Lib Dems plunge head first into final week of campaign

The Lib Dems are hoping to reclaim the position of Britain’s third-largest political party on 4 July.

Some projections show Sir Ed’s party could win up to 50 seats, overtaking the SNP for the first time since 2015.

Sir Ed served in multiple cabinet roles in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition after 2010, but has ruled out ever entering government with the Conservatives again if the election defies expectations and produces a hung parliament. He has not ruled out power-sharing with Labour.

The Lib Dems have put plans to tackle problems in the NHS and social care at the heart of the party’s manifesto – titled For A Fair Deal – centring much of the campaign around Sir Ed’s own personal experiences of caring for his mother and disabled son.

In its manifesto, Labour has pledged to cut NHS waiting times, promising 40,000 more appointments every week, as well as 8,500 additional mental health staff.

The Conservatives say they would increase NHS spending above inflation every year, as well as recruiting 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, as well as promoting pharmacies.