The journalists were all looking for a fight that never really got started. Lib Dem members from MPs to local activists were all accosted by cameras and interviewers desperate to film angry party members denouncing the coalition.
The conference got off to a shaky start as some Lib Dem MPs attacked leader Nick Clegg for complicity in welfare budget cuts. This was followed by an embarrassing defeat of the leadership in a vote over education. Some thought that this vote coupled with the complaints of some Lib Dem MPs meant that the activists would not sustain the leadership’s decision to go into coalition and the party would descend into a spiral of internal conflict.
This didn’t happen. The journalists and commentators were disappointed to report that we are still at least one conference away from the Lib Dem’s falling out. Clegg’s speech followed by sage business secretary Vince Cable’s closing rally revitalised the membership and sent them home more committed to the coalition than when they arrived in Liverpool.
The Lib Dems seem to have understood that government requires compromise. There’s little point in shouting from the opposition benches waiting for a Lib Dem majority that is unlikely to ever come to fruition. By the end of the week the party seemed to have come to terms with this compromise and focused on the parts of the coalition agreement that they were truly proud of.
Party activists delighted in forthcoming pension reform, restoring the earnings link and abolishing the retirement age. Another key policy for Liberal Democrats – raising the income tax allowance – was also praised enthusiastically.
The problem for Lib Dem activists is that their enthusiasm is not transferring to the wider public. Recent polls have them at around 14% – a dreadfully low number for a party that has just enjoyed a week of constant media coverage. Their coalition partners, the Conservatives are currently enjoying 43% support.
While the party managed to remain broadly disciplined in Liverpool, there are serious questions over whether this discipline can be maintained if (as anticipated) the Lib Dems do badly in the elections in May 2011. An additional problem is the forthcoming referendum to change the voting system. For many Lib Dems winning this vote is the panacea to their concerns about the coalition; for others, it is the only reason they support the coalition at all.
If May 2011 results in the twin disappointments of bad election results and a lost referendum, activists will begin to make life very difficult for the leadership. Journalists who feel they were cheated a big argument this year, may be spoilt for choice in 2011.
Mihir Magudia is an account manager at Westminster Advisers
