Lib Dems can counter extremes of Reform and Greens, Davey says

Ed Davey has sought to cast Liberal Democrat wins in England’s local elections as proof his party is best positioned to confront what he described as the “extreme populist change” offered by Reform UK and the Greens. As Labour assessed a disastrous set of results, the Lib Dems could claim they had been able to fend off Reform challenges in areas including Portsmouth, where they made gains to seize the city council, which had been under no overall control. However, while the party’s highly concentrated results demonstrated a clinical efficiency, early results indicated that on average its support was down by three points on 2022 and 2024. It means Davey could face questions about why the party has been unable to make major national gains, on the back of an anti-incumbent mood, relative to those achieved by Reform and the Greens. Nevertheless, the Lib Dems were not without eye-catching results, most notably in Richmond upon Thames where they gained five councillors – all from the Greens – to take all 54 seats. The result in the affluent London borough suggests the Lib Dems may have been able capitalise on some more traditional Green voters’ anxiety about the new direction Zack Polanski has taken his party as leader. Speaking in Portsmouth, Davey said people were fed up with the Conservatives and Labour and wanted change. “Some are going to the extreme populist change, the sort of ‘burn it all down’ type change from Reform and the Greens,” he told the BBC. …