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The Liberal Democrats are not “a flash in the pan”, Sir Ed Davey said as he looked forward to steady gains at Thursday’s local elections.
While Reform UK and the Greens are expected to pick up a significant number of councillors in England, Sir Ed’s party is projected to make more modest gains.
But these would represent the eighth consecutive year the Lib Dems have gained seats at local elections, and could see the party become the largest presence in English local government.
Speaking to the Press Association during a visit to Redhill, in Surrey, on the final day of campaigning, Sir Ed said: “This is not just a flash in the pan, a one-off as you’re seeing with other parties.
“This is a party growing year on year on year.
“At the general election, we had our best result for 100 years. If we keep gaining as we are, we will be one of the two biggest parties in local government by the end of the parliament.
“That will mean at the next general election we will be right at the centre of the political debate.”
The Liberal Democrats have targeted councils across the south of England, hoping to build on previous gains and pick up councils in Surrey, Sussex and Hertfordshire at the expense of the Conservatives.
But Sir Ed told PA he was also “on the front foot” in northern councils such as Hull, Stockport and Newcastle as he urged voters to back his party as the tactical choice to “stop Reform”.
He said: “When we fight head-to-head against them, we tend to win. In fact, we are the only party beating Reform in by-elections across the country.
“It’s just so sad the Conservatives and Labour are so weak they are unable to do what Liberal Democrats are doing.
“So people who want to stop Nigel Farage – and there are many, many of them – are increasingly seeing the Liberal Democrats as the party to do that.”
Promising councillors who would “roll up their sleeves and get things done”, Sir Ed said his party had been “the real environmental champions” of the election, campaigning on fly-tipping, sewage and recycling.
He added that the Lib Dems had been the only party talking about social care during the election, which he described as “a damning indictment” of his opponents.
