Former Labour and Conservative MPs set to vote Liberal Democrat in the European elections
Following the news about Michael Heseltine comes this from the other side of the political spectrum: former Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay is voting Liberal Democrat.
And there’s more: with former Conservative MP Matthew Parris also switching over to the Lib Dems:
Andrew Mackinlay was an excellent constituency MP for Thurrock and a great supporter of the A Level Government and Politics classes I taught at the local sixth form college. More recently I have met up with him at LibDem conferences where he has been an effective advocate for Gibraltar. He is honest and decent and I know he has wrestled for some time with this question of whether he can still support Labour but after 52 years this will still have been a difficult decision for him. All respect to him.
and some time ago I heard Matthew Parris in discussion on TV and thought then ‘you should be a Liberal Democrat if you think that’
Andrew Mackinlay’s family home is in Kingston, and he has Lib Dem stakeboard outside his house. I have had many conversations with him, and agree with John Death – he is a decent man, and it is not easy for him to vote against his deeply embedded loyalties.