Ed Davey has sought to cast Liberal Democrat wins in England’s local elections as proof his party is best positioned to confront what he described as the “extreme populist change” offered by Reform UK and the Greens. As Labour assessed a disastrous set of results, the Lib Dems were able to claim they had been able to fend off Reform challenges in areas including Portsmouth, where they made gains to seize the city council, which had been under no overall control. However, while the party’s highly concentrated results demonstrated a clinical efficiency, early results indicated that on average its support was down by three points on 2022 and 2024. It means Davey could face questions about why the party has been unable to make major national gains, on the back of an anti-incumbent mood, relative to those achieved by Reform and the Greens.…