Rishi Sunak says votes for Lib Dems in West Country will put Keir Starmer in power

Rishi Sunak has said a vote for the Liberal Democrats in the West Country will help put the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in power.

During a visit to Cornwall, the prime minister refused to acknowledge that Sir Ed Davey’s party is a threat to the Conservatives. Instead, speaking near Penzance, he said that “a vote for anyone who’s not a Conservative candidate is a vote to put Keir Starmer in power”.

Mr Sunak took the overnight sleeper train from Paddington as part of his first visit to the South West of this general election campaign. He started at Great Western Railway’s Long Rock depot in the parliamentary constituency of St Ives and the Isles of Scilly - a seat the Liberal Democrats believe they can win back from the Tories.

When asked about the risk of Conservative defeats by Sir Ed Davey’s party, he said: “Everyone who’s considering who to vote for in this election, at the end of the day, it will either be me or Keir Starmer as prime minister.

"Any vote for anyone who’s not a Conservative candidate is just a vote to put Keir Starmer in power.”

He added: “That’s the choice that people really need to think about over the next five weeks, wherever they are, but particularly here in the South West.”

The prime minister’s visit to parts of Devon and Cornwall came as his party announced plans to scrap ‘rip-off’ university degrees and use the cash to create 100,000 new apprenticeships every year. In Cornwall, his Labour opposition say the policy is “unworkable”, especially in a region that’s grappling with a housing crisis.

“I want every young person to have the benefit of owning their own home,” Mr Sunak said.

“That’s part of delivering the secure future that we’ve been talking about.

“But the best way to help young people onto the housing ladder is to give them great opportunities in jobs. That’s why our announcement today on apprenticeships is so important. Closing down underperforming uni degrees, using that money to create 100,000 more high-quality apprentices… it’s an example of the bold action that I’m prepared to take to deliver that more secure future for people here in the South West.”

Mr Sunak has made a number of policy announcements since he called the general election last week. One of them, to launch national service for 18-year-olds, would see the government scrap its flagship post-Brexit Shared Prosperity Fund and use £1.5bn to support military and voluntary opportunities for young adults.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), it risks depriving Cornwall of cash for regeneration schemes.

But speaking to ITV News West Country on Wednesday 29 May, the prime minister said “of course we are committed to levelling up in Cornwall”, insisting his national service plan would be “transformational” for young people in Cornwall.

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