Sir Ed Davey will speak of being a carer as a son, grandson and father in a highly personal first party conference speech as Liberal Democrat leader.
In his address to the Lib Dems‘ autumn conference on Monday, Sir Ed will promise to be “the voice of the nine million carers in our country”.
Drawing upon the experiences of his own life, the 54-year-old father-of-two will offer his understanding of the struggles of other carers and declare: “It’s you I’m fighting for.”
Sir Ed will speak of how he and his wife Emily care for their son John
In August, the former cabinet minister became the Lib Dems’ fourth permanent leader to be elected in little more than five years.
It followed the party’s hugely disappointing general election result last year, when they won just 11 seats – one down on their 2017 result.
Sir Ed is expected to speak of how he nursed his mother during her battle against bone cancer by taking her “tumblers of morphine for her agonising pain – before going off to school”.
“Coming home to look after her, helping her on and off the toilet,” he will add.
“Taking life day by day, because there was nothing else you could do.
“And at the end, visiting her on a totally unsuitable dementia ward in my school uniform, alone by her bedside when she died.”
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After the death of his mother, when he was 15, Sir Ed first went to live with his two older brothers before moving in with his maternal grandparents.
He will also speak in his conference address of caring for his grandmother prior to her death – and also how he and his wife Emily now care for his son John, who has a neurological condition.
Sir Ed will say: “John is 12. He can’t walk by himself. He was 9 when he first managed to say ‘daddy’.
“John needs 24/7 care – and probably always will.
“And that’s my biggest challenge: John will be on this planet long after Emily and I have gone.
“So we worry. No one can possibly love him like we do, hold him like we hold him.
“And our fears are shared by so many parents. Many not as fortunate as Emily and me.”
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Sir Ed will also repeat his message to his party, following three “deeply disappointing” election results in a row, that “too many people think we’re out of touch with what they want”.
He will say: “The answer is to listen to what people are really telling us. And to change.”
Sir Ed will call on his party to get more Liberal Democrats elected to English councils, the London Assembly, the Senedd in Wales and the Scottish Parliament in next May’s elections.
With opinion polls showing rising support for Scottish independence, Sir Ed will say of the latter: “Elections often determine the future of our country, but these Scottish elections could well determine if our country has a future.
“Once again, the forces of nationalism threaten to tear our family of nations apart.
“So it is imperative that we get brilliant Liberal Democrat MSPs elected to Holyrood in May.”