Sir Ed Davey has said the Liberal Democrats are getting their best response from voters “for a generation” as he launched the party’s General Election campaign in South Cambridgeshire.
The party leader also criticised Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and other Conservative MPs for taking their constituents “for granted” as he spoke confidently about winning more seats on July 4.
Sir Ed unveiled the Lib Dems’ new battlebus, named Yellow Hammer 1, and met a large crowd of party supporters at the launch in Whittlesford on Sunday.
He was joined by the Lib Dems South Cambridgeshire Parliamentary candidate Pippa Heylings, who hopes to take the seat after incumbent Tory MP Anthony Browne switched to the new St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency. However, the district councillor will face opposition from the Conservative candidate Chris Carter-Chapman.
Sir Ed focused largely on health and the environment in a speech to the supporters, including hospitals “with dangerous crumbling roofs” and “sewage pouring into” wards, and promised to introduce a 10-year rolling repair programme for the NHS estate.
Asked what the Lib Dems’ targets were in the election, Sir Ed said: “I’m not putting a ceiling on our ambitions.
“All I’m doing is talking to voters with my teams across the country, and the Liberal Democrats are getting a great response – a better response than we’ve had for a generation.
“I was elected back in 1997 and this feels to me quite a bit like that.
“I don’t worry about the other parties, I’m just excited about our job and excited about change.”
The Lib Dems are targeting traditionally Conservative heartlands in the so-called blue wall in southern England.
The Tories and Labour both made eye-catching pledges over the weekend, with the former promising mandatory national service if re-elected and the latter keen to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.
Asked about both policies, Sir Ed said: “The Liberal Democrats have long supported votes from 16 and I’m glad other parties are now catching up with us.
“All I’d say is as political reforms go, it’s an important one but it’s quite small. We need to transform our politics.
“As for this distraction of a policy by the Conservatives on national service, the hypocrisy is just breath-taking.
“What we need is full-time, professional, highly trained troops.
“We’ve got the best army in the world and we should be backing it.”
