Davey makes rallying cry to activists as his party faces down “nasty populism” - “we care, we fight”

In his rally speech to activists on the first evening of Autumn Conference in Brighton, party leader Ed Davey laid out his political journey, from campaigning against apartheid in South Africa while he was at University, through to the present day, urging members to join him in the fight against populism.

Speaking to a hall full of Liberal Democrat members and supporters, he highlighted the parallels between his own political awakening, and the fight against the populist right today, as he urged liberals in Britain to speak with one voice, to say: We care. And we fight.

Davey rallied his party to take up a similar fight today: The fight to defend human dignity, against those who would destroy it. The fight against Reform, and their £72 million arsenal of hate and lies. He said that Liberals believe in the intrinsic worth of every single human being, and we are willing to fight for it.

Ed Davey said:

*Check against delivery*

Good evening Conference!

It's fabulous to see you all here and with such energy to take us to even greater success.

Thank you to all our speakers for sharing their incredible, powerful stories showing why we care, and why we fight.

Can you imagine if Reform did this?

They care about their own bank balance.

They fight because two crypto billionaires gave them seventy-two million quid.

Well tonight we've heard the polar opposite of that.

So many different reasons why we're all here, but all united in this:

We love our communities. We love our country. We love our world.

For as Liberals, we believe in the intrinsic worth of every single human being.

And we are willing to fight for it.

Listening to your stories takes me back to my own political awakening.

Like so many people, it really got going at university. Just a few years ago.

When as you can see I had a little more hair. That's my lovely Nanna, by the way.

Back then, I particularly recall watching and learning about what was happening in South Africa under Apartheid.

I remember my visceral shock. Overwhelming anger.

Seeing human beings treating other human beings with total contempt.

Stripping away their dignity, their rights, their basic humanity.

For one reason and one reason only: the colour of their skin.

And that anger didn't just sit in my stomach. It moved me to action.

And my first ever political campaign. Getting my college to boycott Barclays Bank, because they invested in South Africa.

And we won.

That sparked something in me. Something fundamental that has stayed with me ever since.

Something I know we all share.

When we see injustice, when we see human dignity under attack, we do not look away.

We stand up. We care. And we fight.

And that's why I am so proud to lead this party.

And friends, we made so much progress as a country.

For me it crystalised when the UK held the Olympics. In London. In 2012.

The opening ceremony full of fun. Optimism. Unity.

Celebrating all of Britain, our quirks and our diversity.

Our NHS. Our sky-diving Queen.

Remember the way our whole nation got behind Mo Farah. As he won those two gold medals.

Born in Somalia. Illegally trafficked to the UK as a child.

A man who had only been granted his British citizenship twelve years earlier.

Just imagine what some would say about him now.

But in 2012, everyone cheered him on. Everyone did the Mobot.

Even the Daily Telegraph called him a quintessential British success story. The Telegraph!

But that celebration of British diversity and British success that sadly feels long ago now, doesn't it, Conference?

Today we are back. Fighting again the fight that fired me up at university.

The fight to end injustices. In our country and around the world.

The fight to defeat the nasty populism of Trump, Le Pen, the AfD and the rest.

The fight to stop the world's richest man, who learnt racism in apartheid South Africa, from funding racism around the world.

The fight to defend human dignity, against those who would destroy it.

The fight against Reform, and their seventy-two-million-pound arsenal of hate and lies.

The fight and I can't believe I have to say this the fight to defend the RNLI.

The volunteers who save lives at sea.

They are the best of us, and we stand with them.

Now here's a thing. Reform know they don't speak for the real United Kingdom. That they don't represent the majority of the British people.

They wouldn't need seventy-two million pounds if they did, would they?

No, they're 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.

Fed up of seeing Zia Yusuf on BBC Question Time week after week.

That the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up.

Well I hope they're watching tonight. I hope they'll watch us this week. I hope they'll listen to you.

Because what they'll see, what they'll hear is a party that won't be ground down. That won't be deterred. That won't give up the fight.

What they'll hear is thousands of Liberals speaking with one voice, to say: We care. And we fight.

What will they hear Conference?

We care! We fight!

We care! We fight!

We care! We fight!

That's right!

Thank you and have a great Conference!

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Other speakers at the rally included Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife and Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, Bobby Dean, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Leader Cllr Millie Earl, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Sheffield Hallam Cllr Sophie Crossthorn, and Liberal Democrat Group Leader in Brent Cllr Anton Georgiou.