elon Musk.
Despite internal frustrations, Davey emphasized the party’s commitment to defending the NHS and countering anti-migrant sentiment. His speech highlighted past political activism, including a successful boycott of Barclays Bank over its investments in apartheid-era South Africa, linking this to current struggles against injustices both domestically and globally.
The conference seeks to reestablish the Liberal Democrats' profile ahead of future elections by addressing issues like tax reform and EU relations while countering populist rhetoric and policies. Davey's leadership aims to galvanize party members and supporters amid skepticism from some quarters about his ability to lead the party effectively.
Written for “Lib Dem Conference Speeches” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.
The Liberal Democrats’ leader, Sir Ed Davey, took aim at Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Elon Musk on the first day of his party’s annual conference, saying that they “won’t give up the fight” to defeat “nasty populism” and the far-right party’s “£72m arsenal of hate and lies”.
asserted
they → take → hate
Speaking from the main stage at Brighton Centre, Davey called on the assembled delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope “that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up”, and praised earlier speakers for showing “why we care and why we fight”.
asserted
we → speak → speakers
He contrasted this with Reform, which “care about their own bank balance and they fight because two crypto billionaires gave them 72m quid”.
asserted
billionaires → contrast → quid
Davey, who entered conference season having to address frustrations over his leadership expressed by some Lib Dem MPs, also used the speech to recall his early political life as a student campaigning successfully for his university college to boycott Barclays, due to its investments in apartheid-era South Africa.
asserted
college → enter → Africa
He spoke of his “visceral shock [and] overwhelming anger at seeing human beings treating other human beings with total contempt” and drew parallels between that experience and the need to not look away “when we see human dignity under attack”.
asserted
dignity → speak → attack
Davey said: “Today – we are back.
asserted
we → say → ?
Fighting again the fight that fired me up at university.
asserted
that → fight → university
“The fight to stop the world’s richest man who learned racism in apartheid South Africa from funding racism around the world.”
asserted
who → stop → world
Referring to recent abuse from far-right agitators aimed at the RNLI, Davey also pointed to the “fight to defend the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after volunteers for the coastal rescue charity were recently targeted online amid anti-migrant protests”.
asserted
volunteers → refer → protests
He said that “Reform know they don’t speak for the real United Kingdom” and what Farage was “counting on to get him to No 10” was that people would get “tired, depressed, fed up of seeing Zia Yusuf on BBC Question Time week after week”.
asserted
people → say → week
But Davey said he hoped Reform were watching and would see “a party that won’t be ground down.
asserted
that → say → party
That won’t be deterred.
asserted
That → deter → ?
That won’t give up the fight”.
asserted
That → give → fight
Also during the first day of the conference, Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan set out a £600m plan to improve maternity care, including proposals to bring in one-to-one midwifery for every woman in labour backed by a round-the-clock senior consultant.
asserted
Morgan → set → consultant
The party said the measures will pay for themselves by reducing how much the NHS has to spend on compensation for maternity negligence claims every year – totalling £1.3bn in 2024-25.
uncertain
NHS → say → 2024
Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem education spokesperson, said the party would introduce a guarantee to provide 100 hours of work experience for students from GCSE age to 18 to tackle the crisis of young people not in education, employment or training.
asserted
party → say → education
The Aporia
