Having won 72 seats at the general election, political pundits have been asking what the Lib Dems are going to do with their vastly increased presence in the House of Commons. The answer so far: not much. It’s remarkable how quiet the party has been, both in parliament and in the media. However, the Budget has seen them spread their wings a little – and what they have revealed is interesting.
They have attacked Labour from the right: decrying the rise in employers NI; attacking the government’s policy on inheritance tax; criticising VAT on private school fees. So, does this mean that the party is going to position itself to right of Labour on economic issues, and to the left of the Tories and Reform on culture? Sort of. But it’s not as simple as that.
There is a huge, gaping hole in British politics
The Lib Dems have created what should be described by Tory strategists as the ‘yellow wall’ – an area that stretches from the south coast up through the Home Counties and then out to the West Country.
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