Sir Ed Davey appealed to voters in London and its commuter belt to “tear down the Blue Wall” as he set his sights on exceeding expectations for his party on July 4.
In an exclusive interview with The Standard, the Liberal Democrat leader told how he was aiming for a “game, set and match” triple win in south-west London as his party targets Wimbledon, Sutton and Cheam, and Carshalton and Wallington.
He also hinted that he believes the Lib Dems could pull off some surprises on election night in the London area.
His party has a recent history of great election hopes evaporating as the vote counts come in showing they have suffered losses or failed to gain many seats in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Travelling on the train from Waterloo to Wimbledon, Sir Ed acknowledged these flops but is still optimistic as his party target seats in the capital and Home Counties, many of which are on South Western Railway routes.
“London commuters need to tear down the wall, the Blue Wall in south west London and in all the commuter belt, the Home Counties, from Hertfordshire to Surrey, to Kent to Sussex,” he rattles off.
“Liberal Democrats are the ones who can beat the Conservatives in these areas.”
He is quick to throw in the two words, Liz Truss, which polling expert Sir John Curtice says sow doubts in voters’ minds about whether or not they should trust the Tories on the economy.
“People feel let down by the Conservatives, from the appalling Liz Truss budget which hit people, not just on mortgage rates but pensions too,” stressed Sir Ed.
“Then the tax rises of Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak are really hitting people.”
So is his party being squeezed in the capital as people turn to Labour?
“I don’t think so,” he said, insisting that it is the Lib Dems, not Labour, “really challenging the Conservatives very hard” in south west London.
Either heralding some surprise electoral advances, or repeating the Lib Dem over-exuberance of past elections, Sir Ed added: “Increasingly, I’m genuinely quite excited that it looks like we could take a lot of seats off the Conservatives.”
Dorking and Horley, Woking, as well as Esher and Walton are on the Lib Dem radar.
What is clear is how locally targeted the Lib Dem campaigning is, with Sir Ed reeling off a string of smaller rivers in London and Surrey which have suffered pollution, including “the Wandle, Lea, Wey and Hogsmill”.
The Lib Dems have this week also stepped up campaigning on the NHS, which is “coming up huge” on the doorstep.
With Labour having shifted to the Centre ground, the Lib Dems appear further on the Left, including on backing reforms to the two child benefit limit, a freeze on rail fares, and spending almost £27 billion more a year by 2029, aiming to raise £4 billion extra from levies on banks, as well as £5 billion from reforming capital gains tax.
So is there a touch of the McDonnell/Corbyn’s to the Lib Dem manifesto?
“Gosh, no,” Sir Ed hit back.
“It’s a far more prudent and realistic proposition. It’s fully costed..but it is ambitious, particularly on health and care which is absolutely our priority.”
The Lib Dems are not banging the anti-Brexit drum but Sir Ed denied his party was part of a conspiracy of silence on the economic damage caused by quitting the EU.
Turning down the decibels, though, on Europe may enable the party to attract more traditional Conservative voters.
“What is different about this election, I’ve never seen this before, is people who have always voted Conservative, their families have always voted Conservative, and they are saying they are not going to do that this time,” said Sir Ed.
“It’s a combination of disgust at the lack of integrity, people are really angry with the dishonesty and the corruption and chaos.
“Some people think the Conservative Party can’t govern any more because it is just too divided.
“And then there’s what you might call bread-and-butter issues of tax, mortgages and the health service.”
He also rebuffed criticism of his election stunts from some Tories.
“Well, I think Conservatives are worried by the attention we’re attracting,” he said.
“I don’t take myself too seriously, but actually through those events, we are getting attention for our serious policies.”
When he went down a waterslide in Somerset, the party was talking about mental health of children and young people, when he fell off a paddleboard on Lake Windermere it was shining a light on sewage.
But Sir Ed has himself been in the spotlight for not doing more as the Coalition’s postal affairs minister on the Horizon Post Office scandal and former postmistress Yvonne Tracey is standing against him in Kingston and Surbiton.
“I’m standing on my record, whether it’s really being a champion for health services in Kingston, Surbiton, or whether it’s being a champion of commuters,” he said.
“So there’ll be other candidates of different persuasions. let them make their case. But I’m going to make my case.”
As for whether the Lib Dems can win their three target seats in south west London, he declared: “I think it will be game, set and match,” before jumping off the train at Wimbledon to go off campaigning.
