As a member of the Labour party for 50 years, a week before Thursday’s North Shropshire byelection, I received an email claiming that Labour was within six percentage points of the Tories and closing, and urging me to join the telephone canvass. I received another on Wednesday, telling me that 50 people had responded to that message, that canvassing was in full swing and that Labour was within a whisker of winning.
This sort of wishful – and maybe dishonest – thinking highlights a real problem within Labour, whose leaders and some of whose members are willing to sacrifice the prize of a leftwing majority for I’m not sure what – avoiding a stronger Lib Dem party? Maximising the Labour vote? Whatever the reason, it is damaging to the country and to the prospect of a Labour government.
There was no pact – formal or informal – in North Shropshire, and the Tories were defeated by local people working out for themselves who to vote for. There is absolutely no guarantee that this can be repeated at a general election. How much more certain would we be of ridding ourselves of Conservative governments if the Labour and Lib Dem leaders were to look honestly at the political landscape and form alliances to maximise the number of non-Tory MPs. The maths is simple: it’s political leadership that is required.
Bahram Bekhradnia
Oxford
• The encouraging defeat of the Tories by the Lib Dems in North Shropshire immediately elicited tired tropes from the Conservatives about a midterm kicking they will learn from. More depressingly, Labour fell back on the empty “no secret deals” pledge when discussing tactical voting. Boris Johnson must have been mightily relieved at being given that particular get-out-of-political-defeat-free card.
As memories of Christmas parties and expensive wallpaper fade, it is what will be done in the run-up to the next election that will decide whether or not we have a corrosive and permanent Tory democratic dictatorship. To avert this catastrophe, opposition parties in vulnerable constituencies must sink their differences and cooperate in fielding one candidate to fight the Conservatives in the run-up to polling day.
The key to overcoming party tribalism and to make this happen is for these parties to make clear that once there is a non-Tory majority elected, then that parliament’s first act will be to change the voting system to an agreed form of proportional representation. This would mean that for all subsequent elections, people will have a greater incentive to vote for their original political tribe.
In terms of addressing the worries of the general public, most of whom are not that concerned about changes to the voting system, the different manifestos must put centre stage publicly popular commitments that increase economic, social and environmental security for voters in every constituency.
Colin Hines
East Twickenham, London
• It would seem that the nation’s conscience has been found in Oswestry, Wem and Whitchurch. Many of us in North Shropshire’s adjoining constituency, that of Shrewsbury and Atcham, currently held by Daniel Kawczynski (Tory MP needing ‘to pay school fees’ pleaded for lucrative Middle East work, 15 December), would welcome such an opportunity to show that an MP’s moral conduct does matter to the electorate.
Charlie Leventon
Shrewsbury, Shropshire
• Rejoice! The Whigs are back!
Jude Carr
London
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