‘Lend Lib Dems vote to stop Tory landslide’
A Tory landslide will only be prevented if people vote tactically, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said.
Mr Farron – kicking off a sixstop eve-of-poll tour of England with an anti-hard Brexit breakfast event in a Solihull café that specialises in German sausage – claimed Prime Minister Theresa May was taking a big win for granted.
He told the Press Association: “We are saying to people in areas where you know the Liberal Democrats are the main challengers, as we seek to minimise Theresa May’s majority, then backing the Liberal Democrats is a powerful way that you can send a message that she does not have a blank cheque to bring in the dementia tax, cut the police and do the damage that she is going to do to our health service.”
Denying that the Lib Dem campaign had failed to break through with voters, Mr Farron said: “Our bid is to ask people to lend us their vote so that we can get out there and prevent Theresa May taking the country for granted.”
Mr Farron branded the Tories “hapless and heartless” as he accused Mrs May of dodging questions and changing position throughout the election battle.
Attempting to move the agenda back on to Brexit, Mr Farron said the Tories could not be trusted to handle withdrawal negotiations.
“They can’t even write a manifesto they can stand by, yet they want you to trust them with the biggest negotiations this country has ever done.
“Have no doubt, Theresa May will get us a bad Brexit deal – and I mean dementiatax bad.”
Mr Farron has insisted the Lib Dems could double their tally of MPs to 18 despite poor poll ratings.
After Mr Farron had a campaign walkabout with former business secretary Sir Vince Cable in Twickenham, the Lib Dem “battle bus” returned to its depot to be cleaned after someone had written “Vote Labour” in the dirt on the back of the vehicle.