Does Sir Ed Davey back Nigel Farage's call for an immediate general election?

[00:00:00]So, new prime minister takes immediate action on the cost of living and scraps VAT [music] on household electricity bills. In October, he has pledged [music] to give millions of families breathing space.

[00:00:12]>> Andy Bern also says he wants to create a social care system free at the point of use just like the National Health Service and but Libdam leader Ed Davyy says he hasn't heard enough yet about how that will work. Although Andy Burn's only been in post for less than 24 hours, so we need to give him a bit of time. Ed Davyy joins us now. Let's start with this cut in electricity bills announced this morning, paid for by abolishing digital ID, we're told, although it's not clear if the money is actually there to reallocate. Is it good news to get rid of digital ID? Good news to cut electricity bills? Is it going to solve the cost of living crisis?

[00:00:52]>> Well, obviously not. I mean, it is good news to get rid of the digital ID cards.

[00:00:55]Totally support that. Um uh I don't think this is the best way to help people with their energy bills. I don't think it goes far enough. Uh we've got our own ideas. Uh if Andy Burnham is true to his word about wanting to do politics differently and work with opposition parties, I hope he'll look at our ideas. Above all though, I think this speaks to your point uh Ed. I think we need the date for the budget. Uh I think we don't really want a summer of headline grabbing ideas where we don't quite know where the figures uh or I don't where the money is actually coming from. I don't think that will be good for our reputation. I think it could damage uh the the the guilt markets how we borrow money and put up the cost of borrowing. So I think if we had an early budget and started that process to that budget now, I think it would be the best way to ensure there's confidence and that the sums will actually add up.

[00:01:50]>> Okay. So you want an immediate budget.

[00:01:52]What about an immediate general election? Nigel Farage writing today in the Daily Mail says this has been a coup and that this is a government which should hold a vote so it has a mandate.

[00:02:06]and he presumably thinks uh that he could win that. Uh Kimmy Bednox said that so far she thinks that it's only 1% good. Uh she's not giving him very much time. What do you think? I mean, you are the leader of a big political party. Are you in favor of a general election?

[00:02:25]>> Well, um when the general election comes, I'm really looking forward to that. The question is, do we really need a a general election this moment? I'm not convinced. I think people are impatient for change. Absolutely. Uh they elected Labour with a landslide two years ago and have been very disappointed and that's why Kama went.

[00:02:42]Um but I think they want they want what they want to see from Burnham is action soon and we're getting a little bit of that that to be fair to the new government but I don't think we're seeing the full picture and we really need to see the full picture. That's why we're arguing for a budget in early October. I think a a general election now uh would distract from the need to tackle the cost of living emergency. the need to deal with our defense uh challenges and so on. So I'm looking forward to general election when it comes of course and frankly if they don't get on and deal with the changes that people are impatient for then the case for a general election will increase.

[00:03:18]>> Sir David, can I impertinently suggest that you don't want a general election because you fear you'd lose seats?

[00:03:24]>> No. If you look at the MRP polls, they show many of them show that I'd be leader of the opposition and be uh gaining seats. So surely take seize the moment and call for one. Join with your uh allies in uh in reform and call for a general election. Get yourself in government.

[00:03:42]>> Susan, I don't have any allies in uh reform. Uh I think they're a shocking party and um we're all backing Count Binface, aren't we? Um but so let's not take lessons from Mr. Farage. He has >> quite unusual approach though, Ed Davyy.

[00:03:56]Um I'm an opposition leader. I don't want a general election. head in the polls, we we would we would win, but don't hold a vote.

[00:04:06]>> No. Um because I'm actually putting the country first. I mean, I may this may be surprising for you, but the country is in a bit of a mess, right? And country the people are impatient for change. Um I'm looking forward to general election when it comes. I think we'll do really, really well. Uh last election, we surprised people. We got the best result for a hundred years and I think we're going to move on from that. However, if you're interested in our country and people who are struggling with the cost of living, people who can't see a GP, businesses who can't trade because of the disastrous Brexit, uh we have to get our economy moving, uh we have to deal with the cost of living and people are urgent for that. And >> what do we want a general election? When do we want it? Not now, please. Because we've got other things to sort out. I mean, I'm just saying it's an unusual slogan for um opposition leader. It's it's your slogan uh Mr. Bulls. It's not mine. Uh what I what I would say >> that's literally what you just told us.

[00:05:02]>> No. Uh let's be clear about problems for our country. This is the seventh prime minister in 10 years. That is grotesque instability.

[00:05:12]We need stability for investment. We need stability for getting the change we need. And what we're saying is we need to do politics differently. Unless we do politics differently, we won't fix our country.

[00:05:24]>> Can I ask you then a a question about that? Because Andy Berner has said he wants to do politics differently. You have a very personal deep interest in social care. You've caused for a cross party approach. Andy Bernham has said he wants to get away from Yahoo politics and have parties working together. If Andy Bernham now says, "Ed Davey, will you join me in a joint effort to come up with a social care reform proposal which could actually build a consensus?" Would you agree to join those talks and that process? Uh, yeah, I'll go further than that. I've already written a hit to Mr. Bham proposing that very thing. So, um, it was in our manifesto at the last election. It's really really clear that you're not going to solve social care unless you have that cross party approach and we've been advocating that for some time. So I hope he's true to his word and he does reach across the aisles so we can sort out this issue for >> sorry. So we have different ideas. I I I presume that's why you have to have cross party talks. I've particularly focused on family carers. If you look Susanna where who does most of the caring, it actually isn't professional social carers, it's family carers, the vast bulk of the caring. They're always forgotten in this debate. I just think that's totally wrong. Uh and if you sort out support for family carers, you would actually make the whole system more sustainable, more affordable, and far more effective to people who need that care.

[00:06:53]>> That's really interesting because you're absolutely right. You're spot on.

[00:06:57]mostly it is falling on families to look after those who need care and that is because there simply is not enough social care. So what would you do then for families?

[00:07:09]>> Well there's a whole series of things.

[00:07:11]Um I've written a book about this why I care and why care matters setting out a range of ideas but let me start with one. Uh I'm really worried about those carers who don't have much money coming in. Uh and there's something called the carers allowance. It's a it's a really disastrous support system. We've got major reforms to how we would change that partly because it would enable people to both work and care which is better for them, better for their loved ones, better for our economy. So the car allowance is one of the ways we would uh start. Um I've got a whole series of other uh proposals.

[00:07:43]>> Can I just take you back to though where you started because you talked about the importance of a budget, the guilt market, making the sums add up. Andy Bham said yesterday he wanted social care to be based on the NHS principle.

[00:07:56]That means it's free at the point of use. Most of us pay for a part of or all of our social care. To go to free social care like the NHS would cost billions and billions of pounds. Is that a realistic aim for these cross party talks? When Andy Bernham says that yesterday, is he being reasonable or is he just raising expectations he can't deliver?

[00:08:22]>> If I'm honest with you, I'm not quite sure because there wasn't really much detail to it. But let me tell you what we believe. Um Andrew Dilnot did a report in 2011. It was legislator for in the Care Act in 2014. It was, I think, the best financial solution, the best solution for sorting most of this problem out.

[00:08:41]>> But it wasn't free social care.

[00:08:42]>> No. No. Well, I I'm just telling you what what we think. Um, unfortunately, the Conservatives reneged on that. I had hoped when Labour came into power two years ago, they pushed that forward and it would be the Casey Commission rather than being a long-term commission would bring that forward. So, at the cross party talks that I I'm advocating, one of the things I would bring to those talks is the deal not reforms because I think they're an affordable way and a very sensible way to deal with these challenges.

[00:09:08]>> Is free social care like the NHS affordable? Well, we've advocated free personal care. I don't know if that's different from what um Mr. Bernham is saying, but this is my point. He haven't had the detail. And that, to be honest, is the fundamental challenge I have with the prime at the moment. I, you know, I hope for the sake of our country that he's successful. I hope he does what he says, does politics differently, reaches out. That's I think what people want to see. But at the moment, we're getting little snippets here, little snippets there. And frankly, that's not a way to govern the country. a manifesto. He could put it all in and then he could put it to >> Do you mean like a general election >> national vote and then everybody could read it and decide?

[00:09:48]>> Ed, he doesn't want a general election.

[00:09:49]He's too busy holding the government to account.

[00:09:51]>> Yeah, this is very funny. I'm not worried about a general election. I I just think the voters don't want it. So, I mean, uh I know you're trying to push me. I I'm all up for a general election.

[00:10:02]I just think at the moment the country needs some stability. We've got some serious problems. You know, let's be really clear. Our country is in a mess.

[00:10:09]>> True.

[00:10:10]>> Things aren't working.

[00:10:11]>> Yes, >> the economy is in a mess. We need to get our economy growing to deal with the cost of living. We need to sort out the health service. These are urgent uh issues. This government's only been in in in power two years. You know, we saw lots of conservative prime ministers come and go. There were no elections. Uh and the the reason was that they were trying to get some stability. They failed failed dramatically. And what I'd like to see is Mr. Burham deliver on his promises of doing politics differently, of sorting out things like social care.

[00:10:39]Yeah. The the big the big hole in what he said so far is he's not really got a growth strategy. We need to rebuild our relationship with Europe. We need a new growth and defense partnership with Europe where we're back in the single market, back in c the customs union.

[00:10:51]That would grow our economy. That would help us cut the cost of living. And I want him to do just that. That's your manifesto.