Ed Davey drives tractor in new Lib Dem stunt as he vows to bring down Blue Wall

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has vowed to tear down the Conservatives’ Blue Wall in his latest general election campaign stunt – driving around in a big yellow tractor.

During a visit to Chippenham in Wiltshire, Sir Ed took a spin around the field in a JCB tractor with parliamentary candidate Sarah Gibson.

Afterwards he said: “We’ve talked about the Blue Wall in the Home Counties, we’ve talked about the Blue Wall in the West Country and this is the Blue Wall in rural Britain.

“And the yellow tractor is coming.”

Sir Ed’s Lib Dems have become known for their high-profile stunts during the general election campaign.

The party leader visited Thorpe Park in Surrey, went paddle boarding on Windermere in the Lake District, went surfing in Bude, Cornwall and raced down the Ultimate Slip n Slide at Frome in Somerset.

Sir Ed said driving the tractor underlined his party’s commitment to farming communities and agriculture and that the Lib Dems are the challengers to the Tories in rural Britain.

“Farmers and rural communities have been let down quite badly by the Conservatives. And when we talk to people, whether they are farmers or people in rural Britain, they say the Conservatives don’t seem to care anymore and take them for granted,” he said.

“They agree with what the Liberal Democrats say.

“We are talking today about a major issue in agriculture: rural communities and rural health. And the yellow tractor is tearing down the Blue Wall in those rural areas.

“If you want to beat the Conservatives in the countryside, vote Liberal Democrats.”

Asked for his message to voters on the last full day of campaigning before the country goes to the polls, Sir Ed said: “Please vote Liberal Democrats.

“You get a great local champion who will fight for your community and your family in parliament.

“You also get someone who cares about the health and care system in your region, and you save our NHS and our care system in Westminster.

“We’re talking about building a caring nation. I like to think we’ve talked about social care when no one else was, and brought care out of the shadows.

“We also discussed our economic policies to get our economy back on track, the cost of living, the environment and ending the sewage scandal.

“So whether it’s health and care, the economy, the environment or tackling sewage, please vote Liberal Democrats on Thursday – it could make a real difference to our country.”

He said his party will hold the next government to account even if Labour wins an overwhelming majority as expected.

“I think parliament works if you have an effective opposition to whoever is in government.

“The Conservatives clearly can’t do that. They’ve failed in government and they would fail in opposition because they’re so divided.

“They argue among themselves, they move to the right and play step by step with Reform.

“I don’t think they can be anti-government, and I think the Liberal Democrats can. And when you vote Liberal Democrat, you get a great local champion who represents your community, but you also get a great group of new Liberal Democrat MPs who can fight for a fair deal and make sure that parliament delivers on saving our NHS, getting our economy back on track and ending the sewage scandal.”

Sir Ed also spoke about his own caring responsibilities, for his son John and earlier for his mother Nina, who died of cancer when he was 15.

“When my wife and I decided we were going to talk a little bit more about our son John and his disabilities, people said, ‘Can you tell me more about it? And thank you,’” he said.

“The more we talked about it, the more we realised that if you support informal carers, you are also supporting professional carers who work in our care homes, who work for the elderly and the disabled.

“So, those personal stories, whether they’re mine or the millions of people with similar stories, I hope we’ve helped them.

“But I also hope we have said that politicians need to take this problem much more seriously and stop ignoring people.

“If they do that, it will help the whole country if we get health care right, if we become a caring nation.”