Veteran Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: With just days to go to the general election, a top pollster has urged Lib Dem supporters in Southport to vote tactically for Labour if they want to keep the Tories out.
Much respected journalist Peter Kellner (pictured) has listed our town as one of 50 key battlegrounds in the UK where Pro-Remain voters can stop Boris Johnson taking us out of the EU.
“Tactical voting is not new, but it has a special significance this week,” explained Mr Kellner, former president of polling experts Yougov and a former reporter with the BBC 2 Newsnight programme.
“Putney, Southport and Guildford all elected Conservative MPs last time, despite voting heavily to remain in the 2016 referendum. Currently, the Conservatives lead Labour in Putney (by 3%) and Southport (by 8%).
“Guildford is almost neck-and-neck between the Lib Dems (41%) and the Conservatives (40%). Given margins of error on local surveys with samples of 500, all three seats are in play. Enough tactical votes for Labour in Putney and Southport, and the Lib Dems in Guildford, could defeat the Tories in all three seats.”
Mr Kellner’s pleas for Lib Dem supporters in Southport to switch to Labour on Thursday is shared by most of the national tactical voting websites.
Conservative Damien Moore is fighting to retain his seat in Southport with a 2,900 majority after snatching it from the Lib Dems in 2017. He faces strong opposition from Labour’s Liz Savage and John Wright for the Lib Dems.
These were the 2017 results in Southport:
CONSERVATIVE 18,541 (38.66%)
LABOUR 15,627 (32.59%)
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT 12,661 (26.40%)
UKIP 1,127 (2.35%)
Whatever your view, don’t waste your vote on Thursday 12 December.
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