Lib Dems stick oar in to Sunak’s riverside campaign visit

The Prime Minister appeared not to realise that activists from the rival party had gatecrashed his trip as he spoke to voters at a rowing club.

Rishi Sunak and the parliamentary candidate for Henley Caroline Newton (far right) speaking to rowing club members while Liberal Democrat supporters pass by on a boat, during a visit to the Leander Club in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

The Liberal Democrats stuck their oar in to Rishi Sunak’s riverside campaign visit on Monday, with deputy leader Daisy Cooper photobombing the Prime Minister in a boat.

Mr Sunak appeared not to realise that activists from the rival party had gatecrashed his trip as he spoke to voters at a rowing club in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

While the Prime Minister was being filmed by broadcasters, Ms Cooper and other Lib Dem campaigners could be seen sailing past in the background waving orange diamond-shaped placards.

A Lib Dem source said: “This is just another small boat Rishi Sunak can’t deal with.”

The PM immediately hit back, posting on X, formerly Twitter: “Classic Lib Dems, always selling voters down the river.”

Both parties are campaigning heavily in so-called “blue wall” seats in southern England, with Sir Ed Davey’s party hoping to snap up votes in Tory heartlands by focusing on issues such as health and the environment.

Mr Sunak was joined on his visit by two Conservative candidates for nearby constituencies: Caroline Newton for Henley, and Lucy Demery for Wokingham.

The Prime Minister cleaned down the hull of a rowing craft and stopped for a cup of tea on the riverside where he spoke to members about their time at the club.

It comes as the Tories on Monday announced a campaign proposal to change the Equality Act to make clear sex means “biological sex” rather than gender.

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems’ nautical stunt follows a party pledge to protect rivers and coastlines with protected marine areas and a new Blue Flag status for rivers.