Labour “could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS”, Sir Ed Davey has said in his autumn conference keynote speech.

Speaking in Brighton on Tuesday, the Liberal Democrat leader made his plea as he vowed to be “the responsible opposition” to Labour in Government, and he titled the Conservative leadership contest “Strictly Come Pandering” and “The Great British Blame Off”.

Sir Ed’s party also announced it would campaign for a new Winterproof NHS Taskforce, which would manage a £1.5 billion budget to build resilience across hospital wards, accident and emergency departments, ambulance services and patient discharging.

His deputy Daisy Cooper also spoke about the NHS in her speech on Monday, when she described being told she had “just four days to live” after her Crohn’s disease diagnosis.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey arriving on stage to give his keynote speech at the party’s autumn conference
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey was giving his keynote speech at the party’s autumn conference (Gareth Fuller/PA)

“The Government could and should make this year the last winter crisis in our NHS,” Sir Ed said, with his MPs behind him.

“So I urge Labour: do not make the same mistakes the Conservative Party did.

“Be more positive. Act now.

“Show the ambition and urgency this moment demands and save our NHS for good.”

The party leader, on the fourth and final day of the conference, later said: “We will urge the Government to act faster and be much bolder, because the challenges we face cannot be solved by burying our heads in the sand and pretending they don’t exist – like the Conservatives do.

“But nor can they be solved with the pessimism and defeatism we’re hearing from Labour. They will be solved the way Britain has always done in the past, by rising to our challenges with guts, determination, and hope.

“So we will cut through the Government’s doom and gloom with our ambition for our country. We will scrutinise their plans carefully, and strive to improve them, and we will oppose them if we think they’ve got it wrong, like their decision to strip the winter fuel payment from millions of struggling pensioners, just when energy bills are set to rise again this winter.

“But where ministers act in the national interest – to solve such problems and improve people’s lives – we will support them.”

According to Liberal Democrat analysis of NHS figures, ambulances across England collectively spent a total of 112 years waiting outside hospitals to hand over patients last winter, and between November 2023 and March 2024, 732,000 patients faced A&E waits of over four hours to be admitted.

Party sources claimed a task force backed by £1.5 billion over four years would “build resilience” and free up resources in NHS trusts and boards, so they could plan their budgets to prevent winter crises.

“It will fall to us to be the responsible opposition that any government needs – an essential role in our democracy, and a role that today’s Conservative Party simply cannot fulfil,” Sir Ed told party activists.

Sir Ed Davey’s wife Emily Gasson listening to her husband address the delegates
Sir Ed Davey’s wife Emily Gasson, centre right, was listening to her husband address delegates (Gareth Fuller/PA)

“Just look at the quartet heading to Birmingham in a fortnight to audition for the job of Conservative leader.

“They really are scraping the bottom of the barrel with these new TV reality shows, aren’t they?

“I hear they’re planning to call it ‘Strictly Come Pandering’, or maybe ‘The Great British Blame Off’, or maybe just ‘Pointless’.

“Isn’t it funny how, after years sitting round the Cabinet table, these four suddenly think they have the solutions to our country’s big challenges?”

Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat are in the running to become the next Conservative Party leader, after former prime minister Rishi Sunak announced his intention to step down after the general election earlier this year.

Tory MPs and activists are set to meet in Birmingham from September 29.

Conservative Party chairman Richard Fuller said in response: “This confirms that Ed Davey will not hold this Labour Government, his ‘pen pals’, to account.

“The Liberal Democrats are supposed to be an opposition party, but all their MPs do is agree with everything that Labour want to do.

Sir Ed Davey plays tennis with deputy leader Daisy Cooper
Sir Ed Davey played tennis with deputy leader Daisy Cooper earlier in the day (Gareth Fuller/PA)

“Only the Conservative Party will provide an effective opposition to the Labour Government.”

Speaking on Monday, Ms Cooper told delegates about her experience of being “rushed to hospital” and how she later “sobbed” at the prospect she might have to give up work as a result of Crohn’s disease.

“From a personal point of view, I wanted to share the story, but also from a political point of view – we Lib Dems are now saying we want the Budget that’s coming up to be a Budget to save our NHS and care,” she told the PA news agency after her speech.