PASir Ed Davey has said his party will offer a positive alternative to the Labour government’s “doom and gloom”, in his closing speech at the Liberal Democrat conference.
Sir Ed – whose party has a record 72 MPs – said the country’s problems could not be solved with “the pessimism and defeatism we’re hearing from Labour”.
He urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to be bolder in government and take action to prevent a “winter crisis” in the NHS.
His party is calling for a new NHS taskforce with a £1.5bn fund to help hospitals and A&E services in England to cope with high patient demand in the winter.
There was a party atmosphere in the conference hall as Sir Ed took to the stage with all 72 Lib Dem MPs seated behind him, with some singing along to Abba’s Take A Chance On Me.
He paid tribute to the MPs and praised the “sacrifices” made by his wife Emily, who appeared emotional as the audience applauded.
The Lib Dems have been relentless this week in hammering home their core message on the need to invest more in the NHS.
And Sir Ed made health and social care the main focus of his 40-minute speech.
In a new policy announcement, he called on the government to set up a task force to help NHS Trusts plan their budgets more efficiently, instead of receiving emergency funding from the government at the last minute.
“The government could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS,” Sir Ed said.
“So I urge Labour: do not make the same mistakes the Conservative Party did.
“Be more positive. Act now. Show the ambition and urgency this moment demands – and save our NHS now.”
Sir Ed has been keen to position his party as “constructive opposition” to the Labour government.
In his speech, he vowed to “scrutinise” Labour’s plans carefully and “oppose them if we think they’ve got it wrong”.
But he also sought to distance himself from Sir Keir’s message that “things will get worse” before they get better, with “painful” choices to come in the October budget.
The Lib Dem leader said he wanted to “cut through the government’s doom and gloom with our ambition for our country”.
The Lib Dems opposed the Labour government’s decision to withdraw the winter fuel allowance from millions of pensions, in a Commons vote last week.
But the Lib Dems have not toned down their hostility towards Conservatives, who they took 60 of their 72 seats from in the general election.
The Lib Dems say there are 57 constituencies where they need fewer than 10,000 votes to win and most of them are held by the Conservatives.
In his speech, Sir Ed said it was his party’s job to “consign the Conservative Party to the history books”.
He said they have chances to “finish the job” in county council elections next May, and “across the country in the years to come”.
In a personal section of the speech, Sir Ed spoke about looking after his mum when she had cancer, and his son John, who has a neurological condition and learning difficulties.
He said “we won’t save the NHS, if we don’t sort out care” and urged the prime minister to work him with on this issue.
While the speech mainly focused on the NHS, it did include an endorsement of US Vice-President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for the presidency. It received one of the loudest rounds of applause.
“With the looming spectre of a second Trump presidency,” Sir Ed said. “How I hope and pray to see Kamala Harris defeat him this November.”
His speech drew the clearest dividing lines with Labour yet, and signalled the party’s direction of travel in this Parliament.
In his closing remarks, Sir Ed said: “Let’s offer real hope. Let’s build a brighter future. And let’s keep on winning, so we can make it happen.”
