Labour should withdraw its candidates in the 30 seats where there is a clear fight between the Tories and the Lib Dems.
Our guest writers are Guy Lodge and Leo Ringer of the Institute for Public Policy Research
Ed Balls and Peter Hain have today both urged voters to vote tactically to keep the Conservatives out of power. Unsurprisingly Balls and Hain have more to say about Lib Dem voters in the 100 or so Labour-Tory marginals: Balls would like them to ‘bite their lip’ and back Labour on May 6th. Conversely, both hint that Labour voters should support the Lib Dem candidate in those seats where Labour has no chance of winning.
But if Labour was seriously committed to building a ‘progressive alliance’ it might go further than simply urging tactical voting. A much bolder way for it to demonstrate its enthusiasm for a realignment of the centre left would be for it to withdraw its candidates in the 30 seats where there is a clear fight between the Tories and the Lib Dems. Assuming the Labour vote would switch to the Lib Dems rather than to the Tories, then such a move could see the Lib Dems take at least 10 seats from the Tories on Thursday, including the seat of Oliver Letwin in West Dorset.
It would also help the Lib Dems defend a further 10 seats from the Tories, including the Eastleigh seat of the party’s home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne. In other words should Labour withdraw candidates in these seats they could easily deprive the Tories of at least 20 MPs. Nor would this affect Labour’s national share of the vote – they are desperate to avoid coming third overall – since they poll so few votes (roughly about 10-15 per cent) in Tory-Lib Dem marginals.
Labour should be prepared to stand down candidates in these seats without insisting on the Lib Dems returning the favour in Tory-Labour marginals. This is about Labour showing its commitment to cementing a ‘progressive alliance’ in British politics – something it has failed to do while in power, and which it has only returned to very late in the day.
And who knows where it might lead? Should there be a hung parliament there could be another election later this year – might this be the moment when the old Gladstone-Macdonald electoral pact of the Edwardian age is formally revived? The Lib Dems might be more encouraged to look at this if Labour helped them out on May 6th.
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25 Responses to “Labour should withdraw candidates in Lib-Con marginals”
Matt
Utter rubbish. Labour has a duty to field a candidate in every seat in the country so that people have the choice of voting Labour. Let the people decide how they choose to exercise their vote. They are not fools – stop treating them as such. People know what the choices are.
Bill Kristol-Balls
A very astute and radical idea which obviously comes at least 3 weeks too late to make a difference to this campaign.
However…
It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a Tory minority government will attempt to push through its agenda and dare either the Lib Dems or Labour to bring the government down, thus forcing a second election within months.
This would suit the Tories, not least because they would have the £££ to fight such an election whereas Lab and the Lib Dems wouldn’t.
In such a situation and with a new leader, Labour should come to an agreement with the Lib Dems on a program for government and not compete against each other in certain seats to ensure the Tories are beaten and progress can be made on real constitutional change.
Would either party have the balls though?
HerbertGladstone
A really interesting idea. I tried this in 1906 and it worked a treat.
Billy Blofeld
Poor old Alex Salmond – banned from the “Prime Ministerial Debates” – because he was not standing across all UK constituencies. Wonder what he’ll make of this idea?
nobby-Lobby
RT @leftfootfwd: Labour should withdraw candidates in Lib-Con marginals: http://bit.ly/abFJsY