Starmer hit by Lib-Lab pact claims
SIR Keir Starmer last night faced claims he was forging a ‘Lib-Lab’ election pact after Labour published a list of more than 200 ‘non-battleground’ seats – to the delight of the Liberal Democrats.
The list of 211 seats released on the Labour Party website was seen as an invitation to Labour supporters in those seats to back a rival party rather than split the anti-Tory vote.
Many are in the Home Counties and the South West, where Sir Ed Davey’s Lib Dems have traditionally enjoyed stronger support than Labour. Tory MPs took it as the latest sign of a tacit ‘Rainbow Alliance’ between Starmer’s party and the Lib Dems, which senior Conservatives have condemned as anti-democratic. After Labour posted the list, Lib Dem party president Mark Pack said: ‘Fill your boots with tactical voting quotes.’
The Labour list includes obvious non-target seats such as South Holland and The Deepings where sitting Tory MP Sir John Hayes is defending a massive majority of 30,838. But polling experts voiced surprise at some other seats included in the list, such as the new constituency of North-East Somerset and Hanham, which on some forecasts Tory ex-Cabinet Minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg will lose to Labour.
Martin Baxter, of the Electoral Calculus website, said: ‘Labour is trying to maximise the effect of tactical voting.
‘We know there’s likely to be a lot of anti-Conservative tactical voting at the next election. They are signalling to the Lib Dems where perhaps Sir Ed’s party could direct some resources that maybe they otherwise wouldn’t do.’
Polling expert and Tory peer Robert Hayward said: ‘Labour’s decision to put this list out is undoubtedly helpful to the Lib Dems.
‘There are large parts of the country where Sir Keir Starmer is basically saying to Sir Ed Davey: “We’re not fighting these seats, over to you.”’
A Labour spokesman said last night: ‘We are ready for an election in 2024 and will be campaigning to earn votes in every seat.’ Party sources stressed they had repeatedly ruled out pacts and alliances.