The Liberal Democrats have sometimes struggled to get media attention, usually losing out in column inches to Labour and the Tories. <\/p>\n
As a result the party has developed a flair for imaginative and eye-catching media stunts. <\/p>\n
1) Showing Boris Johnson the literal door<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey poses with a prop door on June 24, 2022 in Tiverton, England. <\/p>\n
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n
To celebrate the liberal victory in Tiverton and Honiton this morning Lib Dem leader Ed Davey unveiled a door before waiting press. The joke was that he was \"showing Boris Johnson the door\". Whether the prime minister takes the hint or not remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
2) Knocking down a literal blue wall<\/p>\n
Ed Davey knocks down a blue wall after the Amersham and Chesham by-election with a B&Q hammer <\/p>\n
(PA)<\/p>\n
But the door stunt is far from the first time Sir Ed has played a practical joke at the Tories' expense. After the Amersham and Chesham by-election the Lib Dem leader brandished an orange hammer to knock down a literal \"blue wall\" constructed by his media team. The message was that the liberals were coming for Tory seats. The Independent understands it was a \"nightmare\" to find a suitably coloured hammer and that it was ultimately sourced via an emergency trip to Croydon B&Q.<\/p>\n
3) Bursting Boris Johnson's bubble<\/p>\n
Boris Johnson had his bubble burst after the North Shropshire by-election <\/p>\n
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Lib Dems have had a very good run of by-election successes during this parliament, and perhaps an even better run of victory stunts. After winning the North Shropshire by-election in December last year Sir Ed popped a giant blue balloon, claiming it representing him symbolically \"bursting Boris Johnson's bubble\". The scalp of the wiley prime minister has yet alluded opposition parties, however.<\/p>\n
4) Paddy Ashdown eating his hat<\/p>\n
Paddy Ashdown eats a cake shaped like a hat during BBC Question Time in 2015<\/p>\n
(BBC Question Time)<\/p>\n
But eye-catching stunts are not just for liberal victories. Paddy Ashdown famously ate his hat or a cake version of it live on BBC Question Time in 2015 after he carelessly used the idiom in a pre-election bout of fighting talk. He had said he would eat his hat if the polls were right to suggest the liberals would lose 47 seats; the party eventually lost 49.<\/p>\n
5) Nick Clegg's high-wire stunts<\/p>\n
Nick Clegg took to a zip wire to give his 2015 election campaign a boost <\/p>\n
(PA)<\/p>\n
On a similar theme, Nick Clegg also tried to galvanise his campaign in 2015 by taking to a zip-wire, apparently imitating an earlier stunt pulled by Boris Johnson. The photo-op led to headlines \"Can Nick Clegg pull off his high wire act?\". The answer was, unfortunately for the deputy prime minister, no.<\/p>\n
6) Willie Rennie stunts, a force of nature <\/p>\n
DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND - MAY 21: Willie Rennie leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, water skies during a European Election campaign event<\/p>\n
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n
It would be wrong to talk about Liberal Democrat photo-ops without an honourable mention for former Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie. As leader from 2011-2021 Mr Rennie has such a fondness for photo-ops that Scottish newspaper the Courirer was about to compile 14 of his best for a retrospective piece, well beyond the scope of this brief article. He manhandled a ram, drove a Lamborghini, and attended a bakery to criticise SNP \"half-baked\" independence plans. During the party's successful 2019 European election campaign he was seen jubilantly waterskiing in Townill Loch in Dunfermline, \"riding the wave of possibility\".<\/p>\n
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The 6 weirdest Liberal Democrat election victory stunts - The Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Liberal Democrats have sometimes struggled to get media attention, usually losing out in column inches to Labour and the Tories. As a result the party has developed a flair for imaginative and eye-catching media stunts. Continue reading