The Liberal Democrats can become an electoral force across the whole of London in the coming years, party leader Sir Ed Davey has claimed.
The Kingston and Surbiton MP, who has led the party since 2020, said its recent performance in the capital – electing six MPs in the 2024 General Election and winning an extra 63 councillors across London in May – provided a foundation for future success.
The party has traditionally seen its successes in London limited to boroughs in the south west, where it controls Sutton, Kingston-upon-Thames and Richmond, winning all 54 seats in the latter.
But the path to power nationally – likely as part of a coalition, barring a remarkable result – may come through appealing to different parts of the capital, rather than only the leafy local authorities where many Lib Dem voters live.
In the 2010 election that led to the party’s only period in government in modern history, the Liberal Democrats held Bermondsey and Old Southwark and won Brent Central against rising Labour politician Dawn Butler, now the MP for Brent East and a possible successor to Sir Sadiq Khan.
May’s local elections saw renewed signs of the party’s expansion across London. Major gains in Brent, Ealing and Southwark – where the party is now in administration with the Greens – have encouraged party officials.
Sir Ed, whose leadership has come under pressure in recent months, is confident this is just the beginning of further gains for the Liberal Democrats in London.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that campaigning on building more affordable housing and reducing crime appealed to Londoners across all 32 boroughs.
“Those are the issues that kept coming off the doorsteps in the campaign, and I think people liked what we had to say about them,” he said.
Lib Dems targeting more London seats
Sir Ed also acknowledged that the party benefited from unhappiness with former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned from Downing Street two months after the local elections.
However, he claimed his consistent positions on major issues, including Brexit and social care, had attracted wavering voters.
He added: “People were looking for an alternative, and in many areas, that was us. If I look at Ealing, where we haven’t traditionally been strong, we made big gains there. If you look at the Ealing Central constituency, we’d have won that on the vote we got on that night [in May]. So we are moving to new areas, I’m really proud of that.
“[London] is hugely important for us. We are looking at gaining more seats. We may be very interested in North Bermondsey and Ealing Central.
“But there are others on our radar, and we are really excited by the fact that more and more people are looking to us. They’re worried about Reform, they still don’t trust the Conservatives after the disaster they had, and they’ve been disappointed in Labour.
“We are looking across a whole range of seats, some of which we’ve been strong in before – I could talk to Brent or talk about Southwark, but there are other areas where I think there’s huge opportunities for us.
“London is becoming a stronghold already. It does feel like this is a moment where London, a liberal city, could look to the Liberal Democrats.”
Liberal Democrats set sights on 2028 London mayoral election
Sir Ed recalled serving on the Public Bill Committee – then known as a Standing Committee – during the passage of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Act in 1999, which established the structure of City Hall.
He said he had not been entirely satisfied with the outcome, despite the promise of devolved powers for an elected London Mayor.
As well as introducing what he described as a “fairer” voting system for the Mayor and London Assembly, Sir Ed said he would like to “reform” the GLA to strengthen the voices of London councils.
“There has been this tension between London boroughs and the Mayor, and we need to get that into a better place,” he added.
The Liberal Democrats intend to commit resources to the 2028 London mayoral election.
Two candidates have already declared their interest – Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney and the party’s 2024 candidate Rob Blackie.
The party has struggled to match its 2004 performance, when it secured 15 per cent of first-preference votes, despite campaigning on issues including Brexit.
With a potentially more crowded field in 2028, including Labour, Conservative, Reform UK and Green candidates, questions remain over how much time and resources the party should devote to the campaign.
However, Sir Ed claimed that “there is always a chance” either Liberal Democrat candidate could win.
“We’re on the march in London. We’re winning more parliamentary constituencies, we have more councillors, we’re really strong in many more boroughs and constituencies. And that gives us a big springboard.
“The issues we’ve talked about – whether it’s the economy and Europe, whether it’s social care and the NHS – I think they resonate with people.”
Housing plans in Kingston
For now, Liberal Democrat MPs are working with City Hall on issues affecting their constituencies, particularly housing.
As a London MP, Sir Ed also works alongside his wife Emily, Kingston Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, on approaches to tackling the housing crisis.
“We’re regenerating our main social housing estate and building better, much more comfortable, and many more council homes,” he said. “That model should be rolled out in many more areas.
“What we’ve been doing in Kingston is showing practical ways of how we do that, using council-owned land.”
This includes building affordable homes on the sites of former unused garages.
“We’ve really pushed the envelope, and I hope many more London councils can follow that lead,” he added.
