If there’s one issue that gets the famously middle-of-the-road Liberal Democrats worked up, it’s Brexit.
At several events over the four days of the party’s conference in Brighton, leaders and MPs have been pressed on why they’re not pushing the Labour government harder on potentially rejoining the EU.
But nowhere was that message delivered more succinctly than at the traditional final night ‘Glee Club’ event on Monday.
Accompanied by piano, Lib Dem activists, affiliates, MSPs and MPs sang to the tune of ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ from Mary Poppins:
“We had a referendum once, it didn’t go our way
And folks were mostly unaware of what we had to say
Until one day we learned that they all listened when we cursed:
If ‘b******s’ wins us second place, then what will make us first?
“It’s ‘B******s-bloody-b****r-knackers-f***ing-c*** to Brexit’
We’ll leave them in no doubt that we’re the party that rejects it
When you swear like dockers you know everyone respects it
‘B******s-bloody-b****r-knackers-f***ing-c*** to Brexit’“
The Glee Club night offers an opportunity for the party faithful to enjoy a boozy singalong to some of the 111 tunes in the ‘Liberator Song Book’ – a spin-off from the namesake liberal magazine.
A few of the satirical songs in the pamphlet date back to the 19th century and reference figures like William Gladstone and Lord Salisbury, but there are many recent additions about more modern events.
They include ditties with titles like ‘The Twelve Days of Coalition’ and ‘Guide Me O Thou Great Theresa’, as well as an ‘Ode to Liz Truss’ to the tune of Let It Be. (Lettuce Liz, Lettuce Liz, Lettuce Liz, Lettuce Liz – outlasted by a lettuce, Lettuce Liz.)
At the opposite end of the spectrum to the explicit Brexit song above – officially named ‘Who Swears, Wins’ – was an unapologetically corny version of Cliff Richard’s song Congratulations:
“Our leader Ed he fooled around to get attention!
The British public put old Rishi in detention!
Farage felt cheated because MPs he wanted more of.
Whilst Prime Minister Starmer, crept through the back door!
“Congratulations and celebrations, the Liberal Democrats have 72 MPs!”
After four days of panels, speeches, debates and photo ops in the Brighton sunshine, the Lib Dem conference comes to an end later today.
Leader Sir Ed Davey, who did not appear to be in attendance at the Glee Club, will take to the stage for the closing speech at around 2.20pm – with rumours of a final sporty stunt in the works beforehand.
He made a dramatic entrance to the conference on Saturday, riding a jet ski into Brighton Marina flanked by four of his newly elected MPs.
After drying off and changing out of his wetsuit, Davey told Metro.co.uk: ‘Everyone’s very excited, having had our best election results for over 100 years.
’72 MPs that we achieved for local people is the best result for the Liberal or Liberal Democrat party since 1923, so we think we can get our voice heard to campaign on things like NHS and care.’
Those topics have come up repeatedly in official events at the conference, with deputy leader Daisy Cooper revealing for the first time how close she came to death due to her Crohn’s disease in a speech yesterday.
Davey is expected to heavily focus his own speech on the health service and social care too, after that approach paid dividends for his party on July 4.
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