Labour voters backing Lib Dems in 14 seats 'could help oust Tories' - full list

05 October 2023 , 15:06

927     0

Compass issued details of 14 key battlegrounds where it could make all the difference (Image: PA)

Tactical voting campaigners have revealed how Labour supporters switching their loyalty in 14 “unwinnable” seats could help oust the Tories.

Keir Starmer’s party and the Lib Dems have so far resisted calls to stand aside in seats where one is far more likely to win than the other. However, informal pacts mean they often do not push hard in constituencies where they stand little chance of victory. But this month’s crunch by-election in Mid Bedfordshire, where Tory Nadine Dorries quit as MP, could deliver a Conservative triumph as Labour and the Lib Dems fight for non-Tory votes - potentially meaning the Conservatives hold the seat.

Nadine Dorries flounced out of Parliament after being denied a peerage (TalkTV)

Ahead of Labour's conference which starts this weekend in Liverpool, the Compass group warned the party’s “stance on contesting all seats, even non-priority ones, risks dividing the anti-Tory vote” in other battlegrounds. “With Labour enjoying strong poll leads and Rishi Sunak’s Government disintegrating, Keir Starmer and co look set to sail to victory at the next general election, expected next year,” said the group. “But with the critical Mid Bedfordshire by-election looming and a divided progressive vote threatening to let the Tories cling on there and elsewhere, the call for co-operation among progressive forces remains crucial.”

Its researchers pointed to 14 Tory-held constituencies it said Labour “has no real chance of winning” but where the party’s voters could prevent the Conservatives from clinging on if traditional Labour voters backed the Lib Dems instead. Compass cited the London seats Wimbledon; Carshalton and Wallington; and Sutton and Cheam; as well as Cheltenham, Glos; Winchester, Hants; Cheadle, Gtr Manchester; Hazel Grove, Gtr Manchester; South Cambs; Lewes, East Sussex; Wokingham, Berks; St Ives, Cornwall; and the Surrey seats of Guildford; Woking and Esher and Walton.

Compass said: “The Liberal Democrats came second in all of these seats in 2019 and are likely to be the best-placed, progressive challenger to the Conservatives at the next general election. Had Labour voters backed the Lib Dems in each of these seats in 2019, they would have beaten the Conservatives.”

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

The think tank said it “makes sense” for Labour not to contest every seat in a bid to “maximise the anti-Tory vote where Labour can’t win”. It added: “Huge dissatisfaction with the current Government means progressive voters simply want change, and they are showing an unprecedented willingness to vote tactically to get the Tories out.”

Compass’ deputy director Frances Foley said: “Labour’s approach is beginning to smack of the now infamous cake-ism - it wants, indeed, needs, the Lib Dems to do well in seats where it can’t win, but it also wants to field candidates to keep up appearances of a party that can win everywhere. By standing in these 14 seats and elsewhere where it can’t win, Labour helps split the anti-Tory vote and wastes scarce resources being deployed nearby where Labour can win. Ultimately, we need proportional representation to move beyond the need for tactical voting and campaigning so people can vote with their hearts without fear of letting the Tories in.”

Ben Glaze