A Labour minister is facing backlash tonight after disparagingly labelling Sir Ed Davey as a ‘fat bloke in a wetsuit’.
Torsten Bell, MP for Swansea West, was delivering a speech at a Labour Party conference event when he made the jibe about the Lib Dems leader’s weight.
The left-wing minister, who became Parliamentary Secretary for the Treasury in January, has long been outspoken on issues such as poverty and inequality across Britain.
But he has faced hypocrisy claims in recent times for defending the Government’s bid to slash £5billion from the welfare bill, and claiming that scrapping the winter fuel allowance last year had ‘no effect’ on the health of older people.
Mr Bell, who has been drafted in by Rachel Reeves to help write-up this year’s Budget, also spent years campaigning for higher taxes and spending while leading the Resolution Foundation think-tank.
While outlining why Labour’s vision was superior to that of the Lib Dems in their increasingly desperate bid to halt the rise of Reform UK, the Treasury minister made the distasteful comments to a crowd at the conference in Liverpool.
Mr Bell said: ‘What Britain needs to tackle [Nigel] Farage, is a vision. And the vision they need is not a fat bloke in a wet suit which is what the Lib Dems have got to offer Britain in the 21st century.’
The unsavoury comments have not been received well by members of Sir Ed’s party, with Liverpool Cllr Carl Cashman posting to X: ‘No shock here. The Labour Party are the nasty party’.
Torsten Bell (above) was delivering a speech at a Labour Party conference event when he made the jibe about the Lib Dems leader’s weight
Sir Ed Davey has long been known for his quirky stunts, and is pictured here wearing a wetsuit last June
Meanwhile, a Lib Dem source told the Daily Mail: ‘Fun fact: the “Ed Stone” in 2015 was Torsten Bell’s idea.’
During his time as an adviser to Ed Miliband, Mr Bell headed-up the disastrous project which saw Labour mocked for carving its 2015 election pledges on an eight-foot slab of limestone.
The ‘Ed Stone’ was roundly ridiculed after being erected in a car park in Hastings and Rye, with inscriptions of six promises should Mr Miliband have assumed power.
The now-Energy Secretary of Sir Keir Starmer’s government promised to stand the stone in the gardens of Downing Street as a way to ensure Labour’s manifesto was delivered if he won.
But the stone was quickly ushered out of the public limelight after Mr Milband was defeated by David Cameron’s Tories, and discovering its whereabouts soon became the talk of the town.
The Daily Mail even offered its readers a case of champagne for any information which led to its discovery, before two Labour officials later revealed it had been quietly destroyed following the election loss.
Tonight’s scrutiny for Mr Bell comes amid a desperate week for the Labour Party, who have seemingly kicked off their party conference in Merseyside with one blunder after another.
Sir Keir faced criticism today for saying Reform’s policy of abolishing ‘settled status’ was ‘racist’.
The ‘Ed Stone’ (above) was roundly ridiculed after being erected in a car park in Hastings and Rye, with inscriptions of six promises should Mr Miliband have assumed power
He also branded Mr Farage’s proposals ‘immoral’ as he switched to a more aggressive stance against the insurgents.
But the Reform leader clapped back by pointing to polls showing Labour facing meltdown and him on track for No10.
And Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, added: ‘Labour’s message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever or Labour will call you racist.
‘Reform’s plan will ensure only British people can access welfare and that migrants contribute to society.’
The Prime Minister is trying to shore up his teetering leadership with rumours Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could be planning a move to topple him.
The mutinous mood is also darkening with a nightmare Budget looming on November 26, which Mr Bell will have a hand in creating.
There are fears Rachel Reeves will need to impose £30billion of tax hikes to balance the books, as the economy stalls and government borrowing costs spike.
