An article in today’s Guardian features Lib Dem candidate in Bicester and Woodstock and also has a wider look at the other seats where we are competitive.
Knocking on doors in the community on the fringes of Bicester, just north of Oxford, the Liberal Democrat candidate spoke to locals with all manner of political backstories and motivations, some who had previously voted Tory, Labour or neither, as well as those who had either backed Brexit or wished to remain.
All, however, had arrived at a common conclusion: this time they would vote for him, to try to defeat the Conservatives.
And this is not a unique feature of this constituency:
While the Lib Dems are cautious in their predictions and finite in their campaign resources, with a fair electoral wind a swathe of nearby ultra-true blue seats could also turn yellow.
Calum talks about the conversations he is having on the doorsteps:
Striding around the comfortable 1970s and 80s homes of Langford, Miller stresses that his chances remain in flux, not least because he begins many doorstep conversations by telling locals they are no longer in the Banbury constituency, where Labour are the main challengers.
That hurdle cleared, he says, former Conservatives often express disillusionment with the government that is generally connected to the decline of public services.
“I‘ve got voters who have been waiting years for appointments, children whose health has deteriorated while they’ve been on waiting lists, just really awful stories,” he says. “That is sufficiently widespread that is really affecting the confidence and feel about the government.”
There are also some charts which show where the party could be on course to overturn Conservative majorities in former Conservative seats, seats which we held prior to 2015 and new seats with notional Conservative majorities. The article also points out that we are being very disciplined and not getting carried away about our prospects.
You can read the full article here.
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