Davey and Trump take the stage on opposite sides of Atlanticpublished at 15:00 BST

15:00 BST

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent, reporting from the Lib Dem conference

Image source, EPA

Ed Davey has taken to the stage just as, across the Atlantic, they’re waiting for Donald Trump to speak at the UN.

What we’re going to get is two very different world views.

Two politicians on opposite sides of the debate about values and visions

Davey wants you to see this as liberalism versus right wing nationalism, decency versus a harsh world view, the clash of our times.

He has at his conference this week been lambasting Donald Trump, Elon Musk and, by extension, Nigel Farage who’s associated himself with them.

He’ll be doing much more of that in the coming minutes.

• You can follow our coverage of Trump's speech in our separate live page

Moving to the Tories, Davey says there is a "moral responsibility" to aim high as he sets his sights on gaining more seats than the Conservatives at the next election. He says that would be the first time since 1910.

"I've lost count of the people who've told me they voted Conservative all their lives, but now they've switched to the Liberal Democrats," Davey adds.

"And not just because they feel so badly let down by their old party. But because they see their values reflected best in our party."

Davey continues his message: "Come and win with us."

Davey seeks to flex newly-acquired parliamentary musclepublished at 14:57 BST

14:57 BST

Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Lib Dem conference

At last year’s jubilant Lib Dem conference, you couldn’t move without hearing the number 72 – the record number of seats they won at the last election.

Although the conference has been generally good-spirited, there have been some quiet grumbles about whether the party has made the most of their newly-acquired parliamentary muscle.

Davey seeks to address those concerns by listing what he believes are their achievements, including stronger protection for victims of domestic abuse and support for family carers.

The Lib Dem leader then touts the party's success in May's local elections.

He says the Lib Dems gained more councillors for the "seventh year in a row", which he calls "our best ever winning streak".

Davey says the last few years have been the most successful his party has ever had.

But, he references Frank Sinatra when he quips "the best is yet to come".

The leader - renowned for his stunts - then tells the conference to "get the bungee harness ready" as he says will keep doing it "My Way".

"Our ambition for our country has no ceiling," he adds.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Lib Dem conference

We’re only five lines into the speech and Ed Davey has got in his first dig at Farage.

He says the Lib Dems have managed to get through the conference without someone on stage claiming that Covid vaccines caused cancer in the Royal Family.

“See, Nigel, it can be done!”

Expect more such attacks in the speech, as Davey seeks to define himself against Farage and his Reform UK.

After acknowledging the applause from the Lib Dem delegation in Bournemouth, Davey starts by talking about what the party achieved at the last general election.

"Friends, when we were last here in Bournemouth – two years ago – I challenged us to get more Liberal Democrats elected to Parliament," he says.

"And you rose to that challenge."

Davey praises the party for getting 72 MPs and, he says, by helping to kick the Tories out of Downing Street.

He says the Lib Dems have pushed for stronger protections for survivors of domestic abuse, free school lunches, better support for family carers and solar panels on new homes.

"And we’re planning much more," he continues.

As a reminder, you can see the speech by pressing watch live above.

Image source, PA Media

After a short delay, Ed Davey takes to the stage to begin his keynote speech at the Lib Dem party conference.

We'll bring you all the key lines - hit watch live at the top of the page to follow along.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Lib Dem conference

Before Davey’s speech begins, Lib Dem treasurer Tilly McAuliffe is on stage encouraging members to make donations.

To persuade them to reach into their pockets, an image flashes up on a big screen showing three men, whom she calls ”Farage and his merry men” - Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Underneath the image in capital letters are the words “STOP THEM”.

It appears there is a delay to the start of Ed Davey's speech at the Lib Dem conference.

We're watching and waiting for his arrival, and will update you as soon as he takes to the stage.

In a crowded market, Davey must give a clear sense of what he stands forpublished at 14:33 BST

14:33 BST

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent, reporting from the Lib Dem conference

Image source, PA Media

Sir Ed Davey has one overriding task at the minute; to get his voice heard in amongst all the noise and din of our current politics.

He needs to give people a clear sense of what the Liberal Democrats stand for, at time when the state of things is in flux.

The Lib Dems are well aware that it’s Nigel Farage and Reform that are getting much of the attention.

They provide something for Davey, something to define himself against.

And he’s already shown he’s prepared to court controversy with how far he’s gone this week attacking Elon Musk.

So expect sharp criticism of Reform.

But Davey also has to give people a reason why they should consider his party right now.

So expect a positive vision too, and a speech of two parts.

Ed Davey is about to begin his keynote speech at the Liberal Democrats' party conference in Bournemouth.

We'll be covering the key lines here, alongside updates and analysis from our reporters in the room - follow along by tapping watch live above.

Every autumn, British political parties hold conferences with party members.

It's an opportunity for parties to raise money, spread their message and connect with their members.

Party members are able to ask MPs questions, debate key issues and meet party leaders.

Members will also vote on new party policies.

Kate Whannel
Reporting from the Lib Dem conference

I've been speaking to several Lib Dem supporters here in Bournemouth, including conference first-timer Seth Graney, who says this year's event has been better than expected.

“I thought it would be mostly meeting after meeting after meeting, but it's more fun than that,” Seth says, adding that everyone is talking about how the Lib Dem's "can fight Reform".

Brian Dalton, a Lib Dem councillor from Salisbury, has been attending conferences since the mid-1990s.

Brian says he is expecting to hear something about Reform UK in Davey's speech, and believes Nigel Farage is “living in cloud cuckoo land” if he thinks he will win the next election.

Lib Dem councillors - and married couple - Imogen and Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey have been attending the annual conferences since 2011.

Imogen says the party is doing a lot better now and hopes it can be the “antithesis to Reform”. Rachelle adds that the Lib Dems are about “positive things not denigrating people”.

Image source, BBC News

The Liberal Democrats' party conference has been under way in Bournemouth since Saturday.

Last week, party leader Ed Davey took part in a series of quickfire interviews on local BBC radio stations.

Didn't catch it? Here's a recap of the key lines:

• People have lost trust in Labour and the Tories, Davey said, adding that Reform UK and the Lib Dems were the only two parties of change
• Reform’s leader Nigel Farage was a popular topic, with Davey saying he wanted the UK to be more like "Trump's America"
• He also blamed Farage for the surge in small boats crossings through his role in championing Brexit
• Pressed on what change the Lib Dems would offer, Davey stuck to familiar ground - pledges to revive the NHS and fix adult social care
• He also promised to ramp up renewables — a notable dividing line with Reform UK, which opposes green energy projects

Overnight, we got advance sight of a section of Ed Davey's keynote speech, in which he will urge the government to offer discounted visas to US cancer scientists who have had their research cancelled by the Trump administration.

"The UK should step up and say: If Trump won't back this research, we will," he will say.

In February, the US government cut billions of dollars from overheads in grants for biomedical research as a part of broader cost-saving measures.

The US government said it was "vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overheads".

At the time, the boss of the American Society of Clinical Oncology said the move "would be devastating to the pace and progress of cancer research in America".

So, today, Davey will propose the setting up of a fellowship scheme for US scientists seeking to escape the US government's "anti-science agenda".

• Read more

Image source, PA Media

For those of you unfamiliar, Ed Davey has been the leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020.

His first election victory came in 1997, when he contested and won the Greater London constituency of Kingston and Surbiton.

In 2010, he was made a junior minister under the coalition government, responsible for postal affairs. (This period of his career has come under renewed scrutiny in light of the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal and wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters.)

Davey rose further in 2012, when he was promoted to the cabinet position of energy and climate change secretary.

Following a crushing general election for the Lib Dems in 2015, Davey lost his seat. He won it back in 2017 and three years later was crowned party leader.

Davey focuses on topics he believes will appeal to his party's target voters, including the NHS and sewage in rivers.

From bungee jumping off a crane in Eastbourne to paddleboarding on Lake Windermere, his huge success in the 2024 general election was in part carried by a series of campaign stunts - often blunt visual metaphors for the issues facing Britain.

Opportunity for Lib Dems to define themselves as totally against Reformpublished at 13:58 BST

13:58 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The extract of Ed Davey’s speech which was released in advance reinforced his longstanding opposition to Donald Trump – one of the most distinctive Liberal Democrat positions of recent months.

Davey uses his distaste for Trump as a way of expressing his opposition to populism more generally. In the UK context, that means Reform UK and Nigel Farage.

It feels like Reform have been mentioned more than anything or anyone else at this conference.

There’s an interesting opportunity for the Lib Dems here. Of course all of Reform UK’s rivals attack Farage. But the Conservatives need to win their former voters back from them, and Labour recognise that some of the issues turning voters to Reform need to be addressed by the government – though that is somewhat controversial in some parts of the Labour Party.

Whereas for the Liberal Democrats, who made great strides at the general election last year most especially in affluent southern England, it is more straightforward and more unifying to define themselves fully and totally against Reform.

As we mentioned in our previous post, the Lib Dem leader sat down for an interview with our political editor, Chris Mason, yesterday.

They covered a lot of ground, including Davey's policies on bringing down bills and tackling immigration, the challenge posed by Reform UK, and his recent criticisms of the BBC.

You can watch their conversation back below:

Image source, PA Media

Good afternoon.

Ed Davey is set to deliver a keynote speech at the close of the Liberal Democrat's annual conference in Bournemouth.

Speaking to the BBC on the sidelines yesterday, he said that his party has a moral duty to keep Reform UK out of power, as more voters turn away from Labour and the Tories.

He said the choice at the next general election would be between the Lib Dems - offering "radical change... in tune with British values" - and Nigel Farage - whom he charges as wanting to make the UK "like Trump's America".

Except much more of this in his speech, which is due to begin at around 14:30 BST.

We'll be covering the key lines here, alongside updates and analysis from our reporters in Bournemouth - follow along shortly by tapping watch live above.

Stay with us.