Stand-up routines. Confetti cannons. AI generated images of Ed Davey in a wet suit. This rally had it all.

The Liberal Democrats are in high spirits. Following their record-breaking election results earlier this year, that’s no surprise.

There are now more Lib Dem MPs in parliament than ever before. July saw the party jump from 15 to 72 seats, and the membership is over the moon. Joy among the party faithful has been on full display as they gather in Brighton this week for their autumn conference.

On the conference’s first night, a packed-out auditorium played host to the Lib Dems’ post-election celebration. It was billed as a ‘rally’, but in reality the event was more a slightly surreal hour of light entertainment hosted by an assorted cast of the party’s new MPs.

Complete with light shows, audience participation, confetti cannons, stand-up routines and AI generated images of Ed Davey in a wetsuit, the rally saw newly elected MPs tell the story of the Lib Dem general election campaign and thank the activists that helped deliver it.

The elation in the room was palpable. Not just among the MPs, who grinned their way through their scripted jokes, canvassing anecdotes, amateur dramatics, and highlight reels of Ed Davey’s antics from the campaign trail. But also among the audience, who whooped and cheered their way through the event. Whenever the number ’72’ was mentioned, the room burst into spontaneous applause.

Clearly the Lib Dems are chuffed with themselves. And they have every reason to be. For a party that since the demise of the coalition government has been treated as a footnote by the bulk of the media and regarded – until recently – as an afterthought by much of the electorate, becoming established as a major parliamentary force again is something they are understandably keen on celebrating.

However, what was missing from the rally was any clarity on what it was all for – any clarity on what those 72 MPs are planning to use their new found influence to change. For a political rally, it was pretty devoid of politics.

What little we did get in that regard came from the party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper. But even that didn’t go much beyond slogans. She told the audience: “After almost a decade of the worst Tory government of our lifetime, the British public deserve a fair deal,” later saying: “Until every single person in this country can see a doctor or a dentist when they need one, until every hard-working family does not have to chose between heating and eating, and until water companies stop pumping raw sewage into our rivers and seas, we will continue to fight on these issues.”

But perhaps it doesn’t matter that we don’t yet know a huge amount about what these MPs plan on doing, beyond being ‘local champions’ – as every speaker in the auditorium seems keen on repeating. There’s still plenty of time at the conference and in the coming months for the party to set that out.

The Lib Dem leader Ed Davey – closing the rally to a standing ovation – certainly didn’t think that was the key question. Instead, he asked the audience: “Do you like winning?” and “Are we gonna keep on winning, and winning more?”

For the Lib Dems, winning has been elusive for some time. So it’s not hugely surprising that winning is the big thing on their mind and the big thing that’s made them happier than they’ve ever been.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

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