Tag Archives: win as one

Compass is a think tank with a strong emphasis on equality and sustainability.  It started as a pressure group within Labour but now has a wider membership including members of other progressive parties, including Liberal Democrats.

Compass has launched a new campaign called Win As One. This is a variant on a Progressive Alliance, but it does not involve parties standing down candidates in Tory facing seats to back the most winnable. Instead it appeals to voters to create a movement for change, embracing tactical voting where it can be effective.

The Guardian has more detail about how they intend to work. The campaign will focus on 62 seats where a Conservative has been elected even though the combined progressive voter was higher – they dub these seats as progressive tragedies.

You will remember that back in September the Labour Party Conference backed a motion calling for Proportional Representation. However, it did not have the backing of Keir Starmer, so it seems unlikely to feature in any future manifesto. The Win As One campaign will give preference to candidates who support PR.

You can enter your postcode on the Win As One website to see their analysis of your constituency. In my case Ed Davey is my MP and Kingston & Surbiton is not seen as a battleground, but the site points me towards neighbouring constituencies that are.  For example, the Lib Dem’s top target seat is Wimbledon and it has a progressive combined vote of 61%.

So what should our attitude be towards this new player? I do have my doubts about a Progressive Alliance as such, because it undermines the autonomy of the voter. It assumes that voters will automatically transfer their vote to the “chosen” candidate, but we know that is simply not the case. Indeed it can be a counterproductive move if voters resent the reduction in choice and feel patronised by the parties who appear to be trying to manipulate the result. We should always stand a candidate in each seat.