Lib Dem leader claims the Conservatives and SNP are ‘as bad as each other’

The Lib Dem leader has claimed the Conservatives and SNP are “as bad as each other”.

Sir Ed Davey today tore into the parties governing in Westminster and Holyrood, and accused them of not focusing on issues that are relevant to the public.

Speaking ahead of his speech at the Lib Dem Scottish conference today, Sir Ed suggested the two parties were “distracted”.

He said: “The vast majority of people are worried about their jobs, social care, their health, the environment, and it’s the Lib Dems who are talking about that time and time again.

Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey claimed the SNP and Tories were "as bad as each other"

“The SNP and Tories are focusing on issues which are not going to help solve Covid, are not going to help solve our economic crisis.“I despair sometimes about both the SNP and the Conservatives, they are as bad as each other.“They want to fight on an issue that isn’t relevant to Scottish people or Scottish businesses today.

“There is a crisis like we’ve never seen before, and why oh why the SNP and the Tories have to be at each other's throats on a constitutional issue when neither of their solutions will fix the immediate problems facing Scottish people.

“It is another distinctive part of our message, we are the only true federal party.

“If we get into the constitutional debate, which I do think is less significant given the severe jobs crisis and health crisis, if we get into that we have a distinctive position.”

The Kingston MP, who became Liberal Democrat leader in August, added his party was the only one that supported Scotland being in both the European Union and the UK.

He insisted his party can offer voters a “more attractive proposition” than the SNP, who he suggested just want to get rid of the “shockingly incompetent” Boris Johnson.

Sir Ed added that their “distinctive” proposals for a federal UK would give Scots more power but also keep the “precious partnership” of nations together.

He explained: “We think there are other positive alternatives, we think a federal future is very positive, it would enable Scotland to have much greater control over its future but benefit from the partnership, which also has so many advantages.

“I can understand why they want to appeal to an argument that people want an alternative to Boris Johnson and his shockingly incompetent government.

“But our family of nations have been around much longer than one government.”

The Lib Dem leader also backed his party to make gains in the Holyrood elections, despite sitting in fourth in the polls.

He insisted: “We have got huge potential, and as our voice gets heard more and more in the run up to the Holyrood elections we are very confident we will see gains.

“We will be putting a very positive agenda, focusing on the issues we think are uppermost in people’s minds as they live through this horror.

“We won’t allow ourselves to be distracted, I do think what the SNP and others are talking about with respect to constitutional issues is a distraction.”

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