With Labour sinking in the polls, there’s an increasing likelihood that whoever forms the next government will need the Liberal Democrats’ help to do it. So what kind of impact might the Lib Dems have on national politics? If a visit to their spring conference is anything to go by, very little, says Emma Revell

Unusually, while I started last week thinking about how the Conservatives could get Britain back on track, I ended it thinking about the Liberal Democrats instead.

Last Monday, my employer, the Centre for Policy Studies, had gathered the great and the good on centre right for our annual Margaret Thatcher Conference. Aside from when a couple of ranty protestors ineffectually interrupted Kemi Badenoch’s keynote address, the calibre of the discussion was excellent.

The meat of the conference was dedicated to the theme of ‘remaking conservatism’ – how to apply sound, free-market policy solutions to the problems of today while navigating damage to the Conservative brand. There was also a heavy focus on learning lessons from the global centre right – Spain, Argentina, Germany, Canada, the USA and so on.

But George Osborne – someone who knows what it’s like to take a party from opposition back into government – drew our attention to something else: the Lib Dem question.

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