Sir Ed Davey has provoked anger among Liberal Democrat MPs after appearing to signal he could strike a post-election deal with the Conservatives. The Lib Dem leader suggested last week that he agreed with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's assessment that no party is likely to win a Commons majority at the next General Election, prompting speculation about another coalition arrangement to block Reform UK from power. Several MPs have reacted with dismay, warning that the party has only just recovered from the political damage caused by its previous coalition with the Conservatives between 2010 and 2015.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Davey, who served as a Cabinet minister during the 2010-15 coalition, said he was "the party leader with most experience of how you manage that situation." He later attempted to row back on X, saying it made "zero sense" to help either the Conservatives or Reform into power, but one Lib Dem MP told The Mail on Sunday he had "clearly" floated the idea of a fresh pact. The row comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces separate accusations of stage-managing cross-party social care talks, after giving the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats just 18 hours' notice of a tripartite meeting.