Author Archives: John Hills

Turning Britain yellow: Defining our political space

Whether by accident or design the Conservative Parliamentary Party have nominated two populists, both positioned towards the right wing of their party, as candidates to be their next leader.  In the 24 hours before the final stage of voting, it appeared James Cleverly had the momentum.  Perhaps as Conservative leader, Cleverly might have been able to reach moderate voters who abandoned the Conservatives in 2024, towards Tory gains in 2029.  We now know that for the foreseeable, the Conservatives will be occupying political space much to the right of that claimed by the party David Cameron led until 2016.

There should then be an opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to make even further gains on 2024, and to clearly aspire to become His Majesty’s Official Opposition.

Of the 27 seats in which the Liberal Democrats came second in 2024, 20 of these are Conservative seats, six are Labour, and one is Plaid Cymru.  Likewise of all 72 seats in which Liberal Democrats came first, the Conservatives came second in a whopping 64, the Scottish National Party in a further six, and the Labour Party in just two.

Taken together then, if the Liberal Democrats wish to hold on to 2024 gains and make further gains in 2029, we must maintain and build upon the connection we have with those voters – whom the Pimlico Journal recently called Yellow England –  who might in different circumstances have voted for a more moderate and credible incarnation of the Conservatives.

With respect to becoming the Opposition, the Conservatives currently stand at 121 seats, the Liberal Democrats 72.  So, all other things being equal, even if the Liberal Democrats were able to turn each of those second place seats yellow in 2029, the Conservatives would still form the Opposition.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 47 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Martin Gray
    A first rate speaker, & parliamentary performer.. What she says on Immigration & women's issues - does resonate with a considerable number of voters ......
  • Katharine Pindar
    No, Chris Moore, you are mistaken. (And will you please stop misspelling my name!) It is not certain that the social liberal wing of the party is dominant, tho...
  • David Le Grice
    @Chris Moore The title makes it clear that the author at least likes the idea of being centrist/moderate/in the middle. It is not unreasonable to casually ref...
  • Steve Trevethan
    Thank you for an interesting and timely article. Can a nation or an international organisation be truly/validly democratic when they are so cemented to Auste...
  • David Raw
    It could have been a lot worse, Cassie. They could have taken away the concession on red diesel (first introduced by Tom Williams in the Attlee Government in 19...