Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper MP, is hopeful that her party can make some 'significant' gains in the recent local elections.Speaking to GB News, Cooper said: "We'll be looking very closely for some of the results that we are looking forward to. "I think in places like Shropshire, in places like Oxfordshire and Devon as well, we are pretty hopeful that we can make some significant gains, particularly against the conservatives, and that we may be able to replace the conservatives as a larger party in local government and become the voice for Middle England."WATCH ABOVE.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Yeah, that's absolutely right. I think around four or five o'clock this afternoon, we'll be looking very closely for some of the results that we are looking forward to. I think in places like Shropshire, places like Oxfordshire and Devon as well, we are pretty hopeful that we can make some significant gains, particularly against the Conservatives, and that we may be able to replace the Conservatives as a larger party in local government and become the voice for Middle England.
00:25What are the key differences that the Liberal Democrats offer compared to Labour and the Tories in terms of policy? What are your key selling points to voters?
00:39Well, just recently, we've been talking tough in terms of standing up to Donald Trump and his damaging trade war. And I think many people have responded to our calls to buy British and to stand tall in the world.
00:50You know, in the general election and more recently, we have been putting the NHS and social care as our number one issue, forcing the government to go further and faster and calling on them to go further and faster on both, you know, fixing our crumbling hospitals, making sure people can see a GP within seven days.
01:07Ed Davey himself, as our party leader, has spoken very movingly about his experience as a family carer and what drives him to make the Liberal Democrats the party of carers nationally.
01:17I think on all of these issues, we've shown that we are a party that listens to what ordinary people are saying, we know how difficult people's lives are, and we're demanding the change that people are desperately, desperately crying out for.
01:28But, Daisy, I... Oh, sorry. No, no, no, please.
01:30I was going to say, Daisy, I suppose a cynic would say, who would be against any of those things? Who's against better social care? Who is against more hospitals? Who is against buying British?
01:38Are you not just still a party of protest and people are voting Lib Dem in local elections because they're fed up of Tories, they're fed up of Labour and, obviously, in the areas where you're seeking to make gains, reform aren't really an entity?
01:52Well, I think if you look at the YouGov poll that came out shortly after the general election last year, the number one reason why people said they voted for the Liberal Democrats was because we made the NHS and social care our number one issue.
02:03People voted for our NHS and care policies because we know just how important that is to people's lives, and we're very concerned, for example, that Nigel Farage seems to want to privatise the NHS and introduce an American-style insurance system, which would crowd many people out from accessing the NHS altogether.
02:20So, actually, there are very, very stark differences. Of course, in many of our areas that we want at the general election and in these local elections, our main challenger is the Conservatives, and we are hoping to make significant gains from the Conservatives in these elections.
02:33Thank you very much.