# Lib Dems' president calls for radical shake-up

> Josh Babarinde wants the Liberal Democrats to target tech giants and crypto billionaires while the party struggles to break through in polls.
- Title: Lib Dems' president calls for radical shake-up · the Guardian
- Summary: Josh Babarinde wants the Liberal Democrats to target tech giants and crypto billionaires while the party struggles to break through in polls. The Liberal…
- Keywords: josh babarinde, liberal democrats, lib dem conference, big tech, crypto billionaires, ed davey, brighton, polling, news, world, Lib, Dems'
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/20/lib-dem-president-josh-barbarinde-combative-mood-party-conference
- Published: 2026-09-20T06:00:07+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: josh babarinde, liberal democrats, lib dem conference, big tech, crypto billionaires, ed davey, brighton, polling, news, world
## Lib Dem president wants a fight
Josh Babarinde, thirty-three, the Liberal Democrats' president, is calling for the party to take on big tech and crypto billionaires. He says the party must flip the table over and rise up against modern giants blocking people's ability to thrive.

> There are big modern giants that are getting in the way of people's ability to thrive, and it is the job of Liberal Democrats to address that.
## Babarinde invokes Beveridge's legacy
Babarinde, the Eastbourne MP, channels the spirit of Liberal thinker William Beveridge, who developed radical social reform ideas at Toynbee Hall in the East End. Babarinde wants to give power and cash back to people the country is meant to serve.

> People are looking for a force to help break some of those giants and give power and cash back to people who this country is meant to be working for.
## Party won big but polls lag badly
The Liberal Democrats won seventy-one MPs in the twenty twenty-four election, a historic result. Yet the party has been stuck at about eleven percent in polls for months, despite gaining one hundred fifty-three councillors in England in May.
## Leader struggles for media attention
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey struggles to command media coverage. Party MPs grumble that Nigel Farage only has to sneeze to attract coverage, while Davey has to resort to bungee jumping to get attention from the press.
## Babarinde's background in community work
Babarinde has spoken about his mother being subjected to domestic abuse and how it shaped his politics. He set up a social enterprise smartphone repair service staffed by former offenders and at-risk youth more than a decade ago, earning him an OBE.
## Party needs digital reach beyond strongholds
Babarinde dismisses the idea the party lacks eye-catching policies, saying there is oodles and oodles of it. But he says the Lib Dems need to reach beyond middle England strongholds with digital campaigning as strong as its much-envied ground game.

> There's oodles and oodles of it!
## Babarinde elevated to party president
Despite being elected in twenty twenty-four, Babarinde was elevated to party president in November, giving him a vital say in strategy and organisation. About five thousand Lib Dems are gathering in Brighton for the annual conference this weekend.
## Babarinde pitches new party strategy
When asked what the answer is to the party being stuck at eleven percent in polls, Babarinde says the solution is the strategy being discussed at conference. He stood to be party president because he thought he had something to offer to help develop a new strategy.

> I stood to be party president because I thought I had something to offer: to help develop a new strategy for the party so we can reach new heights.
## Key takeaway

The Liberal Democrats' president Josh Babarinde is pushing a combative strategy to target big tech and crypto billionaires, but the party remains stuck at eleven percent in polls despite winning seventy-one MPs in twenty twenty-four.