Sir Ed Davey launches the Liberal Democrat election campaign in Cheltenham

Sir Ed Davey has been in Cheltenham today to launch the Liberal Democrat's election campaign. It follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's shock election announcement yesterday (22 May).

The Liberal Democrat leader said his main priority is on healthcare.

He said: "The health service is on our knees and it is holding back our economy. There are so many people who would be back in work, contributing to the national economy, if they could get the healthcare treatment they needed."

The Party are hoping the successes in recent local council elections and by-elections will be reflected when voters go to the poll on July 4.

Sir Ed Davey, said: "We're coming off the back off some amazing success in the last few years, we won four parliamentary by elections in Tory heartlands that no one expected us to win. And in local elections across the UK in the last four years we've been the party winning the most councillors."

Elsewhere, the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer launched his party's election campaign in Kent. Where he told voters "this election is for you" to end the chaos.

He gave his first speech on the campaign trail at Gillingham Football Club, flanked by supporters and deputy leader Angela Rayner.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is touring broadcast studios before embarking on a two-day whistle-stop trip taking in all four nations of the UK.

And in London, Reform UK's leader Richard Tice is staging a press conference setting out his party's plans.

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