In this long election campaign, we’ve had Rishi Sunak deliver a never-ending stream of negativity and misery, Keir Starmer being so nervous about screwing things up that he’s coming across as walking on eggshells and Nigel Farage being as objectionable as ever.

Ed Davey’s bright and happy photo opportunities have provided a welcome contrast and attracted lots of positive comment.

Today, he decided to throw himself off a platform from a great height by way of inviting people to vote Liberal Democrat.

Watch, courtesy of Sky News:

The rationale for this:

To get the change our country needs this week and beat the Conservatives in scores of seats, I am asking people to take a leap of faith and vote for the Liberal Democrats.

A lot of people are on the cusp of doing something they’ve never done before on Thursday and voting for the Liberal Democrats, so I decided to do something I’ve never done before too.

Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to fix the NHS and care, end the sewage scandal and tackle the cost of living crisis.

Ed talked to The Guardian about the rationale for the stunts:

“We’ve never seen Liberal Democrat policies talked about as much,” Davey said, speaking in a rear section of the party’s battlebus festooned with wetsuit tops and swimming shorts drying on the backs of the seats.

“Isn’t that weird? When we’ve done it from a lectern in a suit at a press conference, people don’t want to talk about our policies. When I fall off a paddleboard or go down a waterslide, people talk about our policies. I like to think we are running a positive campaign, a bit of fun but mixed with serious messages.

“After I did the bungee jump, one of the guys who works at the football club stopped me, saying that he looks after his dad and what we’re saying about care and carers is so important.”

So what is he expecting the outcome to be?

We will take out a lot of Conservatives,” he said, arguing that formerly ultra-safe Tory areas such as Henley, once represented by Boris Johnson, and Witney, David Cameron’s former seat, were on “a knife-edge” and Sussex was “looking incredible”.

“People are realising that this is a quite extraordinary election. They need to vote tactically to get out the Conservatives. In many cases, that’s us,” he said. “People should recognise that this is an election where you can literally change the political geography of our country, and for a long time. Be brave, do something different.”

“What I can say is our campaign is [going] better than we had expected,” he said. “I’m going to seats that I hadn’t expected to. But I’m cautious as well, because we don’t want to overstretch ourselves.

“The Tories have helped us because they have been so awful. I’m happy to concede that. The desire to remove this shockingly bad government has focused people’s minds and they have looked beyond the tribal lines in a way which I haven’t seen before.

But the bungee jump wasn’t all today. BBC Producer Daniel Wittenberg recorded Ed taking part in a zumba class in Wokingham.

Fresh from bungee jumping in Eastbourne, Sir Ed Davey is now you along part in a zumba class in Berkshire.

The Lib Dems say they’re increasing the number of seats they’re targeting on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/zULun5biR6

— Daniel Wittenberg (@DannyWittenberg) July 1, 2024

And then he larked about on a giant inflatable in the Cotswolds:

After bungee jumping and zumba dancing, Sir Ed Davey makes time for inflatable water sports a campaign stop in the Cotswolds. pic.twitter.com/mCG0FIWf4e

— Daniel Wittenberg (@DannyWittenberg) July 1, 2024

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