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Move over ‘Worcester woman’ and ‘Essex man’. It looks like there is now a new bellwether of English politics in the form of the ‘sea lovers of Sussex’.

This weekend photographs of Sir Ed Davey sailing in Birdham Pool in Chichester Harbour and strolling on Eastbourne beach have filled the national media. The Liberal Democrat leader visited Sussex to launch the party’s general election campaign, confident of breaking down the south’s ‘Blue Walls’.Cleaning up Britain’s sewage-ridden seas, harbours, and rivers, rebuilding the NHS, and supporting pensioners were key election themes highlighted by Ed Davey as he visited Chichester. According to The Times, Chichester is regarded as one of the Liberal Democrats’ key target seats, with many residents pledging to use tactical voting to secure an historic win.

Visiting Chichester, Mr Davey accused the government of failing to tackle the pollution and flooding crises caused by Britain’s failing drainage infrastructure. Invited on to a resident’s boat in Birdham Pool, he spoke of the sewage spills into Chichester’s streams, harbours and sea, and the harm it does to the environment, economy, and public health. “Small local companies are losing business while the government is happy to let large water companies ‘off the hook’, with their bosses having pocketed £54 million in bonuses since 2019, and now have the nerve to seek water bill increases of up to 90% to cover essential infrastructure works,” he said.

Birdham Pool was chosen as the location for the launch of the Liberal Democrats' election campaign.

With a growing group of eager volunteers, of all ages, Chichester’s Liberal Democrats are blitzing the constituency with leaflets persuading residents to Vote Yes for Jess. Jess Brown-Fuller, photographed across the media with Ed Davey, is a Chichester University graduate and long-standing resident who is running a campaign focussed on how she proposes to address the issues of Chichester’s public services – especially our NHS, local environment, cost of living pressures and infrastructure.

Lib Dem canvassers point out that Labour, Green, and disaffected Conservatives are recognising that a unified voter voice from the area will reap benefits for local people and businesses.

“If we break a century-old tradition of voting for the same party every General Election, there will be no more taking the Chichester voters for granted,” said one canvasser.

Chichester becomes one of UK’s most photogenic election battlegrounds.