Is it time for Ed Davey to quit as Lib Dem leader to make the party ‘relevant’ again?

As Liberal Democrat members descend on Brighton for the party’s annual conference this week , their leader Sir Ed Davey has faced criticism from some MPs and members about the party’s relevance on the nation’s political stage.

Questions have been raised about the ability of Sir Ed – who has been the party’s leader since 2019 – to “relate to voters” across the UK and boost their chances in the polls.

Despite securing a record haul of MPs in the 2024 general election, damning polling from days before the gathering suggested that, despite his stunts, he has struggled to maintain a strong presence.

The party was described as “weak” in new YouGov polling by just more than half of those asked, and while the survey signalled the public largely sees the Lib Dems as moderate, 43 per cent said it is unclear what they stand for.

It noted the Lib Dems have trailed other parties in voting intention polls for most of the last year and have seen “no real growth in support since the last general election”.

A Liberal Democrat council leader publicly questioned Mr Davey’s leadership on Sunday, warning the party is “sleepwalking into irrelevance”.

Leader of Devon County Council told the BBC the Liberal Democrats were "lacking ambition" and when asked whether Sir Ed was the right leader for the party, he said "I wish he was" but "all the evidence is no".

Mr Davey was also forced to say one of his MPs was wrong to claim the party is “struggling for relevance” and called the Lib Dems “the most united” party in British politics.

Despite the criticism and “frustration” felt by some of his MPs, Mr Davey insisted on Monday that he is in the running to be the next prime minister.

"I'm a candidate to be prime minister, but what we need to do is make sure that we build on that [election success], area by area, constituency by constituency."

But what do Lib Dem voters think? We asked party members at their conference, many of whom retained support for their leader.

Several Lib Dem members at the conference on Monday suggested the party was making good strides, but wasn’t “getting credit” for them.

Jed Marson, a former Tory member who joined the Lib Dems in 2017, said he “really likes Ed”, and praised the party leadership’s approach to the NHS, social care and water companies.

“Worrying about who our leader is when he’s the best of the bunch is the last think we should be worrying about, because he’s great,” the Green Lib Dem member told The Independent.