Lib Dems to target Labour voters in Blue Wall, says Davey
As part of his pre-conference media round, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has been talking with The Guardian and highlighting the party’s commitment to international aid:
The Liberal Democrats will directly court Labour voters in “blue wall” swing seats to try to build a critical mass of tactical voting in advance of the next election, Ed Davey has said before the party’s first in-person conference since 2019.
The planned campaign of letters in Conservative-held commuter belt constituencies where the Lib Dems are the main challengers will be intended to persuade Labour supporters to lend their vote – not just as a means to change the government but because “they feel an affinity with us”, Davey said…
The letters, from Davey himself, will set out the Lib Dems’ promise to immediately restore overseas aid to 0.7% of GDP, saying it was vital the UK properly supported people in places such as Syria and Afghanistan.
“We want to make sure that in seats like these, people who would otherwise vote Labour aren’t voting for us just because we’re the only ones who can beat the Conservatives,” Davey said.
“I’d like them to do it because they actually quite like us, and they feel an affinity with us. And I think they should with some of the positions we’ve been taking.”
It’s always worth bearing in mind when seeing pieces like this that there’s usually only a pretty narrow part of what the party is going about which interests the media.
At the moment, the national media interest is overwhelmingly in the Lib Dem challenge to Conservative MPs, but there is more to the party, both what we’re doing and what our plan is.
For that broader picture, see for example the first part of the Federal Board’s report in the conference reports booklet, or what I say when opening our conference and also when moving the Board report on Sunday.
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“We want to make sure that in seats like these, people who would otherwise vote Labour aren’t voting for us just because we’re the only ones who can beat the Conservatives,” Davey said. [We are going to] persuade Labour supporters to lend their vote – not just as a means to change the government but because “they feel an affinity with us”,
Why!! There is a danger of being too clever here. The most powerful appeal is to get rid of the Tories. Please don’t muddy the water with LibDem policies that some Labour supporters may not agree with. Keep it simple. We don’t need to be loved. We just need their votes.