Well that headline is a sentence I never thought I’d write.

And I have to admit that when I first saw the press release announcing it, I rather involuntarily invoked the name of the person we celebrate at this time of year at volume. Then I thought “No, please, not Sweet Caroline.”

However, I remembered that generosity is key to the spirit of Christmas and when I looked into it some more, I discovered that, actually, Ed’s collaboration with Bath Philarmonia’s Young Carers’ Choir is pretty decent. “Love is enough” falls into the category of heartwarming Christmas songs rather than the crazy ones. Though given some of the things Ed did during the General Election, I could be forgiven for fearing it would be the latter.

The song has been written by the young carers themselves to celebrate the bond between themselves and those they care for.

The single aims to raise money for Bath Philarmonia and  Carers’ Trust.

Here’s a wee preview:

Life as a young carer was tough, but it was also full of love.

Tomorrow, Bath Philharmonia Young Carers’ Choir and I are releasing a Christmas single – “Love is Enough” – in support of @bathphil and @CarersTrust.

I can’t wait for you to hear it! pic.twitter.com/CTBEYXFR5m

— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) November 27, 2024

We’ve stuck to the time on the embargo, but the Guardian got the story early.

The result is uplifting and festive, and perhaps just the right side of saccharine to appeal to Christmas listeners. It does not, however, feature much audible input from Davey, whose contributions are slightly buried in the glossy mix.

Asked if his adult voice is not quite as angelic as when he was a 13-year-old soloist, Davey told the Guardian: “Definitely. But the young carers is what it’s all about. It is the Young Carers’ Choir with Bath Philharmonia – featuring me. I’m not central to this. I sang all the choruses, by the way.”

Davey has made a better deal for carers a key element of his party’s policies, drawing heavily on his own experiences as a young carer to his mother, and his caring responsibilities now to his teenage son, John, who is disabled.

Ed had this to say about the venture:

When I sang ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter’ in my local church in 1978, neither I nor my brothers nor my mum fully appreciated how much our lives were all about to change.

For mum’s cancer was getting worse and I was becoming a young carer. The next two and a half years before my mother eventually died were extremely tough, but they were also full of love. When I heard the opening lyrics to ‘Love is Enough’ – “every second we have left is worth a thousand others” – they struck home and meant so much.

It was a joy to spend time with this amazing group of young carers, to see their incredible talents, energy and love. With the wonderful Bath Philharmonia, they have created something that I’m sure will strike a chord not only with other young carers – often invisible in our communities – but also with all carers and families.

I hope people listen to this song and download it and are as impressed as I am by the amazing talent of these young carers. I hope people take some time this Christmas to think about this amazing group of people who look after their loved ones from such an early age. This time of year is tough for all carers, particularly young ones – let’s put them in the spotlight.

So what’s it going to take to get Ed to Number 1? Well, last year’s winner, Last Christmas, was streamed 13.3 million times in the week before Christmas last year. 3.5 million people voted for us at the General Election. So that’s a good start. If each of them were to pay 99p for the song, that would raise a fair whack. And then there’s everyone who cares about carers. That’s got to be at least half the population. The Lib Dems are pretty good campaigners, so let’s get the word out and do everything we can to support Ed, and, more importantly, the young carers, in this venture.

Love is Enough is available in all the usual places from tomorrow.  Time to get spreading the word.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings