Lib Dems Promise Tory 'Removal Service' And Demand May General Election
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has driven a poster van advertising his “Tory Removals” service through Guildford, as he demanded Rishi Sunak call an election soon.
Davey unveiled a new campaign poster promoting the “Blue Wall’s Premium Conservative MP unseating service”.
The party is targeting the so-called blue wall seats held by the Tories in the south and south west of England, including those held by Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.
On a campaign tour of Surrey to mark the New Year, Davey announced the Lib Dems would table a bill that would force an election on May 2.
The party wants the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA) - which all-but set the election date in stone - to be brought back.
It was introduced by the coalition in 2011 but repealed by the Conservatives in 2022, meaning the date of the election is essentially up to Sunak.
Davey said: “It shouldn’t be up to Rishi Sunak to cling on for another twelve months, desperately hoping for something to turn up and causing even more damage as he tries to keep his fractured party behind him.
“That’s why we’re tabling a law to force a general election in May, so we can send the movers into No.10 and get rid of this out-of-touch Conservative Government.”
The call for the FTPA to return will not be successful, but the Lib Dems want to increase the pressure on the prime minister.
Sunak is widely expected to call the general election in October or November, but he could also go early in May or delay it as late as January 2025.
The prime minister is facing a tactical voting pincer movement, with Labour hopeful of recapturing the northern so-called red wall seats it lost in 2019 and the Lib Dems coming back in the south.
The Tories are also under threat from the right, amid speculation Nigel Farage could return as leader of the Reform UK.