This is what we need – pragmatism, a non aggression pact between Lab and Lib.
Wouldn’t mind the two coming together for a coalition government if the numbers fall into that realm of possibility.
Labour must be “smart” in managing its relations with the Liberal Democrats and other parties, accepting that tactical voting could play a key role in ousting Boris Johnson, a new shadow cabinet minister has said.
Peter Kyle, one of a number of moderate Labour figures in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshaped front bench team, said British voters hated formal electoral pacts, but that his party had to accept reality on the ground.
“There are ways of managing a relationship with other parties that share some of our priorities which simply reflects the reality of elections,” the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland told the Financial Times in an interview.
“It’s about targeting resources and benignly letting people know that the heavens won’t open up if people who genuinely support you want to lend their vote.”
The results of this approach have been seen this year in Chesham and Amersham and — more recently — in North Shropshire, where the Lib Dems overturned Conservative majorities in parliamentary by-elections.
In both cases Labour effectively stood aside to give the Lib Dems a clear run; Starmer’s party is committed to fielding candidates in every seat but accepts that it is unlikely to be able to beat Johnson on its own.
Kyle, the MP for Hove on the Sussex coast, is well-placed to assess the tactics most likely to succeed in dismantling the “blue wall” of Conservative seats across southern England.
He said that voters were perfectly capable of working out how to vote tactically to achieve their preferred result.
“The people of Chesham and Amersham didn’t need politicians emerging from a smoke-filled room to tell them who to vote for and not to vote for — they figured it out for themselves,” he said.
“If there had been a formal pact, they would have a way to punish us as well as the Tories.” Aside from the Lib Dems, the Greens — who hold a seat near Hove in Brighton — and Plaid Cymru all pursue centre-left agendas.
Kyle said that Johnson’s political errors in recent months, which have contributed to Labour edging ahead in opinion polls, offered the party “an opportunity to be heard that we must not squander”.
He said Starmer had impressed people with his “decency” and his rebuilding of the party’s credibility on economics, but added: “Our challenge is to light the fire.”
Kyle, who campaigned for a second Brexit referendum, said he was now “a rebuilder, not a Remainer”, adding: “The challenge for the Labour party is to rebuild from the rubble of a bad Brexit deal.”
Ironically Kyle seems more enthusiastic about the Northern Ireland protocol, the part of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal that regulates trade in the region, than the prime minister who negotiated it.
Kyle agreed that the protocol was flawed but said: “We see the future is in building upon the great potential in the protocol.” Uniquely, under the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland remains part of both the EU and UK single markets for goods, making it attractive to business.
Kyle succeeded Louise Haigh as shadow Northern Ireland secretary, a switch that came shortly after she said the British government would be “neutral” in any future border poll on reunification of the island of Ireland.
Kyle does not use the word “neutral” and says Labour is proud of the union as “a force for good in the world”, but said: “My take is that Northern Ireland has earned the right to be master of its own destiny.
“When it comes to constitutional matters, the people of Northern Ireland must be able to conduct their debate free of external influence.” Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland secretary must organise a border poll if a majority in the region supports unification.
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This is what we need – pragmatism, a non aggression pact between Lab and Lib.
Wouldn’t mind the two coming together for a coalition government if the numbers fall into that realm of possibility.
Labour must be “smart” in managing its relations with the Liberal Democrats and other parties, accepting that tactical voting could play a key role in ousting Boris Johnson, a new shadow cabinet minister has said.
Peter Kyle, one of a number of moderate Labour figures in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshaped front bench team, said British voters hated formal electoral pacts, but that his party had to accept reality on the ground.
“There are ways of managing a relationship with other parties that share some of our priorities which simply reflects the reality of elections,” the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland told the Financial Times in an interview.
“It’s about targeting resources and benignly letting people know that the heavens won’t open up if people who genuinely support you want to lend their vote.”
The results of this approach have been seen this year in Chesham and Amersham and — more recently — in North Shropshire, where the Lib Dems overturned Conservative majorities in parliamentary by-elections.
In both cases Labour effectively stood aside to give the Lib Dems a clear run; Starmer’s party is committed to fielding candidates in every seat but accepts that it is unlikely to be able to beat Johnson on its own.
Kyle, the MP for Hove on the Sussex coast, is well-placed to assess the tactics most likely to succeed in dismantling the “blue wall” of Conservative seats across southern England.
He said that voters were perfectly capable of working out how to vote tactically to achieve their preferred result.
“The people of Chesham and Amersham didn’t need politicians emerging from a smoke-filled room to tell them who to vote for and not to vote for — they figured it out for themselves,” he said.
“If there had been a formal pact, they would have a way to punish us as well as the Tories.” Aside from the Lib Dems, the Greens — who hold a seat near Hove in Brighton — and Plaid Cymru all pursue centre-left agendas.
Kyle said that Johnson’s political errors in recent months, which have contributed to Labour edging ahead in opinion polls, offered the party “an opportunity to be heard that we must not squander”.
He said Starmer had impressed people with his “decency” and his rebuilding of the party’s credibility on economics, but added: “Our challenge is to light the fire.”
Kyle, who campaigned for a second Brexit referendum, said he was now “a rebuilder, not a Remainer”, adding: “The challenge for the Labour party is to rebuild from the rubble of a bad Brexit deal.”
Ironically Kyle seems more enthusiastic about the Northern Ireland protocol, the part of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal that regulates trade in the region, than the prime minister who negotiated it.
Kyle agreed that the protocol was flawed but said: “We see the future is in building upon the great potential in the protocol.” Uniquely, under the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland remains part of both the EU and UK single markets for goods, making it attractive to business.
Kyle succeeded Louise Haigh as shadow Northern Ireland secretary, a switch that came shortly after she said the British government would be “neutral” in any future border poll on reunification of the island of Ireland.
Kyle does not use the word “neutral” and says Labour is proud of the union as “a force for good in the world”, but said: “My take is that Northern Ireland has earned the right to be master of its own destiny.
“When it comes to constitutional matters, the people of Northern Ireland must be able to conduct their debate free of external influence.” Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland secretary must organise a border poll if a majority in the region supports unification.