Lib Dems raise £1mn from business attendees at annual conference

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The Liberal Democrats’ annual conference has generated more than £1mn in revenue for the first time since it was last in government, after receiving a boost in business interest off the back of its record electoral performance.

More than 850 corporate and charity organisations have paid to attend the event, which takes place in Brighton this weekend, up from 635 last year — generating the highest revenue in ticket sales and sponsorship for a decade, the party told the Financial Times.

The Lib Dems’ 72 MPs will descend on the coastal city still beaming from the general election in July, which delivered their highest ever total of seats and more than quadrupled their presence in the House of Commons.

The party had more than 50 MPs when it last secured comparable interest from businesses and corporate sponsors in 2014, when it was in coalition government, before it was reduced to just eight MPs in a shattering election result the following year. 

The British public punished the party at the ballot box for policies adopted when it was in coalition with the Conservatives, including the decision to abandon a manifesto pledge to scrap university tuition fees and impose austerity across the public sector.

But the Lib Dems are seeking to forge a new path in 2024 by acting as a “constructive opposition” to Labour on a handful of key policy areas including health, care work and sewage, deputy leader of the party Daisy Cooper told the FT.

Cooper is set to meet health secretary Wes Streeting to discuss Lib Dem ideas for health policy reform, including the need to drastically increase investment in the health and care sectors in the short term and hire thousands more GPs.

“The choice isn’t as stark as [Labour] is saying — the choice isn’t just reforming the NHS or raising personal taxes,” she said, adding that Streeting should look at taxing “big banks” more and increasing capital gains tax paid by the top earners.

“If they decide there’s no extra investment, that’s a major problem,” she warned.

The Lib Dems pulled off an unexpected electoral coup at the election by focusing almost exclusively on around 80 seats they could win from the Tories, largely in the south-east and south-west of England.

Its “business day” during conference will have 200 attendees, double the number who came last year.

“Many people in the world of business are pleased to see a big liberal presence back in parliament, holding the new Labour government to account on issues like building a closer trading relationship with Europe,” said a Lib Dem spokesperson.

They added that many entrepreneurs were concerned about “the lack of optimism” from the government and wanted to see “a more positive vision for the country’s economic future”.

In a sign of the levers the party will seek to use to influence policy discussions, the Lib Dems this week secured chairs of select committees that will cover health and social care, and environment, food and rural affairs.

“If we prove ourselves to be a constructive opposition — we support on some areas and challenge on others, I hope very much the Labour government will take up the best ideas that we have,” Cooper said.

She pushed back against claims her party now tacked more to the left than Labour on several issues, including wealth taxation, public investment, and welfare spending, amid suggestions the party was now acting as Labour’s “leftwing conscience”.

Cooper added that it was too early to say what message her party — which dubbed itself the “Tory Removal Service” in the run-up to the last election — would adopt ahead of the next vote.