The Lib Dems provide a service to democracy by backing Rejoin

The Lib Dems have adopted a policy of joining the single market as a step towards ultimately rejoining the EU, writes John Rentoul

Ed Davey campaigning against Brexit (AFP via Getty)

The Liberal Democrats were so badly burnt by their Brexit policy at the last election that they can be forgiven for being cautious about going back into the water.

In 2019, Jo Swinson believed her own propaganda, and so adopted a policy of revoking Brexit altogether without a further referendum. It did not go well, for her or for her party. She lost her seat, and the party was reduced to just 11 MPs.

It was understandable, then, that Ed Davey, when he became leader, tried to avoid the subject of Europe altogether. However, he could not prevent the party’s internal democracy from supporting the “ultimate goal” of rejoining the EU, and this weekend’s spring conference passed a leadership-approved motion setting out a step-by-step approach to that aim.