Josh Self

@josh.politics.co.uk

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Editor of Politics.co.uk | [email protected]

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 1:00 PM

From today's note:

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 1:00 PM

“Davey in deep water”

Today's lunchtime newsletter on Liberal Democrat tensions is out

This daily missive brings you the best of @politics.co.uk in one place. Free sign up: www.politics.co.uk

Davey in deep water
Liberal Democrat MPs meet at 5:00pm today for what promises to be a spikier-than-usual weekly gathering. It is their first meeting since Charlie Maynard resigned as a Treasury spokesperson and called on Ed Davey, the party’s leader since 2020, to quit.

Maynard has not commented publicly since leaving the Lib Dem frontbench (other than to publicise a meeting of the business and trade select committee). But his resignation comes at a time of growing discontent with Davey’s leadership, driven largely by frustration at the party’s lack of prominence in the national debate.

The Liberal Democrats secured 72 MPs at the 2024 general election, establishing Davey as the most electorally successful Liberal since David Lloyd George. Davey’s campaign drew significant media attention for a series of water-themed stunts. But since Davey hung up his wetsuit, reportedly under pressure from colleagues in parliament, the party has struggled to secure sustained coverage in a crowded landscape that now features Reform UK and Zack Polanski’s Greens.

That tension was addressed, but by no means resolved, at the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference in Brighton. Davey delivered a mostly business-as-usual speech chastising Reform UK and positioning his party as an anti-populist firewall. He also promised a £17 billion income tax cut, funded entirely by the growth generated by rejoining the EU single market and customs union. That announcement may be relevant to Maynard’s resignation as a Treasury spokesperson.

Tensions were exacerbated by Andy Burnham’s sweeping address to Labour conference last month, in which he appeared to endorse a range of longstanding Liberal Democrat positions on UK-EU relations, social care and electoral reform.

@politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 10:48 AMReposted by @josh.politics.co.uk

🏛️ Fantasy Cabinets Fancy yourself a political strategist? Pick the prime minister, field a frontbench and share your creation

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 10:13 AM

Yusuf suggests Braverman and Jenrick should ‘take responsibility’ for Tory record

Yusuf also disagrees with Braverman’s claim that people from ethnic minority backgrounds can be British but not English – the argument “doesn’t hold water with me”.

Full story 👇
www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/yusu...

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

Labour's @marshadecordova.bsky.social said Brexit “has been an unmitigated disaster”.

She added: “The economic case is clear… Rejoining the EU would significantly boost the UK’s GDP.”

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

Labour's @helenhayes.bsky.social said she supported the PM in “exploring every possible option... including the potential for us to rejoin.” She said: "We have focused instead on the improvements that could be made without any suggestion of going back in. “I think the time for this is over."

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

Labour's Daniel Zeichner said “we should be in the EU. We should never have left.” He described himself as “fiercely proud to be a citizen of Europe”. He concluded: “Now we should support the govt in trying to salvage the best we can. But, in the end, we are Europeans, and we should be in.”

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

Labour's @chelfulhamben.bsky.social endorsed the PM’s “readiness to look at every option: a customs union, yes; a single market, yes; full membership, yes.”

He called for “a manifesto pledge to negotiate joining the European Union and then a referendum on the deal”.

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

Labour's @tonyvaughanmp.bsky.social opened the debate

He stated: “I strongly welcome the PM’s commitment to... set out the long-term options for our relationship with Europe; I urge the minister to make sure that membership is on the list of possible options.”

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 13, 2026, 6:44 AM

‘We should be in the EU’: Labour MPs make case for rejoin in Brexit debate

The calls came during a Westminster Hall debate on a petition calling on the UK to apply to rejoin the EU “as soon as possible”

@politics.co.uk write-up and thread below 👇
www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/we-s...

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 5:57 PM

Good work!

@politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 4:44 PMReposted by @josh.politics.co.uk

#Onthisday in 1984: IRA targets Thatcher and cabinet in Brighton hotel bombing

An IRA bomb exploded in the Grand Hotel, Brighton, at 2.54am in an attempt to assassinate Margaret Thatcher. Five people were killed and more than 30 injured

Full History Hub briefing ⤵️

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 4:08 PM

Being confident enough to do so is an important trait in the current political landscape, and a natural Labour response to the rise of Farage et al It sets Burnham apart from some of his predecessors. His ability to speak/do politics authentically is one of the reasons he is PM and Starmer is not

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 4:08 PM

PMs *should* start arguments and lead debates that reveal their values, on favourable terms, while exposing what they see as their opponents’ failings Burnham’s comments may/may not have been calculated. But the row is a result of him speaking authentically to his values and what matters to him

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 4:08 PM

There’s been some negative comment about Burnham “shooting from the hip” as prime minister

But his comments on the @therestpolitics.bsky.social podcast have prompted Farage to opine about Brexit AND Russia – two issues on which he is exposed

1/...

@politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 3:42 PMReposted by @josh.politics.co.uk

Burnham says status quo ‘not good enough’ as he sets out plan for EU summit

The PM announced the summit will take place in Brussels on 20 November, after which he wants a “serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship”

Full story ⤵️
www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/burn...

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 2:25 PM

#Politicle: 12/10/2026
I identified the mystery MP after 1 clue
🟥🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛
Can you do better?
politics.co.uk/politicle

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 1:42 PM

Pat McFadden welcomes new Labour MP Sagal Abdi-Wali to the chamber He adds: “If her opponent [Zack Polanski] needs any help with employment security, we have a number of work experience and training programmes which I am happy to make available to him.”

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 11:03 AM

🚨NEW: Farage calls Burnham ‘a liar’ over claim Russia interfered in Brexit vote

“There was no Russian interference, and the Russia hoax has run all the way through this”, he told a press conference in Dover

Full story 👇
www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/fara...

@josh.politics.co.uk Oct 12, 2026, 10:26 AM

Alison Bennett, the party's former care and carer's spokesperson, has also issued an update reflecting on her resignation last week in her newsletter to constituents

Bennett said she was “sad to step back from the role, but I am certainly not walking away.”
bsky.app/profile/alis...

Care and Carers
At the start of last week I resigned as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Care and Carers. I decided not to publish my reasons for stepping back, and despite press interest I am sticking to that personal commitment.
Having been the Care and Carers Spokesperson for two years, I do want to briefly reflect on my experience. Frankly, it has been humbling to meet carers and the organisations that support them. Not only have I learned a lot about social care, palliative care, and what it is to be a family carer, the role has also taught me a lot about myself, about the precariousness of lives that seem secure and then can be upended, and about what society values and gives attention to. I am grateful that Ed Davey asked me to do this role for him, and I know that his advocacy for carers has been seen and appreciated by those who too often do not have a voice. So I am sad to step back from the role, but 1 am certainly not walking away. I will remain as the Chair of the APPG for Young Carers, and whether it is hospices, unpaid carers, or people working in social care, I know that as a country we need to do so much better for them.
Finally, if you are an unpaid carer yourself, and you are not already in contact with them, then do talk to our local carers' network Carers Support West Sussex

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