Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will target his message towards the “squeezed middle” in visits across the “blue wall” in London and the South East in his last day of campaigning before the local elections.

His party said Sir Ed will focus on commuter town “battlegrounds”, including Elmbridge in Surrey, which covers Justice Secretary Dominic Raab’s constituency of Esher and Walton.

Ahead of his final campaigning visits, Sir Ed said the elections are a “chance to send a shockwave from communities around the country to the heart of the Conservative Party”.

And his party said he will be out focusing his message on the “squeezed middle”, saying that families with young children are facing rising energy bills, mortgage payments, food prices and childcare costs, in addition to “unfair” tax rises that will “cost the average household £5,500 over the next decade”.

Local elections are being held across the country on Thursday.

Sir Ed said: “Over the past few weeks of this local elections campaign, I’ve spoken to hundreds of families and pensioners struggling with a cost of living emergency.

“The message from the public has been clear. They are sick of having a Prime Minister who breaks the rules and lies about it, and who puts saving his own skin ahead of saving people from soaring bills.

“The local elections are a chance to send a shockwave from communities around the country to the heart of the Conservative Party.

“Boris Johnson is not fit to lead the country and he needs to go. At this time of national crisis, we can’t afford to have a law-breaking Prime Minister and a tax-hiking Chancellor.”