(Using the word 'vibe' rather than vision on purpose — I think one of the key things the Lib Dems need to do is ensure voters instinctively associate the party with a particular image of Britain in their heads)

And as @williamten.ch sitting next to me has just pointed out, it's not a choice between "coverage without stunts vs coverage with stunts" — it's likely a choice between "no coverage without stunts vs coverage with stunts", which is a no-brainer.

Saw at a fringe event earlier that More in Common did some polling on this — although the stunts are unpopular with the public overall, they are viewed as most successful by those willing to consider switching to the Lib Dems. Which is really very telling!

Is it as simple as a perception that the Lib Dems are 'dull' in the face of the dominant Reform story? Is it that the national narrative on immigration doesn't suit Lib Dem policy priorities? Is it that Lib Dem messaging is hard to run? Or is it something deeper about the party itself?

The Lib Dem spike in 2019 is remarkable

I might be misreading this through tired eyes (and apologies if so), but is that because you say Powell is the 'continuity Starmer' candidate?

Also: the Lib Dems are closer to Labour than Labour are to Reform. And I think I saw yesterday that they are the biggest repository of former Labour voters at the moment too.

Not to be horribly earnest on Bluesky, but it really is divine music in its true sense. It swells the spirit. In a hall with thousands of others, and a giant choir singing from on high, it’s an absolutely incomparable feeling.

I have just been reading articles about the reform package to try to get a "fair" view of what the government is trying to do and it's just completely opaque. You get the real sense that even they have absolutely no idea what each tweak is actually meant to accomplish.

I remember pre-2015 there was more of a genuine media effort to understand the competing ideologies within the Lib Dems, or what made Lib Dem voters tick and what political priorities were pushing them to the party. Obviously, that was during the Coalition, but surely that is still interesting now?

The classic answer I get to this is "well, the Lib Dems should be more interesting!". But isn't it the role of the media to report, rather than to insist on a particular style? And isn't the Lib Dem political threat to both Con and Lab of interest regardless of policy?