Ed Davey visits Chippenham and says Lib Dems are "on the up"

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has said the Lib Dems are “on the up” in Wiltshire whilst visiting a GP practice in Chippenham.

Mr Davey visited Rowden Surgery on Tuesday, April 2, to discuss the issues faced by NHS staff and patients in rural areas across the West Country.

He was joined by Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Chippenham, Sarah Gibson.

Liberal Democrats Ed Davey and Sarah Gibson with GP Nick Brown, outside Rowden Surgery. (Image: Jessica Moriarty)

The pair met staff who described themselves as “victims of a five-year plan” and spoke of the pressures they face within their work.

Mr Davey noted the effect of the “instability” in the current government and described the Liberal Democrats as taking “a completely different approach to care.”

When asked if the party would increase the number of GPs in the country, the leader said the health service budget was its “top priority.”

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey speaking to staff at Rowden Surgery. (Image: Jessica Moriarty)

Outside the surgery, Mr Davey said: “One of the reasons that we are here today talking to the GPs in Chippenham is to make sure we’re in touch with what they think needs to be in done to be able to turn around the NHS.

“It’s really, really helpful to get it here in Wiltshire from people who are professionals that people trust and rely on.

“They feel really let down by the government.

“The government has offered them, for this coming year, 1.9 per cent for the whole of the budget for their GP practices.

“I hope people realise how awful that is, essentially a slap in the face for people across Chippenham and across the country who so rely on the GPs.”

Mr Davey said that residents would see a difference in health service access by electing a Liberal Democrat candidate at the next general election.

He said: “Sarah is a real campaigner and champion for Chippenham, and she won’t go to Westminster and forget the constituency.

“She’ll fight hard for local people and the health services.”

He added: “I think she would be the true representative of the values of Chippenham.”

Mr Davey said that visiting the area allows him to reach “the grassroots and the issues that are worrying people here.”

He said: “People are having a tough time, I’ve genuinely never seen it quite so tough in my time in politics, and that’s 25 years.”

He noted: “Not just in Wiltshire, in other parts of the country too.

“I think they feel deeply let down, they feel the Conservatives are completely out of touch, they don’t get what people are facing or they don’t care about it.”

He concluded: “Liberal Democrats are on the up!”