The first day of the 2025 Liberal Democrat party conference ended much as it began: with fanfare, music – and a precarious walking of a tightrope between silliness, twee – and the genuinely funny.
This morning the party kicked off with Leader Sir Ed Davey at the head of a marching band – mace and all.As has been the case more than once in recent years, the first day of Liberal Democrat conference felt more like a carnival (of sorts) than a typical political gathering.
This evening, the day’s proceedings were brought to a close with rally – which also had all of the Liberal Democrat’s hallmarks, that is humour – some may say of mixed quality – and more than a sprinkling of music, though in this case no sign of Sir Ed.
One notable innovation new for this year’s conference was a healthy serving of patriotism – Union flags were placed under each seat and delegates were encouraged to brandish and wave them at key moments of the rally.
The most enthusiastic flag-waver was Tim Farron. He urged attendees to reclaim patriotism, and flags – plural, as he gave a long list of regional and national flags that he encouraged the Liberal Democrat faithful to embrace.
Farron, who was previously the Liberal Democrat party leader from 2015 to 2017, spent almost his entire speech lambasting Reform UK for being “plastic patriots”.
He said: “How dare the nationalists steal our flags? How dare they steal what it is to be British, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish?”
He continued: “And you can tell the difference easily. You see patriots love their country. Nationalists hate their neighbours. I love my country.”
The vision of patriotism that he outlined was a progressive one – inclusion underpinned the entire speech: “Our flag does not belong to Liberals, or to Conservatives, Reform, or to Labour. It does not belong to one creed or to one race. It belongs to one people, the British people. We will not let our flag be used to intimidate. We will not let our flag become the property of a minority,”
He continued through the speech to point an accusatory finger at Reform UK: “You cannot love your country if – as its seems – you hate everything about it and claim allegiance only to a Britain of some fantasy golden age that never existed. You do not love your country if you seek to intimidate and terrify people who are British through and through. You do not love your country if you lie about it at home and abroad, actively plan to do it harm, and suck up to our enemies.”
He built to a call to arms – “Let us reclaim our flags for those who would reunite and rebuild. Let us be proud of our flag, be proud of our country. The British flag and the flags of our four nations are ours, they belong to all of us. Let’s take them back. Let’s wave them with pride.”
And the crowd obliged. As Land of Hope and Glory blared through the auditorium, the attendees and their flags shot up. Farron at one point disappeared backstage – and returned with an England flag that in one quadrant that contained the crest of his local football team Blackburn Rovers.
There is some irony here. The response to Farron’s speech in the room was, unsurprisingly, enthusiastic. But the response online has been much more mixed. Farron accused Reform UK of borrowing the flag to achieve malevolent aims and divide the people of Britain – but his flag waving, stage–managed theatrical patriotism would’ve been completely unimaginable at a Liberal Democrat confidence in the time of his leadership
Yet it worked with the delagates – who were, to a man, swept up in the moment. The energy in the room was undeniable – not unlike the scenes at Reform UK’s recent conference. But real patriotism is measured in sincerity – and not in spectacle. That’s something that neither Tim Farron, or Nigel Farge understand.
