Bullies, bootlickers and those that can't fix a church roof

At this moment of peril for our continent, it has never been more important for politicians to say what we really think.

- ED DAVEY

So when I give my speech to the Liberal Democrats' conference today, it won't surprise you that I'll be talking a lot about Donald Trump and Nigel Farage. But it might surprise you that I'm also going to talk about church roofs. (Stay with me on this please... I know it sounds weird, but I am a Liberal Democrat.) I know what you're thinking and you're right. It's easy for me to criticise Trump, since I'm not the prime minister and I don't have to sit across from him in the Oval Office. But let me tell you something: week after week, I look at the Labour benches as I tell Keir Starmer that Donald Trump is an unreliable ally, and I see most of the cabinet trying desperately not to nod in agreement.

They know. You know. We all know. Donald Trump doesn't care about America's allies. He doesn't care about defending democracy. His presidency isn't "America first"; it's "Donald Trump first".

On the day he won the election, I broke from my normal selfrestraint on social media and called him a dangerous, destructive demagogue. At the time, my advisers worried I had gone too far; in fact, the truth is worse than I thought.