Sir Ed Davey takes swipe at Tory 'clowns' as he pledges to 'restore hope' with two month NHS cancer treatment guarantee
26 September 2023, 16:35 | Updated: 26 September 2023, 16:44
Sir Ed Davey today labelled the current Conservative party "clowns" during a speech which saw him pledge to make two month NHS cancer waiting times law under a Liberal Democrat government.
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Making his first speech as Lib Dem leader, Mr Davey walked an anti-Tory line, labelling the current Conservative government a "total con" who "broke the economy".
Accusing the government of "stuffing the Lords with Boris Johnsons lackeys", the comments formed part of his keynote speech at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Bornemouth.
Focussing heavily on the future of the NHS and social care, the leader regularly made reference to broken Tory promises as part of his emotive and highly personal speech.
Pledging to "make cancer a top priority", Mr Davey also used the speech to guarantee in law that anyone referred for cancer treatment will be seen within two months of referral.
"It's hard to hope right now," said Mr Davey from Bournemouth, adding: "Perhaps there should be a warning on the ballot papers as there is on cigarette packets: 'voting conservative is bad for your health'".
Citing 13 years of Tory rule for the demise of the NHS and social care, the leader accused the Conservatives of "attacks on the rule of law and traditional British freedoms".
"Never has so much unnecessary pain inflicted on so many, by so few," said Mr Davey.
Reinforcing his party’s focus on the NHS - a subject which formed the cornerstone of his speech ahead of the next general election, Mr Davey emotionally drew on his own experiences of England's healthcare system.
Detailing the loss of both of his father and mother to cancer before the age of 15, Mr Davey's graphic and personal description formed a central and emotive part of a speech which closed the conference.
"My dad died aged 38 after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma," said the leader. "Then, when I was nine, cancer came for mum too".
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In a personal and heartfelt plea to voters, Mr Davey said his party would "hold the government to account for every target it misses and every patient it fails".
Pledging to fix the current health crisis, he promised to make "cancer a top priority" thanks to "new and ambitious plans" which aim to "boost survival rates".
Estimating that the proposed policy would cost around £4billion over the course of five years, the Lib Dem leader pledged to make the current 62-day waiting target for patients in England following an urgent referral to be transformed into law.
"We understand that when you strip everything else away, the economy is its people. And if we want our economy growing strong again, we need to focus on its people," said Mr Davey.
"The conservatives broke our economy with their carelessness, the liberal democrats will fix our economy with care."
It's an opportunity the leader also used to reaffirm and "fix our broken relationship with Europe", accusing the current government of having "sold out British farmers and fishermen".
Describing the way in which the Conservatives had "poisoned" the UK's trust in politics "as a whole", he added that 13 years of power had "convinced people to expect less from government".
"So much sleeze, so many scandals, no wonder people are cynical," Mr Davey said, as he pledged to "bring together our great family of nations instead of tearing it apart".
It came as Home Secretary Suella Braverman took to the stage in the US today to deliver a speech which claimed "absurd" UN asylum rules have now created over 780 million refugees.
