Sir Ed Davey has accused the Conservatives and Reform UK of planning to turn Britain into a “Trump satellite state”, as he vows to block Nigel Farage’s path to No 10.
The Liberal Democrat leader declared his party’s “orange wall” will stop Reform UK’s rise to power and “setting communities against each other”.
Speaking as he arrived at the Liberal Democrats’ annual autumn conference on Saturday, Sir Ed warned a “unholy alliance” between Mr Farage and Kemi Badenoch is “the only way either can get into power”.
“Together, they want to turn Britain into a Trump satellite state which would trash our NHS, turn our communities against each other, cause untold damage to our environment, and trample over traditional British values of fairness, tolerance, and decency,” he said.
Sir Ed said the two parties can “only offer anger, division, and another con to line their own pockets”, and vowed his party “will not let them pass” on the road to No 10.
"A bigger Orange Wall is the only thing that can stand between Britain and this dangerous experiment, and we will not let them pass,” he said.
“Liberal Democrats are the only party with a plan to take the brakes off the British economy, get money back into people’s pockets, and defend the traditional values that make our country great.
“Britain feels broken because it’s being held back. This conference, we’ll be setting out our vision to fix our broken politics and change our country for the better.”
Lib Dems from across the country will be gathering in Brighton for the party’s annual conference this weekend.
New YouGov polling has found that support for Sir Ed’s party has remained largely consistent over the last year, but found Britons tend to see the Lib Dems as moderate and tolerant, but also weak and unclear what they stand for.
Sir Ed’s personal ratings have also remained consistent, but when asked to describe him in their own words, 42 per cent of Britons answered ““don’t know” or “who?”.
Closing out the first day of the conference on Saturday, Sir Ed will address a party rally, telling members the Lib Dems “believe in the intrinsic worth of every single human being”.
“When we see injustice, when we see human dignity under attack, we do not look away. We stand up. We care. And we fight…
“[Reform are] not even trying to win most people’s support. What they’re banking on – what Farage is counting on to get him into Number Ten – is that we don’t care enough to see this fight through. That we’ll get tired. Depressed.
“That the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up.”
It comes after it was revealed Reform UK’s tax plans would hand wealthy crypto investors hundreds of millions in tax breaks if Nigel Farage wins the next election.
British politics has been rocked by two gifts totalling £72m given to the party by crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, who last week handed over £36m each.
The donations have prompted major questions over what the donors want in return for their cash, but Reform insists the pledges are entirely legal and the men are patriots who want nothing but to support the party to get ready to govern.
Now, a new analysis of HMRC data by the Labour Party shows that capital gains tax breaks promised by Reform to crypto investors would be worth more than £100m a year, based on investments in 2025 alone.
And that could go much higher if investing in crypto is incentivised – presenting a huge incentive for investors to back the party.
