'Truss-Esque': Lib Dem Leader Leaves People Cringing After Launching New Catchphrase

Ed Davey has left social media users cringing after a clip from his keynote speech at the Liberal Democrats’ conference went viral.

The Lib Dem leader tried to rouse attendees at the annual get-together by unveiling the party’s new slogan: “We care, we fight.”

As the Kingston and Surbiton MP drew parallels between his own political awakening and the fight in the UK against the populist right, he told the room to “speak with one voice to say: we care and we fight.”

He said he hoped the populist right will look at them and “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.”

However, his over-enthusiastic delivery and the half-hearted response from the crowd has drawn all the wrong kind of attention from critics.

One particular clip, shared by Politics UK on X, accumulated 1.4 million views in less than 48 hours.

Speaking on the first evening of the party’s Autumn conference in Brighton, he said: “Will they hear? We care! We fight! We care! We fight! We care! We fight! That’s right!”

Watch how well it went down here....

That 12-second clip was enough to trigger a series of eye-rolls from the internet.

Some even compared him to former Tory prime minister Liz Truss, who famously went viral for promoting “pork markets” and calling the UK’s high volume of cheese imports a “disgrace”.

Others wished Davey was still doing the stunts he is well-known for, like purposely falling off his paddleboard in front of the cameras.

But even some self-proclaimed Lib Dems had their head in their hands.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.