Ed Davey says he wants the Lib Dems to become the new ‘party of Middle England’
Local elections are set to take place on 1 May 2025. Each of the parties are starting to launch their campaigns, and today it was the Liberal Democrats’ turn.
Launching the campaign, the Lib Dem leader Ed Davey indicated that his party intends to build on its success in last year’s general election by making further inroads into Conservative areas. Davey said that the Lib Dems could both become the ‘party of Middle England’ and ‘overtake the Conservatives as the second biggest party of local government’.
In comments ahead of the launch, Davey said: “These local elections are a chance for the Liberal Democrats to replace the Conservatives as the party of Middle England. We can overtake the Conservatives as the second biggest party of local government, replacing failing Conservative-run councils that take their residents for granted with Liberal Democrat ones that work hard for their local communities.
“Liberal Democrats are now the natural home for voters disillusioned with Labour but who still haven’t forgiven the Conservatives for all the damage they did to our country.
“People are deeply disappointed with Labour’s failure to deliver the change they promised and are turning to the Liberal Democrats as the party holding this government to account, from the family farm tax to winter fuel payment cuts.”
Many of the seats up for election this year are held by the Tories, with a majority of the Councils with elections in May currently run by the Tories.
Currently, the Lib Dems have the third most seats in local government across the UK, with over 3,000. The Tories have over 5,000, Labour over 6,000. Meanwhile the Greens have more than 800 and Reform UK have more than 100.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Liberal Democrats – Creative Commons
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