Lib Dems are ‘extremists' who want to impose veganism, say Tories
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, made the remark as he urged voters to back the Conservatives at the local elections next month.
The Tories are defending the majority of county council seats up for election on May 1.
Kemi Badenoch, the party's leader, warned they face an 'extremely difficult' time at the ballot box because they were last contested at the peak of their post-Covid popularity in 2021.
Mr Griffith was asked by the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg about Andy Street, the former Tory mayor of the West Midlands, urging his party not to work with Reform UK at any level.
'Well, if people want a Conservative-led council – and I think they should because they run services better, rates are lower – then they've got to vote Conservative,' he said.
'It's always been, after elections, for local councillors themselves to sort how they're going to run the local council. That won't be needed if people vote Conservative, but if that is needed then historically people have done deals on a local council level with all sorts of groups.
'I think the Liberal Democrats are quite extremist. Whenever they get into council, they want four-day weeks and veganism.
'No one should take that off the table, because those are decisions for local councillors to decide. It shouldn't get there, because people can vote Conservative.'
Asked whether he was suggesting all Lib Dems were vegan, he replied: 'Too many.'
Oxfordshire county council, which is ruled by a Lib Dem-Green coalition, has served vegan-only food at its meetings since 2023.
The council came under fire after launching a campaign website which cited advice from the Vegan Society and told residents why they should adopt a plant-based diet.
A Lib Dem source said: 'These comments are frankly a bit weird. Andrew Griffith was Treasury minister under Liz Truss when the Tories crashed the economy and sent mortgages spiralling.
'Bizarre comments'
'Voters haven't forgiven the Conservative Party for all the damage they did. Bizarre comments like this won't do anything to change that.'
Sarah Dyke, the Lib Dem MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, is among senior figures in the party to have backed calls for a reduction in meat consumption.
South Cambridgeshire district council, which is run by the Lib Dems, started a trial four-day week scheme two years ago.
Employees still receive full pay to do 100 per cent of their work in 80 per cent of their hours. They are urged to use their extra non-working day to 'recover and re-energise'.
The Lib Dems have also come under attack for their stance on the Gaza conflict, having called for a ceasefire weeks after the Oct 7 massacre in 2023.
Israel was blamed directly for Oct 7 during a fringe event at the party's conference last year when a speaker claimed that Israel's 'far-Right dogma' had 'led directly' to the slaughter.
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