Lib Dem Leader Davey targets 5 councils in Reform warning
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey urged voters in the home counties to back his party in Thursday's English local elections, warning that people who do not could wake up to Reform-led councils. He said voters in closely run seats would “regret it for a long time” if Labour or Green candidates split the anti-Reform vote.
Davey identified East Surrey, West Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Huntingdonshire as councils where Liberal Democrats could win overall control. More than 5,000 councillors are due to be elected, with more than half in London or the south-east.
East Surrey And West Surrey
The Liberal Democrat leader said pollsters at More In Common expect his party to take the newly created East and West Surrey councils. He also said some projections put Liberal Democrats on gains of 500 seats, while Labour could lose as many as 1,800 seats and the Greens could gain 1,700 seats.
Davey argued that tactical voting would matter in seats where Reform could edge ahead. “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 said.
Stockport, Hull And Portsmouth
Davey said polling in parts of the north of England showed a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and Reform in Stockport and Hull. He said areas such as Portsmouth should consider voting Liberal Democrat to stop Reform, and added: “People could vote Labour or Green and then we will get narrowly beaten by Reform and people will regret it for a long time.”
He also said the party was trying to win over disillusioned Conservative voters in places he described as the former blue wall. “When you talk to that traditional one-nation, pro-Europe liberal Tory, they are pretty upset with Kemi Badenoch; they feel the Conservative party has left them,” he said.
Local Issues And Beer Prices
Davey linked the campaign to local issues including fly tipping, potholes and sewage pollution in rivers. He said voters also reacted to national concerns, including Donald Trump, saying some former Conservative voters now saw the Liberal Democrats as standing up for Britain against Trump’s bullying.
He said he planned to campaign to reduce 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.
With more than 5,000 councillors on the ballot, the immediate test for Davey is whether his warning about Reform helps the Liberal Democrats turn tight contests into control in a handful of councils. The result will show whether tactical voting can shift power in the home counties and beyond.
