Expert predicts Lib Dems will win more seats than Tories as Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey asks: "What kind of country to we want to be"

In closing the Lib Dm 2025 conference party leader, Sir Ed Davey, asked: "What kind of country do we want to be?

That’s the question facing the British people right now. And it was the question at the heart of my speech to our conference in Bournemouth.

You can watch or read it here:

With Labour and the Conservatives both having let people down and failed to deliver the change our country needs, it comes down to us or Nigel Farage. Two visions for the future that couldn’t be more different.

We know what kind of country Farage wants: we just have to look across to Trump’s America.

Where there’s no NHS. Where gun laws are rolled back. Where social media barons poison young minds with impunity.

Where the government tramples over our basic rights and freedoms. Where racism and misogyny get the tacit support of people in power. Where everything is in a constant state of chaos.

That is Trump’s America. We mustn’t let it become Farage’s Britain.

Our vision of the future – the one we’ve been discussing and debating at conference this week – is so much brighter.

The kind of country we want to be is one where everyone’s rights are protected and respected. Where we take care seriously, and fix our NHS. Where we tackle climate change and protect our natural environment.

A country with a thriving economy and opportunity for everyone. Where everyone has real power in their hands, and the powerful are held properly to account. And a country that stands up for our values on the world stage.

That is our United Kingdom. The country we love.

And when it comes to the battle between those two visions, I am confident our vision can win. Because it is rooted in the values most people share: decency, tolerance and respect for both individual freedom and the rule of law."

Slough Lib Dems welcomed an announcement shortly after the Lib Dem conference, when Sir John Curtice, and leading expert, predicted that the Lib Dems are set to win more seats then the Tories at the next election.