Lib Dems complain of unbalanced Reform media attention in latest Glee Club song

A song complaining about the amount of media coverage Nigel Farage’s Reform UK receives features in the latest songbook for the Liberal Democrats’ traditional end-of-conference bash.

The Impartial Media Song is one of the latest additions to the Liberator Songbook, the bible of lyrics for the Lib Dems’ annual Glee Club party.

The late-night party is seen by many Lib Dem activists as the highlight of the conference, where they sing bawdy lyrics to popular tunes, mocking themselves and other political parties.

The lyrics of the latest song, meant to be sung to the tune of traditional song The Wild Rover, complain that Reform UK, with its five MPs, get more media attention than the Lib Dems with their 72 MPs.

The song goes: “I’ve been a broadcaster for many a year; at Liberal leaders I happily sneer; despite them returning with MPs galore; I cover the party in detail no more.

“And it’s no, nay, never; no, nay, never, no more; will I cover the Lib Dems; no, never, no more.”

The song continues to complain that Mr Farage’s party gets covered “in the way that they like”, and likens it to the far-right.

It says: “But Reform are different, they make a good splash; I’m happy to hear them and cover the fash; Creating the monsters, that’s my job you see; When you can’t defeat them, I’ll blame you with glee.”

A “historical note” at the bottom of the song reads: “Not that we’re, entirely justly, annoyed about the disproportionate coverage every news outlet gives to Reform or anything…”

Senior Reform leaders have distanced themselves from far-right figures such as the activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who led the Unite the Kingdom march through London last weekend.

Mr Farage has also insisted that his party is the only political force holding back wider support for the far-right.

The Lib Dem song – in a section of the 34th edition of the Liberator Songbook entitled “Songs for journalists to pretend to be offended by” – continues by suggesting members of the media do not cover the party as its polling is “too low”.

Elsewhere in the book, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is mocked for his record as post office minister between 2010 and 2012 during the Post Office-Horizon scandal, which led thousands of subpostmasters to be wrongly accused of responsibility for financial shortfalls.

Postman Ed, intended to be sung to the tune of the Postman Pat theme song, goes: “Postman Ed, Postman Ed; Postman Ed ignored the case.

“Ed, he was the minister; Now everything looks sinister; Ed claims he was never told the truth.”

The song’s second verse describes Sir Ed’s record as “such an epic fail”, concluding: “Ed should go and never lead again.”

Well-known parody lyrics sung by the Lib Dems at their Glee Club party in previous years include the words “Lettuce Liz” sung to the tune of The Beatles’ Let it Be.

Entitled An Ode To Liz Truss, the song mocked Ms Truss’s short-lived premiership.

The Prosciutto Affair, sung to the tune of English Country Garden, reached the headlines in 2015 as it made light of the so-called “pig-gate” allegations about former prime minister Lord David Cameron.

Reprinted in this year’s songbook, a note accompanying the lyrics insists the allegations were “made up by a scurrilous pair of journos” and that Lord Cameron got the “last laugh” as he was elevated to the House of Lords.

Another song which caused controversy in previous years was An Ode To Charles Kennedy, which mocked the late Lib Dem leader’s alcoholism.

The lyrics remain in the latest edition of the songbook, with a note which states “Kennedy himself liked it”, with the author adding: “We miss him.”