Ed Davey pledges to set UK on path back to EU Single Market

Sir Ed Davey has pledged to set the UK “on the path back to the Single Market” and back “at the heart of Europe”.

The Liberal Democrat leader told members that being at the centre of Europe was “where we belong”, as he pledged to rebuild the country’s relationship with the European Union.

Speaking at the close of the Liberal Democrat conference in York, he told members: “Only Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to rebuild this relationship with a better deal for Britain.

“To renew the ties of trust and friendship, to set us on the path back to the Single Market – our plan to repair the damage the Conservatives have done. And, in time, to restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe, where we belong.”

Sir Ed described Britain’s relationship with Europe as something “we can’t afford not to tackle head on… even if the other parties think it’s too difficult or too politically uncomfortable”.

The party has not put a date on when it would wish to seek to rejoin the Single Market, nor on its aim to “restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe”.

But Sir Ed told members: “We know it won’t be easy. We know it won’t be quick. The ties that have been so badly severed can only be stitched back together gradually over time.

“This will take great care and determined effort over years. But if we are to transform Britain’s economic future, we must start today.”

In an early version of the party’s manifesto document, the Liberal Democrats set out a “roadmap” to closer ties, which includes joining the Erasmus Plus scheme for students studying abroad and putting in place a veterinary agreement.

At the 2019 general election, the party pledged to “stop Brexit and build a brighter future”, promising to cancel Britain’s departure from the bloc without putting it to a public vote.

But after receiving fewer than four million votes and returning just 11 MPs, the party replaced Jo Swinson, their then-leader, and focused less on Europe.

Sir Ed also used his address to attack Rishi Sunak for not yet calling a general election, accusing him of “outrageously running down the clock”.

He attacked both Labour and the Conservatives for offering “tinkering around the edges” on political issues while “both trying to cloak themselves in the costume of change”.

Advertising the Liberal Democrats as the party of radical change, he pledged to transform the NHS, the environment, and also to scrap the first past the post electoral system.