Ed Davey’s new campaign video is drawing a huge amount of praise on social media for offering voters a glimpse of his real life.
The Liberal Democrats’ leader released an emotional clip on Wednesday evening, where viewers can see how he cares for his disabled 16-year-old son, John.
Davey can be seen in the footage helping John walk, and playing games with him.
The politician also took a trip down memory lane to his hometown in Nottingham in the broadcast, and recalled how his parents died when he was young.
Davey cared for his mother, who died of cancer when he was a teenager, then for his grandmother in her final years, and now looks after John.
When asked if he thought his mother would have been proud of him in the clip, Davey became visibly upset.
He said: “I would like to think she would have been proud of me.”
He also praised his siblings and grandparents, saying it was a “tough job caring” even though family carers do the “vast bulk” of it.
“Governments have just ignored them, not listened to them,” he added – his party has put their plan to revolutionise the care sector at the front of their election campaign.
Davey continued: “Seeing life through the eyes of my son, I could not be more passionate and determined to sort out caring in this country.”
On X, the caption for the video read: “Caring isn’t just my family’s story, it is the story of millions, caring for each other, dealing with tough times, and keeping going with love.
“Sharing our story hasn’t been easy, but it’s important. It’s time to bring carers’ experiences into the light.”
The video – which has since gone viral, with more than four million views in less than 24 hours – was well-received all across social media with many people on X praising the authenticity of the clip.
Some also praised the clip because it offered such a stark contrast to the gimmicks the Liberal Democrats have deployed over the last two weeks.
Davey has “purposefully” fallen off a paddle board, zoomed down a giant water slide, cycled down a hill with his legs akimbo, and played drums at a care home.
His colleagues also managed to photobomb PM Rishi Sunak by floating down the Thames during one of his photo ops.
But this video gave voters “a chance to see the man behind the stunts”, as comic Sue Perkins noted.