Ed Davey is having the time of his life: the best time of his campaign so far

The leader of the Lib Dems has visited the Lake District with local candidate and former party leader Tim Farron, as part of the General Election campaign.

He admitted that one of his dips into the water was intentional but that he “kept falling” after that. He added that there was a “serious message” behind the action.

During a visit to the Lake District, Sir Ed said local environmentalists should be part of water company boards to ensure sewage spills are taken seriously, as he accused Conservative ministers of “sitting on their hands”.

After speaking, Sir Ed said: “I believe that politicians should take the concerns and interests of voters seriously, but I’m not sure that they should be serious and I like to have fun. .”

The Lib Dems have promised that if they win the general election, local environmental experts in the community will sit on utility company boards as non-executive directors to “improve public accountability and transparency”.

The party has also announced plans to scrap Ofwat and introduce a new water regulator to tackle the sewage crisis, in addition to banning bonuses for water company executives.

It comes after United Utilities was criticized over news of a massive sewage spill in Windermere in February.

Sir Ed said: “These unscrupulous companies are destroying our precious lakes and rivers by dumping their filthy waste – harming human health, damaging our precious environment and damaging the local tourism economy at the same time.

“Enough is enough. It is time to be difficult in the water industry and an important part of the change that must be a new way to hold this company to account, putting power in the hands of local communities suffering from this scandal.

“Local environmental experts at the company’s premises can hold the water boss’s feet to the fire and local people will finally have a say in how the water company is run.”

Paddle-boarding in Windermere is just one of the many election stunts that Sir Ed has been carrying out recently to get public attention.

Here are the best campaign moments so far.

He went down three times before choosing a yellow bodyboard for his final run.

“I didn’t like the party, but there was something heartwarming about watching Ed Davey go down the water slide,” said a user on X.

Speaking about the deeper reasons behind the action, he said: “We’ve got hundreds and thousands of children and young people waiting for treatment for mental health and it’s terrifying and if you talk to their parents/talk to their parents, it’s terrifying .not just worried about their health now, but what they will do for their future education, future life possibilities, future opportunities.

“And they want the party to say how to fix it.

“So we have come – talking to experts – with this idea to make sure that every school will have a qualified mental health professional to work on staff to collect early intervention and make sure that these young people get the treatment they deserve if they need it.”

He said it would be funded by a higher “digital services tax” on companies such as Amazon, Google, and large social media companies.

The Lib Dem leader can be seen riding his bike while on the campaign trail. He was joined by Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Lib Dems and David Chadwick, the party’s candidate for the region who also rides a bike.

The seat of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe – newly created for the 2024 election – includes Knighton, and is a key battleground for the Liberal Democrats.

Speaking to his supporters, Sir Ed said the people of Wales had been “taken for granted” by the Tories for too long.

He said: “Families all over Wales are working hard, looking after their families, their loved ones, they play by the rules.

“But it’s harder for them to make money.”

Sir Ed also said he believed the party could make gains in Wales.