While some political watchers may already be sick of the election cycle – Sir Ed Davey has taken it rather literally for his latest publicity stunt.
The Lib Dem leader – known for his love of attention-grabbing antics for his party – could be seen with his legs spread wide open as he rode a bike during a visit to Knighton in Wales while on the campaign trail.
It was just the latest in a lengthy series of set-up stunts that have included falling repeatedly and deliberately from a paddleboard on Windermere just yesterday, the scene of a highly controversial effluent spillage in February.
Earlier this month it was claimed million of litres of raw sewage were ‘illegally pumped’ into the Lake District beauty spot by United Utilities after a fault was not corrected for hours.
Sir Ed accused Tory ministers of ‘sitting on their hands’ and allowing firms to get away with pumping poo into waterways.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey clowns around on a bike during a visit to Knighton in Wales today
The Lib Dem leader’s love of a stunt saw him embark and then rapidly disembark from a paddleboard on Windermere yesterday
Earlier this month it was claimed million of litres of raw sewage were ‘illegally pumped’ into the Lake District beauty spot
‘These disgraced firms are destroying our treasured lakes and rivers with their filthy sewage dumping – hitting human health, harming our precious environment and damaging the local tourism economy all at the same time,’ he said.
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Want a flake with that? Lord Cameron pulls a frothy pint and Ed Davey falls off a paddleboard in latest general election publicity stunts (but Rishi finally nails a sporting photo op… even if it’s on the bowling green)
Last week, Sir Davey could be seen lapping up a yellow ice cream on a seaside trip for the second day of the election campaign
The Liberal Democrat leader made, and then ate, the frozen treat as he teamed up with local candidate Josh Babarinde and party supporters in the East Sussex town.
Eastbourne is among a string of ‘Blue Wall’ seats the Lib Dems are targeting on 4 July.
Earlier this year, Sir Davey also lived up to his usual antics by delivering a speech in front of a giant blue hour glass with the words ‘Time’s Running Out Rishi!’.
The visual stunt was aimed to kick forward the Liberal Democrats’ local election campaign.
Back in March last year, Davey again flamboyantly launched the Liberal Democrats’ local election campaign by driving a tractor through a stack of blue-coloured hay bales in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
It symbolised the party’s desire to knock down the ‘blue wall’ of Conservative constituencies in the Home Counties.
The Lib Dem leader also stood outside of a giant blue hour glass with the words ‘Time’s Running Out Rishi!’ in March earlier this year for the local election campaign
In March 2023, Davey (pictured driving) smashed through blue-coloured hay bales to kick off the Liberal Democrats’ local election campaign
He said: ‘People are having to wait hours for an ambulance, weeks for a GP appointment or months for urgent cancer treatment as the NHS crisis spirals out of control.
‘But the Conservatives have failed to deliver the new hospitals they promised and are breaking their pledge to recruit more GPs. It shows this Conservative government is out of touch, out of ideas and out of excuses.’
The Lib Dem leader has become accustomed with blunt metaphor photoshoots, including when he smashed a wall of blue bricks with a hammer after their victory in the Chesham and Amersham by-election last year.
Sir Davey’s embarrassing flop into the water was nearly matched by David Cameron’s extremely frothy pint which he pulled in Macclesfield.
But it was nothing compared to when Rishi Sunak’s football skills were ridiculed, including by the Labour party, when he kicked a ball around with children while in Chesham, Buckinghamshire.