Farage and Davey choose The Midlands to kick off the last week of the election campaign

The leaders of Reform UK and the Liberal Democrat parties chose the West Midlands to launch their last week of campaigning ahead of the general election on Thursday.

Sir Ed Davey was in Stratford-upon-Avon where he spoke to supporters and Nigel Farage addressed a crowd of more than 4500 people at a rally at the NEC in Birmingham.

Asked why he had chosen to hold the biggest political rally of his campaign in the region - and if he thought votes would translate to seats - Mr Farage said: "We'rehere because the NEC is a magnificent venue. And where else in the country can take 1000s of people at three days notice?

"I mean, this is the best venue in the country. It just happens to be here in Birmingham. As for the West Midlands (and seats) I've no idea, but you know, I've only been doing this a month. We're on a journey. And it feels to me like we have real momentum behind us.

"I have no idea what's going to happen on Thursday, but there could be some real surprises. We're a wild card and you'll see constituencies here in which the Tories will be down. Labour will be up. The Lib Dems will be up. We will be up. There are constituencies in the West Midlands that could be three or four way marginals."

Mr Farage walked onto the stage to fireworks and addressing the crowd said: "I know that under the electoral system things are tough- we're likely to get fewer seats for the number of votes we should deserve but we will get seats next Thursday, we will, believe it is going to happen."

He claimed the comments made by a Reform UK canvasser were part of a 'smear campaign' against the party as he said the 'bad apples are gone' and 'we'll never have them back."

He also said the party would campaign as the 'leading voice of opposition to abolish the BBC licence fee', claiming the broadcaster had 'abused its position of power.'

His comments come after he was criticised and questioned about the state of his party and the views expressed by some Reform candidates and campaigners by a live audience on BBC Question Time in Birmingham on Friday night.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We refute these claims. (Friday's) Question Time audience was made up of broadly similar levels of representation from Reform UK and the Green party, with the other parties represented too.

“There were also a number of people, with a range of political views, who were still making up their mind.”

ITV Central spoke to a number of people who attended the rally at the NEC.

One man said: "I'm local from Northamptonshire and really here to see the positive vibes."

When asked if he thought Reform would win any seats in the Midlands he said:"I think it's highly likely. I think there's a lot of kinetic momentum behind the party. We could look forward to 2029 as well and see more representation there. I think some people have lost a voice and this is an opportunity to get it back."

A woman who had been a lifelong Conservative voter said she was now switching to Reform.

"I'm happy to vote Reform because they are talking about the things that I care about. Excellent fiscal management and getting people back to work protecting our borders."

She added: "I think our electoral system means that you can have a lot of people voting for someone and yet nobody from that party gets in. I'm originally from Australia and we have proportional representation in there. I've come to realise there is something to be said for proportional representation. Twenty years ago I might not have agreed."

Meanwhile in Stratford upon-Avon, Sir Ed Davey said:"In just four days we can win the change our country is so desperately ready for. For too long people in the UK have been taken for granted and let down.

"People know they need to vote Lib Dem to get the Conservatives out. And this isn't just about changing government, it's about transforming our politics, our broken political system and if we can do that we can fix our broken NHS and care system."

Mr Davey was also in Cheltenham today where he made a splash.