New plan for cross-party cooperation to secure PR

The Guardian has news of a welcome evolution in tactics from people seeking cross-party cooperation to defeat the Conservatives and secure electoral reform:

A grassroots campaign is hoping to raise £1m to bring more supporters of electoral reform to the Commons at the next general election.

The group, called Win as One, will work with candidates from progressive parties who are well-placed to beat the Tories and are in support of proportional representation (PR)…

Candidates would be asked to sign up to a pledge supporting electoral reform. The campaign would then aim to help support a caucus of pro-PR MPs in the House of Commons who could work together to press for change.

That’s a welcome evolution as it’s a step away from the idea of getting parties to stand down for each other, something which even polling form supporters of the idea showed is a tactic that is unlikely to succeed. And it’s also a welcome alternative to the improbable hopes that creating new parties will be the secret to defeating the Conservatives.

What’s been strikingly effective in this Parliament already – with three Liberal Democrat by-election gains from the Conservatives, one for Labour (Wakefield) and one Labour hold against a strong Conservative challenge (Batley and Spen) – has been tactical voting and astute prioritisation of campaign efforts, all steering well clear of backroom deals over allocating seats and pulling out candidates.

This winning approach – with its proven success during this Parliament – is the one to build on.

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