Feelan ‘thrawn oot’ by Badenoch? Lib Dem conference welcomes young Tory turncoats

Climbine the pairty-branded stairs o the Brighton Centre wi a Liberal Britain tote bag ower his shouder, Cody Butler luiks gey weel at hame at the Liberal Democrats’ annual jamboree.

But speired hou he is findin it, the 21-year-auld repliet: “Odd.” The umwhile Tory activist resigned as chair o the One Nation Conservative Network and left his auld pairty in Julie, arguin that centrists, remainers and members worrit about the climate crisis and conservation were nae langer welcome in the pairty. A week syne, he jyned the Lib Dems.

“There is nae easy wey tae describe jynin a new political pairty, because it’s like findin a new family,” he said. “I wis broucht up in a Conservative association. I wis the local Tory laddie. Sae it’s braw, but odd.”

Butler is ane o sindry youthful umwhile Tories wha hae publicly defectit tae Breetain’s third pairty and are in the process o settin up a new group: the One Nation Liberals. It’s a growin group, wi ither potential defectors believed tae be waitin tae see if they can survive in Kemi Badenoch’s increasingly richtwing pairty.

Butler has been jyned by Josh Bancroft, an umwhile Tory councillor on Cannock Chase council, wha left the pairty tae jyn the Lib Dems earlier this month. “Moderates like me hae been forced oot o the big tent ower the past few years,” he said. “My politics havenae chynged, but the pairty has.”

The 26-year-auld said moderates lookin for the exit hae growen in number syne Badenoch embarked on a purge o the Conservative parliamentary pairty.

In Julie, the Tory leader warned that onyane wha supportit net zero targets or Breetain’s membership o the European convention on human richts wad be blockit frae standin as a candidate in the neist election. The umwhile minister Gavin Barwell lost the whip, and anither umwhile cabinet member, Grant Shapps, was blockit frae standin again for the pairty.

“The Conservatives hae taen leaps tae the richt and left me and millions o voters ahint,” Bancroft addit. “The Liberal Democrats can be and shud be their new political hame.”

Bancroft and Butler hae been welcomed wi open airms into the Liberal ranks, wi ane MP jokin that Badenoch had become the Lib Dems’ maist effective recruiter. Durin a Q&A on the first full day o the conference, pairty leader Ed Davey repeatedly mentioned Badenoch, referencin her decision tae freeze oot members and MPs wha support net zero policies.

“Unlik Kemi Badenoch, wha thinks there wisna a problem wi this summer’s heatwaves, we actually realise ye hae tae tak action on climate chynge and we’re leadin that debate,” he said.

Despite bein stuck at aboot 11% in national pollin, mony Liberal Democrat activists and MPs in Brighton are talkin wi atypical swagger aboot cementin the foundations o the sae-called orange wall. They pynt tae the 72 seats they wan in the last election, makin them the lairgest third pairty in Breetish politics for ower a century. And o the 27 seats whaur the Lib Dems cam second in 2024, 20 were taen by the Conservatives.

Whan speired if reachin 100 seats by takin thae targets was the aim, Davey insistit there was “nae ceilin” tae the Liberal Democrats’ ambitions. “If we hae great local councillors, great local candidates and great local campaigners, we can beat Reform, the Tories, Labour, Green, the SNP, onyane. We can win onywhaur whaur there’s a multiparty fecht.”

On Sunday, Davey explicitly ruled oot ony future pact wi the Tories. But whan speired aboot an arrangement wi Labour, he said maximisin the number o Lib Dem MPs wad gie his pairty a stranger haund in ony future negotiations. “That means ye hae tae box really smartly,” he said.

While that prospect may hae some pure-bluid Tories rinnin for the hills, it cud lure ithers into the Liberal Democrat ranks, argued Butler.

“It used tae be that if ye wantit pouer ye cud only jyn the Conservatives or Labour, but that reality disnae exist ony mair in a five-pairty system,” he said. “My message tae ither One Nation Conservatives is: ye can be true tae whit ye believe, and if ye back the Liberal Democrats, ye’re actually backin the future kin-maks o government. They will write the budget. The Conservatives winnae.”