Taking to the stage after a large blue brick wall was symbolically smashed down, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey declared Liberal Democrats can be the party of education, of caring and of business, and be the catalyst to defeating the Conservative government. 

Starting his speech during the party’s four-day Autumn Conference stating “our country needs the Liberal Democrats, fighting harder for a better future and a fair deal”, he called on the party to be the party of education again and outlined a plan to empower parents and help the country’s children catch up after COVID-19.

Later today I’ll be making my speech to conference - but first I’ll be chatting to Andrew Marr about our radical new plan to empower parents and help our children catch up after Covid 👇 https://t.co/JTdkVoqq9x

— Ed Davey MP 🔶🇪🇺 (@EdwardJDavey) September 19, 2021

“Boris Johnson is not a Prime Minister worthy of our great United Kingdom,” he continued. “His Conservatives are not a government worthy of the British people. This Prime Minister and these Conservatives have got to go.”

Emphasising the remarkable by-election victory in Chesham and Amersham earlier this year, he quoted the late party leader Paddy Ashdown: “’Our role,’ he said, ‘is to be the catalyst, the gathering point for a broader movement dedicated to winning the battle of ideas which will give Britain an electable alternative to Conservative government.’ Paddy was right. That was the role of the Liberal Democrats then. And it is the role of the Liberal Democrats today.”

“The electoral arithmetic is clear: these Conservatives can’t be defeated next time unless we Liberal Democrats win Tory seats.”

Standing between the British people and our fair deal is a Blue Wall.

In Chesham and Amersham, we knocked out a blue brick.

It’s up to us to tear it down.

Let us bring the Blue Wall down.

Let us rebuild our country.

Let us fight for a fair deal.

We can do it. And we will. pic.twitter.com/3nYPknPDwq

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) September 19, 2021

"We must be the party of education again."

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says the UK 'urgently' needs an education catch-up fund of at least £15bn, and that the #COVID19 pandemic should mark a "watershed" in how children are educated.

Latest politics: https://t.co/t7aueXkNz9 pic.twitter.com/00wx0SHGMZ

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 19, 2021

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1439608455401250824

Delegates attending the virtual conference debated and adopted numerous resolutions including responding to the crisis in Afghanistan, tackling the climate emergency, boosting small businesses and jobs in the post-pandemic economy, and call for sanctions and a UK government boycott of the Winter Olympics in China over the Uyghur genocide.

ALDE Party acting co-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP and Vice President Henrik Bach Mortensen participated in panel discussions as part of the fringe programme, and Vice President Sal Brinton was also active during the Conference.

The ALDE Party also had a virtual booth and held live Q&A sessions during the Conference, and representatives of ALDE member parties the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and the Liberal Party of Gibraltar participated in fringe meetings.

Photo credit: Liberal Democrats