SIR Ed Davey set out election his stall today amid increasing hints he would prop up Sir Keir Starmer in a “Knightmare” deal.
During his four-day conference in Bournemouth, the Lib Dem leader has repeatedly refused to rule out helping Labour into power if they fail to win a majority.
Whereas he has categorically eliminated any possibility of a coalition with the Tories – and yesterday even suggested they were c***s.
His pledge to build a “better future with Europe” prompted the loudest applause of his 46-minute keynote address to activists.
But he did not mention the word Brexit once and has been reluctant to explicitly commit to rejoining the EU despite fevered demands from the party faithful.
Sir Ed suggested Labour needed to plan for a more “ambitious” relationship with Europe, saying: “Labour has a long way still to go.”
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In a series of interviews during the seaside get-together Sir Ed failed to dampen speculation he would be prepared to aid Labour in ousting Rishi Sunak.
He told Sky: “Beyond ruling out a coalition with the Conservatives and any dealing with the Conservatives, I am not going to speculate what else could happen.”
Sir Keir has also never ruled out working with the Lib Dems if needed to win No10.
In a jibe at the Tories today he took back previous comments comparing them to clowns – saying it was unfair on clowns.
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He then said: “I’m sorry. I used the wrong c-word. Let me try again: It’s time to get these Conservatives out of No10.”
Keen to appeal to Blue Wall areas, Sir Ed yesterday put healthcare at the heart of his speech and announced a pledge that cancer patients would be seen within two months.
In a moving section he recalled losing both of his parents to cancer when he was a kid.
The Lib Dems are seeking to turn a recent run of byelection successes in former Tory heartlands into more MPs at next year’s General Election.
Sir Ed said: “We have taken chunks out of the Blue Wall. We have made it start to crumble.”
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