Charlotte Henry

Ed Davey’s Lib Dems need to grow up

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey arrives in Brighton Marina on a jet ski (Getty)

In a wetsuit and atop a jet ski, Sir Ed Davey hurtled towards the Brighton shore, descending on the Liberal Democrat conference this week with yet another eye-catching stunt. One can only hope it is the final one in what has been months (years?) of such exploits.

No doubt the party and its press officers would point to the coverage this dramatic arrival generated and say it was a job well done. Would you even know there had been a Lib Dem conference if the jet ski moment hadn’t been broadcast on TV screens and splashed across newspaper pages? Unlikely.

The party are all still behaving like attention-seeking social media influencers

The party loyalists would also say similar about the cringe-inducing entrance for the leader’s closing speech, with Sir Ed entering the stage dancing and singing along to Abba as his MPs jiggled and wiggled behind him. Those same people would point to the success the Lib Dems had at the general election when a series of stunts brought in coverage and voters.

Written by
Charlotte Henry

Charlotte Henry is an author, journalist and broadcaster who creates and runs The Addition newsletter and podcast, an award-winning publication looking at the crossover between media and technology.

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