Readers respond to the triumph of the Liberal Democrats in Thursday’s byelection, and the necessity of tactical voting
As a member of the Labour party for 50 years, a week before Thursday’s North Shropshire byelection, I received an email claiming that Labour was within six percentage points of the Tories and closing, and urging me to join the telephone canvass. I received another on Wednesday, telling me that 50 people had responded to that message, that canvassing was in full swing and that Labour was within a whisker of winning.
This sort of wishful – and maybe dishonest – thinking highlights a real problem within Labour, whose leaders and some of whose members are willing to sacrifice the prize of a leftwing majority for I’m not sure what – avoiding a stronger Lib Dem party? Maximising the Labour vote? Whatever the reason, it is damaging to the country and to the prospect of a Labour government.
