Ed Davey calls on Starmer and Sunak to make ‘firm commitment’ to cross-party talks on social care crisis

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called on Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to include a “firm commitment” to cross-party talks on social care in their election manifestos.

Speaking at Labour’s spring conference in York, he said the Prime Minister and Labor leader should put their ideas “on the table” because the care crisis requires a “long-term solution” that lasts beyond the term of Parliament.

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Sir Ed said: “Like many big challenges, solving social care requires a different political approach.

“Because it requires a long-term deal. A deal that can stand the test of time and last as long as one parliament and one party is in power.

“That’s why we’re calling on all parties to include a strong commitment to the manifesto to finally hold cross-party talks on social care.”

Sir Ed, who is carer for his disabled teenage son, said finding a solution had been “on hold for too long” and people were facing “catastrophic costs” and being forced to sell their homes “just because they or their loved ones need care”.

In a direct message to political opponents, he said: “Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer… come to the table. Put your ideas forward.”

“Let’s finally solve this problem.”

“No one who needs care should be forced to sell their home to pay for it,” then-prime minister Boris Johnson said in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.

He later announced plans Limit social care costsbut was delayed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the November 2022 Budget.

The Conservatives and Labor have been largely silent on the issue, with the upcoming general election dominated by issues such as the economy, the NHS and immigration.

Sir Ed spent much of his speech urging the Prime Minister to call an immediate election, saying the date of the next vote “is the only thing Rishi Sunak can control”.

“He certainly doesn’t control his party, certainly he doesn’t control his cabinet, he certainly doesn’t control the health crisis or the economy,” he said.

“In fact, the prime minister sounds like he has given up.”

He believes his party is the only one proposing “transformational change”, while the Conservatives and Labor are just “tinkering around the edges”.

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As well as talking about social care, Sir Ed also discussed issues the party has been campaigning for in his speech, such as the NHS, river sewage and the need for electoral reform.

The party leader also spoke about how he would deal with Brexit – An issue he has been reluctant to mention in the past.

He said he wanted to put the UK “on a path back to the single market”.

“Our plan is to repair the damage done by the Tories and in time restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe. Where we belong,” he said.

The Lib Dems hope to make electoral gains in traditional Conservative strongholds, particularly seeking to win over voters in the south and south-west of England – the so-called “blue wall”.

The party has struggled in general elections since joining forces with the Conservatives in 2010, winning just 11 seats at the last election in 2019.

But it has since won a series of by-elections in former Tory constituencies across southern England, including Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire, Frome in Somerset, Tyton in Devon. Verton and Honiton and North Shropshire.

Sir Ed’s speech came amid reports that some Tory MPs are plotting to replace him ahead of the election, and the Prime Minister’s comments about major Tory donor Frank Hurst’s alleged racist comments about Labor’s Diane Abbott The handling of the incident has also been criticized.

But earlier cabinet minister Mark Harper Deny rumors of rebellionThe Prime Minister told Sky News his decision “will pay off” as he leads the country into the next election.

An election must be held by January 2025 at the latest, but Mr Sunak said his “working assumption” was that it would be held in the second half of this year.