Britain’s rollercoaster-riding Liberal Democrat leader embraces stunts to gain election attention

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Most politicians try to avoid slips, stumbles and undignified photos. Not Ed Davey. The leader of Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats has turned the country’s general election campaign into a showreel of self-deprecating fun. Davey has tumbled off a paddleboard into England’s biggest lake, screamed atop a rollercoaster, splashed down a waterslide, careened downhill on a bike and tackled an assault course. He’s also built sandcastles, made pancakes, competed in wheelbarrow races and had a summer makeover on morning television. The zany stunts are the party’s way of drawing attention away from the much larger Conservative and Labour parties. It’s also fighting to be heard over the noisy populism of Nigel Farage and his hard-right party Reform U.K.