Nigel Farage will roll back gun laws, claims Lib Dem leader
Nigel Farage will roll back gun laws and spark "mass shooting" drills in British schools, Sir Ed Davey is expected to say in a speech to conclude the Liberal Democrat conference.
Listen to this article
"Trump’s America" will be the blueprint for "Farage’s Britain", the Lib Dem chief will say in an attack on the Reform UK leader during his keynote address in Bournemouth.
Sir Ed and his party have spent the four-day conference criticising Mr Farage, US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
In his speech to wrap up the gathering, the Lib Dem leader will continue on this course.
Read more: Social media should have cigarette packet-style health warnings, Lib Dems to say
Read more: Lib Dems call for tax on big banks to create new energy loans scheme
He will say: "Imagine living in the Trump-inspired country Farage wants us to become. Where there’s no NHS, so patients are hit with crippling insurance bills. Or denied healthcare altogether.
"Where we pay Putin for expensive fossil fuels and destroy our beautiful countryside with fracking – while climate change rages on.
"Where gun laws are rolled back, so schools have to teach our children what to do in case of a mass shooting.
"Where social media barons are free to poison young minds with impunity.
"Where the government tramples on our basic rights and freedoms, unconstrained by the European Convention on Human Rights.
"Where Andrew Tate is held up as an example to young men. Where racism and misogyny get the tacit support of people in power. Where everything is in a constant state of chaos."
Sir Ed will add: "That is Trump’s America. Don’t let it become Farage’s Britain."
As Reform UK leader, Mr Farage has not spoken about gun control.
But in 2014, as Ukip leader, he called a ban on handguns "ludicrous" and said firearms laws should be relaxed.
Restrictions on small arms put in place after the 1996 Dunblane massacre were a "kneejerk" response, Mr Farage said at the time.
A Reform source said: "Ed Davey squanders his big moment spouting total madness. The Lib Dems are an irrelevant laughing stock."
Elsewhere in his speech, Sir Ed is expected to say the Reform leader is "on the side of Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump".
Seeking to contrast Reform with his own party, he will continue: "Liberal Democrats are on the side of the British people. Because unlike Farage, I actually love Britain."
The Lib Dems have attempted to prompt a conversation about patriotism during the conference, amid protests outside migrant hotels where national flags have appeared.
In a rally on the first day of the conference, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron draped himself in a St George’s Cross flag and warned that the Lib Dems could not allow national banners to be claimed by any one political grouping.
Elsewhere during his speech, Sir Ed is expected to call for the Government to set up a dedicated fellowship scheme to welcome US cancer researchers fleeing an "anti-science agenda".
He will also continue his attacks on Tesla chief Mr Musk.
Sir Ed has brushed off suggestions that the billionaire could sue after branding him a "criminal".
The Lib Dems’ chief executive has reportedly been meeting with lawyers pre-emptively over Sir Ed’s comments.
"If he… sues me, let’s see how he fares, because I don’t think he’ll win," he told Sky News.
During the conference, the party has announced:
- Plans for a windfall tax on the big banks to set up a lending scheme that will help homeowners install solar panels and insulation.
- An initiative to place cigarette-style health warnings on social media apps to bolster the protection of children online.
- A new law to bar ministers from lobbying on behalf of foreign leaders in order to “Trump-proof” British politics in future.
- A promise to set up police front desks in libraries, shopping centres and community hubs.