Is public affairs about to get a lot less monogamous?

Whether you liked Ed Davey’s stunts or not, its undeniable that the Liberal Democrats ran a successful campaign for the 2024 General Election. Winning the most ever seats for the party, Davey led the Lib Dems to become the third largest party in the newly formed parliament. Where many have previously discounted the significance of the Lib Dems, and thus the need for businesses to engage with them, there is growing argument for corporates to broaden their political outreach further than just the usual Conservatives and Labour.

With a more fragmented opposition than we’ve known in recent years, the way Parliament works is going to have to change. We’re used to seeing the official opposition take up a significant proportion of chair positions on select committees, lead a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs), and of course have almost free reign over opposition day debates. However, there have already been calls for this to change with the severely diminished size of the Conservatives’ official opposition having only 49 more seats than the Lib Dems.

The Labour manifesto included a commitment to “reset politics”. It will be interesting to see if they use their new-found power to create a fairer parliament, or if the taste of success makes them more inclined to stick with the status quo.

Nevertheless, if apportionment of committee places and chairmanships is in line with tradition, we can expect to see the Lib Dems taking up a larger number than any third party in recent years. While negotiations take place between party whips over the coming weeks, the Lib Dems will be trying to secure influential positions on committees and APPGs that align with their key manifesto themes including health, the environment, and housing. After all, Davey has already called for the government to “steal [their] policies”.

With more Lib Dems occupying the green benches than ever before, there’s going to be more appetite and expectation that they engage with the private sector. Where the previous parliamentary party was able to hide behind the limitations of a small number of MPs, the Lib Dems will be appointing a full shadow front bench and creating a more structured group to rival the two bigger parties.

Not afraid of asking tough questions and calling out the government, we can expect to see thorough scrutiny from the Lib Dems as they use the full force of their larger Parliamentary party to continue making waves. Businesses operating in contentious areas now have a renewed opportunity to seek Lib Dem allies to advocate their cause and ensure full and open public discourse around the Labour Government’s agenda.