Ed Davey Warns Liberal Democrats Can Stop Reform in Five Councils
Ed Davey told voters in the home counties that the liberal democrats are best placed to stop Reform winning local councils, warning that backing Labour or the Greens in tightly run seats could hand control to Reform. He named five councils where his party could win overall control and said the contest is on a knife edge in those areas.
He said voters would “regret it for a long time” if they woke up to a Reform-led council. More than 5,000 councillors are being elected on Thursday, with more than half of the seats in London or the south-east.
Five councils in Davey’s sights
Davey identified East Surrey, West Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Huntingdonshire as councils where the Liberal Democrats could win overall control. Pollsters More In Common expect the party to take the newly created East and West Surrey councils, adding to the party’s hopes in the south-east.
He said: “If we are going to stop Reform, we are the party most capable of doing that, it is on a knife edge in some of these areas.” He also said: “People could vote Labour or Green and then we will get narrowly beaten by Reform and people will regret it for a long time.”
Tactical voting in local races
Davey said tactical voting would be key, with the Liberal Democrats taking votes off the Conservatives to stop Reform. He said: “We are finding that when people realise the choice is us or Reform, lots of people who were even thinking of voting Conservative were coming to us, certainly Labour and Green are coming to us.”
He drew a clear line between his party and the Greens, saying: “There is a big difference between us and the Greens” and “The Greens are basically taking votes from Labour.” He added: “We are taking votes off the Tories to stop Farage. I don’t think the Greens are going to play much role in stopping Reform, whereas we are literally central.”
Price of a pint
Davey said the party was fighting local campaigns on fly tipping, potholes and sewage pollution in rivers, while also planning to campaign on the price of a pint after reports that it had hit £10 in some parts of London. “I like a pint like everyone else and the idea of £10 a pint should make people think twice,” he said.
He also said some polling showed a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and Reform in parts of the north of England, including Stockport and Hull, while areas such as Portsmouth in the south should consider voting Liberal Democrat to stop Reform. With the vote due on Thursday, the party is trying to turn its warning about Reform-led councils into seats in places where the result could be decided by a small shift in support.
