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  • 9 hours ago
The Liberal Democrats are locked in a fierce political fight against Labour as they seek to win control of their fourth council in the capital.Party leader Sir Ed Davey joined activists in Merton, south-west London, as they focused on key wards in the borough which could decide who runs the council after May 7.In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the local elections, Sir Ed said his party was repelling the big squeeze on London politics by Zack Polanski’s Green Party and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

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00:00Most British people don't trust people like Nigel Farage and the Conservatives.
00:03That's why we have the small boats, because we pulled out of the EU.
00:06I think people will be surprised how well Liberal Democrats do in London and the rest of the country.
00:10If you look at the council by-elections across the country last year, which party won the most?
00:15The Liberal Democrats. We won more than Reform.
00:18And where there was head-to-head battles with Reform, it was the Liberal Democrats who were winning the most.
00:23In fact, in council by-elections last year, we won more than Labour, Conservatives and Green combined.
00:28So, in local government elections, people want a local candidate that's going to be champion for their community,
00:34get things fixed, listen to people, get their sleeves rolled up and work hard.
00:40And that's what you get if you vote for a Liberal Democrat council candidate.
00:43We have always been the champions of community police.
00:46And it's been so sad that, first of all, the Conservatives under actually Boris Johnson when he was mayor,
00:50and since then, they haven't rebuilt the community policing we once had.
00:54People want to see that visible policing and it works as a deterrent and also to catch the criminals.
01:00I mean, across London, we're seeing not just antisocial behaviour, we're seeing shoplifting.
01:04I'm afraid of really hitting our local businesses.
01:08And we're seeing mobile phone theft.
01:10And unless you have police in the community, as only we are advocating, you can't deal with those sorts of
01:15crimes.
01:15And we need to make sure that rented accommodation is of a higher standard.
01:20So, the decent home standard that applies in the social sector really should apply in the private sector as well.
01:27So, we've got something, I think, which will make a big difference for people's housing across the capital.
01:32With Trump's idiotic war with Iran, the biggest and most worrying thing for many people is the cost of driving
01:39their car or getting a bus or going on the train.
01:41So, we've come up with a real package, the only party to do that, to say we should recycle the
01:46extra money the Chancellor's now getting from higher oil and gas prices.
01:50And give it back to people and families and pensioners and businesses by cutting fuel duty on petrol and diesel.
01:56Also, a litre of petrol and diesel is 12p cheaper, the pumps.
02:02And we've also suggested we should reduce the cap on bus fares and cut rail fares by 10%.
02:08That's the sort of package that will help people in the capital.
02:11I think the key thing at the moment is to rebuild trust between ourselves and our European colleagues.
02:16We have a much closer relationship than we've got.
02:18I mean, the Conservatives and Nigel Farage have bust that relationship and damaged it.
02:24That's why we have the small boats, because we pulled out of the EU and they never apologise for that,
02:28do they?
02:29It's why our economy is performing so badly. And my concern with Labour is they've been so timid in rebuilding
02:35that relationship.
02:36And it's been left to the Liberal Democrats to say, look, let's have, for example, a much closer relationship with
02:42a new EU-UK customs union.
02:45Let's have a youth mobility scheme. These are the way to rebuild that trust so we get that closer relationship,
02:50so we grow our economy and can deal with the cost of living.
02:53We know and have always said that our long-term relationship should be back in the heart of Europe, but
02:58you've got to rebuild trust.
02:59It's a two-way thing. The Conservatives and Nigel Farage have undermined Britain's standing in Europe.
03:06I'm afraid European politicians no longer trust British politicians. And who can blame them?
03:10In fact, most British people don't trust people like Nigel Farage and the Conservatives.
03:14So we have to rebuild that trust as part of the way to getting those close relationships.
03:20And that's why we've got pragmatic, sensible policies that will do just that, but also help our economy grow
03:27so our country can help people and businesses struggling with higher prices.
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