Ed Davey closes Lib Dem conference with tax cuts and AI pause pledge

Ed Davey closed the Liberal Democrats' annual conference in Brighton with a package of income tax cuts, a call for closer ties with Europe and a proposed global pause on super intelligent AI. The Lib Dem leader also used his final speech to attack Nigel Farage and what he called a far-right threat, telling activists the party was in the fight of its life.

The conference was Ed Davey's seventh as leader. The party won a record 72 seats at the 2024 general election and is the third largest in the Commons. But it has struggled to turn that result into national momentum. Poll ratings have been stagnant, with the party sometimes in fourth or fifth place. Some MPs and council leaders have publicly questioned whether it is cutting through. One MP, Roz Savage, wrote that the Lib Dems needed to rediscover their insurgent spirit. A council leader warned the party was sleepwalking into irrelevance.

Ed Davey rejected that criticism. He said he was the right person to lead the party into the next election and that there was no ceiling on its ambition. In a series of interviews he said he was a candidate for prime minister, predicted a hung parliament and argued he would be the most experienced party leader in that situation. He also said the Lib Dems had a moral responsibility to stop Reform UK getting near power and to prevent the Conservatives from handing the keys to Number 10 to Nigel Farage. He ruled out dealing with Reform but refused to rule out joining a coalition government, saying he wanted to get into government to change lives.

The final day brought the biggest policy announcements. Ed Davey promised to raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000, taking two million more people out of income tax and giving most taxpayers a £680 cut. He also said the 40p higher-rate threshold would rise to £56,000. The plans would be phased in over five years and cost about £17bn. The party says the money would come from economic growth driven by rejoining the EU single market and customs union, which it claims could be negotiated within a year. The Lib Dems also repeated a temporary cut to fuel duty of 12p a litre for three months, estimated at about £2bn and described by Davey as self-funding.

On energy, Davey backed the Jackdaw gas field, saying it had passed climate change tests and would be better than importing liquefied gas. He was more cautious about the Rosebank oil field, saying the jury was still out and it had not passed climate tests. On AI, he called for a global treaty to pause the development of super intelligent AI. He said the risk was too great to leave to Donald Trump or tech bosses such as Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The party wants an international AI safety agency headquartered in the UK, modelled on nuclear non-proliferation arrangements.

On Europe and immigration, deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the Lib Dems would join the single market and customs union within a year, accepting freedom of movement. She argued this would boost growth and restore opportunities for young people. The party also wants to join the EU migration and asylum pact to replace small boat crossings with safe, security-checked routes. Ed Davey faced questions about local opposition to asylum accommodation in Oxfordshire, saying he backed residents' concerns about a specific site but rejected the idea that migrants generally posed a threat.

Foreign policy also featured. Davey stood by his previous description of Donald Trump as a destructive demagogue and said Trump had got worse. He called for Andy Burnham to stand up to Trump when the two leaders meet, citing Canada's Mark Carney as an example. Daisy Cooper said a Prime Minister Ed Davey would talk tough and support defensive action in the Middle East while warning against escalation.

Party figures acknowledged that the Lib Dems are being drowned out in a crowded media landscape. Research shared with one broadcaster found the most common public response when asked about the party was 'don't know'. The party's social media reach is far below Nigel Farage's. At the same time, the Lib Dems pointed to local election gains, more councillors than at any time since 2010 and a strong ground game as evidence of progress. Ed Davey said the party would win more than 72 MPs at the next election. The conference slogan was liberty, equality, community. The leader also toned down his trademark stunts, swapping paddle boards and bungee jumps for fish and chips, a litter pick and a wind farm visit, as he tried to present a more serious message.