Davey on UK-EU Summit: PM must be ambitious and not "dragged back" by Badenoch and Farage

EMBARGO: 22:00 Sunday 18 May

Ahead of the UK-EU Summit, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has urged the Prime Minister to be "bold and ambitious for our country" and ignore "dinosaurs fighting old battles" in Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage.

The Lib Dems wrote to Labour MPs over the weekend, urging them to back closer trade ties with the EU to boost the public finances and avoid cuts to support for vulnerable families and pensioners.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said:

"Keir Starmer must be bold and ambitious for our country in today's summit. Voters were promised change by this government, and they have to deliver.

"Being truly ambitious, including a new UK-EU customs union, would be the single biggest thing ministers could do to boost growth and fix the public finances.

"Anything less would be a choice to limit growth, harming living standards and hitting the NHS and other public services.

"The Prime Minister must ignore the dinosaurs fighting old battles, who want to drag us back to the destructive Brexit wars of the past, and focus on getting the best deal possible for the UK."

ENDS