Sir Ed Davey has set his sights firmly on the Tories at the general election, mentioning them 27 times in his closing conference speech, compared to just three times for Labour.

WIth his party targeting “Blue Wall” seats in England, the Liberal Democrat leader attacked “the corruption of Boris Johnson, the chaos of Liz Truss, the carelessness of Rishi Sunak”.

He also focused on the NHS south of the border, promising a new legal right for cancer patients to start treatments within two months of an urgent referral.

The party said it would  make ministers more accountable for failing to reach the target, which is currently a pledge of the Tory Government but is routinely missed.

The policy would cost £4 billion over five years, and although health is devolved the higher spending would mean around £400m extra for Holyrood in Barnett formula funding.

Wrapping his party’s four-day gathering in Bournemouth, Sir Ed told delegates : “Voting Conservative is bad for your health”.

Speaking of the loss of both his parents from cancer, he said: “My family’s story isn’t unique.

“There are millions of us whose lives get turned upside down by cancer. I fervently hope we can build a consensus across politics to make cancer a top priority in the next Parliament.”

The treatment guarantee would be based on patients reporting complaints to the health ombudsman, starting a process which could end with the Government facing legal action.

Some 62.6% of patients who had their first treatment in July after an urgent referral waited under two months, up from 59.2% in June, according to latest performance data.

The NHS Confederation’s policy director Dr Layla McCay welcomed the commitment but said it was unclear how new legislation would guarantee timely treatment, “particularly in a context with over 100,000 vacancies in the NHS”.

The LibDems won 11 seats in the 2019 general election, but have added four more MPs thanks to spectacular by-election upsets, all in previously Tory-held seats.

The Lib Dem election strategy will be to target the same Tory heartlands.

Sir Ed recalled having branded the Tories “clowns” following the Somerton and Frome by-election won by Sarah Dyke, adding: “I’m sorry. I used the wrong c-word.”

He said the Tories had weakened the public’s trust in the political system.

He said: “So much sleaze. So many scandals. No wonder people are cynical. 

“The toxic brew of incompetence, scandal and chaos served up by this government has poisoned not only people’s view of the Conservatives, but their trust in politics as a whole.”

He did not mention Brexit directly, but was loudly applauded when he told delegates his party would seek to “fix our broken relationship with Europe”.

It followed his previous reluctance to speak publicly about the LibDems’ ultimate goal of rejoining the EU, which is current party policy, saying it is not currently on the table.

He told delegates: “So much unnecessary pain inflicted on so many by so few. And only the Liberal Democrats have consistently stood up against it.

“Only we have set out a detailed plan to tear down those trade barriers, fix our broken relationship with Europe and get a better deal for Britain.”

He said Labour’s plan of a better relationship with the EU was “nowhere near that ambitious”, adding: “Labour has a long way still to go, which means it’s up to us to lead the way – a better economy, a better future, with Europe.”