There had been some speculation in the media that there would be one single Remain candidate in the Peterborough by-election, which will take place on June 6th following the recall of MP Fiona Onasanya.
However, nominations closed today and that didn’t happen. Lib Dem Beki Sellick was duly nominated to fight the by-election for us:
We must stop #Brexit. I would have stood down for an independent #Remain candidate but @LibDems are the strongest Remain Party and I'm the most consistent local campaigner, committed to #Peterborough to save services, combat climate change & protect jobs https://t.co/b00TrqST4A pic.twitter.com/f2xWGtowt7
— Beki Sellick (@LibdemBeki) May 9, 2019
The official party line is as follows:
The Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, Change UK and Renew have been working together to put forward a joint approach for the Peterborough by-election, understanding the need for a collective effort in securing a People’s Vote and stopping Brexit.
We had all agreed to put our support behind an independent and pro-Remain candidate. Unfortunately, this effort has not been successful, and as the strongest remain party, the Liberal Democrats will be fielding a candidate ready to represent Peterborough.
We have therefore selected local businesswomen and campaigner Beki Sellick as our candidate, having previously fought the seat for the party in the 2017 election.
With over 100,000 members, 2,500 councillors across the country and an active team in Peterborough, the Liberal Democrats are the strongest Remain voice. If you want to stop Brexit then vote for the Liberal Democrats.
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13 Comments
She sounds like a good candidate, and all the best to her. I will be sending a donation to the campaign and will do some telephoning – I hope others do too.
However, I do think it is unfortunate that a joint candidate couldn’t be agreed on. Norman Smith from the BBC is reporting that this was all sorted and then the agreed candidate pulled out at the last minute due to ‘pressure from Labour remainers.’ If that’s true it is a disgrace. Not only are they failing to get Labour to stand up for a #PeoplesVote but they’re stopping others from doing so effectively as well.
Fimi pulledI out hours before he had to sign. I hope Labour remainers are not being leaned on by Corbyn big wigs. This has helped wreck an alliance that could have helped change politics. Are Labour more interested in maintaining the 2 party system?I hope Fimi gives us an explanation
A shame that the plan for the joint candidate fell through, but taking the positives, it sounds like this wasn’t due to lack of commitment from any of the parties involved but external factors beyond our / Change UK’s / Greens’ control.
Even more positive is that there will likely be another by election in Brecon soon, in what is a very, very winnable seat. Would be excellent to see a similar alliance come to fruition there.
It’s one thing having an agreed single Remain candidates in European parliamentary elections (which there aren’t) but surely wrong to have a single Remain candidate in a Westminster election which is abut far more than Brexit.
Change UK say the Lib Dems are there main target/competition/enemies in elections. We should not be doing deals with Change UK.
Actually I think the case is stronger for having joint Remain candidates in Westminster Parliamentary elections than in European Parliamentary elections. This is because the decision on what happens about Brexit rests at Westminster, not in the European Parliament (which legislates for the EU as a whole, not for any particular nation state’s relationship with the EU).
nigel hunter 9th May ’19 – 11:53pm
Fimi pulledI out hours before he had to sign. I hope Labour remainers are not being leaned on by Corbyn big wigs. This has helped wreck an alliance that could have helped change politics. Are Labour more interested in maintaining the 2 party system?I hope Fimi gives us an explanation
Of course, Labour Remainers are in favour of what’s in the interest of the Labour party. Of course, they’re in favour of the two-party system. Of course, that’s more fundamental to them than Remaining.
What is the Peterborough address for sending cheque donations for the by-election?
Tony H and Chris Moore: Absolutely true! I’m disappointed that Femi withdrew – but quite unsurprised if he was leaned on. Unfortunately, for Labour career politicians (including most of their declared Remainers), preservation of the Labour/Tory duopoly is an article of faith – and tribal loyalty to their brand will therefore always, ultimately, triumph over political principle.
Yes I’d like to send a donation to Beki too and wish her all the best in the by-election. She can have some of my minimum wage earnings for this month towards the campaign.
Somewhat typical of supposedly ‘balanced’ state of political reporting on tv these days. On Politics Live today we had the Labour view:
‘we’ve done nothing wrong!’
And the Conservative view:
‘how terrible that political parties might dare think of challenging the status quo in a FPTP election by putting up a joint candidate in a grubby deal. They should be honest and stand under their own name.’
I may paraphrase the words, if not the sentiment. Naturally, these views went unchallenged.
As soon as anyone from the Tory Party or the Labour Party tell you that they want to make a deal and form an alliance the first thing that you should do is zip up your purse, check that your wallet is still in your back pocket and then walk away as fast as you can.
There are no good intentions when the Tories or Labour want to form an alliance with the LibDems. They will be looking to maximise the benefit to their respective party’s and if they can use the situation to damage the Liberal Democrats they will grasp that opportunity with both hands.
Rather than trying to accommodate the Tories or Labour, the Liberal Democrats should be on the offensive highlighting the failures of the Tories and Labour.
The party should also be calling out the media – particularly Question Time and the Andrew Marr Show – for ignoring the Liberal Democrat surge in polling and vote share. There appears to be an attempt by some in the media to marginalize the Liberal Democrats by not providing them with equal time with the other two main parties.
Thanks for all the interest, donations for Beki campaign greatfully received here http://www.beki4peterborough.org.uk/
Chair, Peterborough & Fenland Lib Dems
I sincerely hope Mrs Sellick wins our Peterborough seat. My good wishes to her.