The Lib Dems achieved a record result, with 72 seats UK-wide.
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER SIR ED DAVEY SAYS HIS PARTY WILL PROVIDE ‘CONSTRUCTIVE OPPOSITION’ (GARETH FULLER/PA)
PA WIRE
JORDAN REYNOLDS
JULY 7, 2024
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the party will be the “voice of carers” and “challenge the Government to make sure they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones”.
It comes after the Liberal Democrats defeated the SNP in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat on Saturday, the final UK constituency to be declared in the General Election results.
The party achieved a record result, with 72 seats UK-wide.
Speaking at Lib Dem headquarters in central London on Friday, Sir Ed said his party’s first campaign will be “for an emergency budget for health and care”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Sir Ed said: “We’re going to be constructive opposition. We fought the election on health and care and the cost of living, on ending the sewage scandal and in the parliament we will focus on those issues and we will urge the Government to go further.
“We’ve already started that by calling for the emergency budget on health and care and I want to make sure they respond.
“I mean one thing I was disappointed in Labour’s manifesto was it didn’t mention family carers or unpaid carers who are actually critical.
“And I’ve made very clear that the Liberal Democrats will be the voice of carers, and we will challenge the Government to make sure they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones.”
Sir Ed also said the party has “long argued for electoral reform” as “our politics is broken”, but added it “might mean that there’ll be people who are elected who we don’t agree with”.
Asked if it was fair that Reform UK got many more votes than the Lib Dems but have ended up with far fewer seats, he said: “Well, you know Laura that the Liberal Democrats have long argued for fair votes and long argued for electoral reform and proportional representation. We want to improve our democracy, our politics is broken and so we’re going to continue to make that case.
“It might mean that there’ll be people who are elected who we don’t agree with but by the way, that’s been the case in the first past the post, there are many people in the Conservative Party who seem to share the values and ideas of Reform, and they’re already there.”
Asked if the voting system was reformed under proportional representation, would he be happy to see Reform UK being the third biggest party and not the Liberal Democrats, he said: “Well, I believe in democracy, and I believe in taking forward your ideas for political reform.
“People will get voted in who you don’t agree with, under first past the post people in Reform have got elected too and people in the Conservative Party who were very close to Reform have got elected. That’s democracy, that’s allowing the people to express their will.”
It comes after the Liberal Democrats defeated the SNP in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat on Saturday, the final UK constituency to be declared in the General Election results.
The party achieved a record result, with 72 seats UK-wide.
Speaking at Lib Dem headquarters in central London on Friday, Sir Ed said his party’s first campaign will be “for an emergency budget for health and care”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Sir Ed said: “We’re going to be constructive opposition. We fought the election on health and care and the cost of living, on ending the sewage scandal and in the parliament we will focus on those issues and we will urge the Government to go further.
“We’ve already started that by calling for the emergency budget on health and care and I want to make sure they respond.
“I mean one thing I was disappointed in Labour’s manifesto was it didn’t mention family carers or unpaid carers who are actually critical.
“And I’ve made very clear that the Liberal Democrats will be the voice of carers, and we will challenge the Government to make sure they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones.”
Sir Ed also said the party has “long argued for electoral reform” as “our politics is broken”, but added it “might mean that there’ll be people who are elected who we don’t agree with”.
Asked if it was fair that Reform UK got many more votes than the Lib Dems but have ended up with far fewer seats, he said: “Well, you know Laura that the Liberal Democrats have long argued for fair votes and long argued for electoral reform and proportional representation. We want to improve our democracy, our politics is broken and so we’re going to continue to make that case.
“It might mean that there’ll be people who are elected who we don’t agree with but by the way, that’s been the case in the first past the post, there are many people in the Conservative Party who seem to share the values and ideas of Reform, and they’re already there.”
Asked if the voting system was reformed under proportional representation, would he be happy to see Reform UK being the third biggest party and not the Liberal Democrats, he said: “Well, I believe in democracy, and I believe in taking forward your ideas for political reform.
“People will get voted in who you don’t agree with, under first past the post people in Reform have got elected too and people in the Conservative Party who were very close to Reform have got elected. That’s democracy, that’s allowing the people to express their will.”
Steal our ideas, Lib Dem leader urges government
By Chas Geiger,
By Chas Geiger,
Politics reporter
BBC
JULY 7,2024
It "would be great" if the new Labour government took on Liberal Democrat policies, party leader Sir Ed Davey has said.
After his party won 72 seats in the general election, he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme Labour in opposition "stole" his party's idea of a windfall tax on the big oil and gas companies.
He said the Lib Dems aimed to be a "constructive opposition" and to force the government to listen "by the strength of our arguments".
Sir Ed repeated his call for an emergency budget to improve health and social care, saying his party would be "the voice of carers".
After Reform UK won more votes but far fewer seats than the Lib Dems, Sir Ed also said he would go on arguing for "fair votes" and changing the electoral system to proportional representation.
"We want to improve our democracy, our politics is broken and so we're going to continue to make that case.
"People will get voted in who you don't agree with... That's democracy, that's allowing the people to express their will," he added.
The Lib Dems won their 72 seats - a record for the party - with 12.2% of the vote. Reform UK gained five MPs with 14.3% of the vote.
Reform chairman Richard Tice, the new MP for Boston and Skegness, told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the election results had "highlighted the absurd flaws in the first-past-the-post system".
"On a fair proportional representation system, we would get 94 seats, but instead we've just got five and that is patently unfair."
In his interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Ed rejected suggestions that the size of Labour's majority meant the government did not need to pay attention to the Lib Dems.
He said: "We’ve managed over a number of years to persuade people to steal our policies and that’s a really good idea.
"It was the Liberal Democrats who argued for a windfall tax on the huge profits of the oil and gas companies, made on the back of President Putin in his illegal invasion of Ukraine.
"It was Liberal Democrats making that argument to help people with their energy bills, in three months after we made it, [the] Labour Party stole that idea.
"So, I’m hoping, as we argue for health and care, we argue for ending the sewage scandal, we argue for action on the cost of living, that the Labour government will realise that we actually have the best arguments, the best policies and take them, and that would be great."
Sir Ed said his party had put health and social care at the heart of its election campaign, and believed an emergency budget was needed "so we can start rescuing our NHS which is on its knees because of the Conservatives".
Since taking office, both the prime minister and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have described the NHS as "broken".
But the Lib Dem leader said he was disappointed that Labour’s manifesto had not mentioned family carers or unpaid carers "who are actually critical".
His party would "be the voice of carers and we will challenge the government to make sure that they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones", he said.
It "would be great" if the new Labour government took on Liberal Democrat policies, party leader Sir Ed Davey has said.
After his party won 72 seats in the general election, he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme Labour in opposition "stole" his party's idea of a windfall tax on the big oil and gas companies.
He said the Lib Dems aimed to be a "constructive opposition" and to force the government to listen "by the strength of our arguments".
Sir Ed repeated his call for an emergency budget to improve health and social care, saying his party would be "the voice of carers".
After Reform UK won more votes but far fewer seats than the Lib Dems, Sir Ed also said he would go on arguing for "fair votes" and changing the electoral system to proportional representation.
"We want to improve our democracy, our politics is broken and so we're going to continue to make that case.
"People will get voted in who you don't agree with... That's democracy, that's allowing the people to express their will," he added.
The Lib Dems won their 72 seats - a record for the party - with 12.2% of the vote. Reform UK gained five MPs with 14.3% of the vote.
Reform chairman Richard Tice, the new MP for Boston and Skegness, told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the election results had "highlighted the absurd flaws in the first-past-the-post system".
"On a fair proportional representation system, we would get 94 seats, but instead we've just got five and that is patently unfair."
In his interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Ed rejected suggestions that the size of Labour's majority meant the government did not need to pay attention to the Lib Dems.
He said: "We’ve managed over a number of years to persuade people to steal our policies and that’s a really good idea.
"It was the Liberal Democrats who argued for a windfall tax on the huge profits of the oil and gas companies, made on the back of President Putin in his illegal invasion of Ukraine.
"It was Liberal Democrats making that argument to help people with their energy bills, in three months after we made it, [the] Labour Party stole that idea.
"So, I’m hoping, as we argue for health and care, we argue for ending the sewage scandal, we argue for action on the cost of living, that the Labour government will realise that we actually have the best arguments, the best policies and take them, and that would be great."
Sir Ed said his party had put health and social care at the heart of its election campaign, and believed an emergency budget was needed "so we can start rescuing our NHS which is on its knees because of the Conservatives".
Since taking office, both the prime minister and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have described the NHS as "broken".
But the Lib Dem leader said he was disappointed that Labour’s manifesto had not mentioned family carers or unpaid carers "who are actually critical".
His party would "be the voice of carers and we will challenge the government to make sure that they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones", he said.
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