Julian Brazil, leader of Devon County Council and a member of the Liberal Democrats, has criticized his party for "sleepwalking into irrelevance," suggesting that current leader Sir Ed Davey may not be suitable to lead the party forward. Brazil argues that the Lib Dems lack ambition and are failing to connect with voters. Meanwhile, a Lib Dem spokesperson defended Davey's leadership, highlighting recent electoral successes and unity within the party. The criticism comes as some Liberal Democrat MPs also express concern over the party’s perceived irrelevance in national politics despite local election victories.
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
Julian Brazil, the leader of Devon County Council, has criticized Liberal Democrats under their leader Sir Ed Davey for "sleepwalking into irrelevance." Brazil claimed that the party is lacking ambition and failing to connect with voters. He questioned whether Sir Ed was the right person to lead the party. Despite these criticisms, a Lib Dem spokesperson defended Sir Ed's leadership, noting that he led the party to its best results in a century during the 2024 general election, securing 72 MPs. However, recent opinion polls show the party slipping to fourth or fifth place nationally, behind parties like the Greens and Reform UK. Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail highlighted similar concerns about Sir Ed's leadership style, suggesting it lacks ambition and courage.
Written for “Lib Dem Relevance Decline” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
A Liberal Democrat council leader has said the party is "sleepwalking into irrelevance" and questioned whether Sir Ed Davey was the right leader.
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Davey → publish → irrelevance
Julian Brazil, the leader of Devon County Council, told the BBC the party was "lacking ambition" and "not saying the things that people can relate to".
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people → tell → that
Asked whether Sir Ed was the right leader for the party, Brazil said "I wish he was" but "all the evidence is no".
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evidence → ask → party
A Lib Dem spokesperson said the party was in "an incredibly strong position" under Sir Ed's leadership because he was focused on the "issues that really matter" such as the cost of living and the health service.
"
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that → say → living
Under Ed's leadership we had our best result for a century, and achieved a record breaking streak of remarkable local election results," they added.
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they → have → results
"We are the most united party in Westminster and with Ed as leader we will stop Reform and the Conservatives and change our country after a decade of failing governments."
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we → stop → governments
Sir Ed led the party to record 72 MPs in the 2024 general election, but it has slipped to fourth or fifth in national opinion polls, behind the Greens and Reform UK.
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it → lead → Greens
Brazil told the BBC the Lib Dems had "allowed other parties to go steaming past us," adding that "something has to change within the party if we're going to move to the next level and it's not happening at the moment".
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it → tell → moment
He added: "I think there is a fantastic opportunity now for us to be right in the middle of politics and we don't seem to be.
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we → add → politics
We seem to be peripheral.
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We → seem → ?
"We're lacking ambition, we're lacking courage of our convictions.
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we → lack → convictions
We're not saying the things that people can relate to."
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people → say → that
He said the party was asking people to "vote for us because we're not somebody else".
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we → say → us
Brazil became the leader of Devon County Council in May last year after the Lib Dems overtook the Tories to become the largest party, but without overall control.
uncertain
Dems → become → control
His comments are echoed privately by some Lib Dem MPs, as they gather for their annual conference in Brighton.
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they → echo → Brighton
In an essay, written ahead of the conference, South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage asked: "Why are we as a party struggling for relevance at precisely the moment when so many people feel powerless?"
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people → write → moment
She urged the party to rediscover its "insurgent spirit" rather than being the "polite custodians of a system that leaves people feeling powerless".
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that → urge → people
Sir Ed, who was elected leader in 2020, told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he shared the "frustration" of some of his MPs that they could not bring about "real change," blaming the UK's political system.
But he insisted the party was gaining ground in council elections.
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party → elect → elections
"It's the most successful period that we've had," he said.
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he → have → that
But outside elections, in terms of changing the law, which is what my MPs rightly want to do, and they're a very talented bunch, and they've actually had more success than all the other smaller parties, but they want to have more.
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they → change → more
"
Sir Ed was asked directly about Brazil's complaints during a conference Q+A session on Sunday.
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Ed → ask → Sunday
"I have know Julian for many years and he is good councillor," he said.
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he → know → years
"In Devon the party doing better than it has for decades - six MPs and local councils all across the area and in parts of Devon we are showing how to beat Reform.
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we → do → Reform
I'm really proud of what we have been doing in Devon."
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we → do → Devon
Sir Ed got a vote of confidence from former coalition cabinet colleague Sir Vince Cable, who told a fringe meeting that he was the most successful leader in the party's history and "you can't argue with success".
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you → get → success
Speaking at another fringe meeting, pollster Luke Tryl said the Lib Dems were not cutting through nationally and needed a more compelling message.
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Dems → speak → message
The executive director of More in Common said it was possible the party could take more seats in traditional Tory heartlands at the next election, potentially putting Sir Ed in a position to be deputy prime minister in a Labour-led government.
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party → say → government
But the risk for the party, he added, was the Tories saying "if you vote Lib Dem you will get Labour".
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you → add → Labour
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It → deliver → inbox
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