No joint candidate slates for Euro elections on the Remain side
The Independent Group and the Greens (possibly helped by misunderstanding the electoral system) rebuffed Liberal Democrat suggestions of a combined Remain front in the European Parliament elections.
As The Independent reports:
The Liberal Democrats have accused other anti-Brexit parties of damaging the chances of success in the European elections by refusing to fight on a joint ticket.
Vince Cable lashed out at The Independent Group and the Greens for rejecting his pleas to stand joint candidates on 23 May, to boost the number of MEPs demanding a second referendum.
The Lib Dem leader revealed that his party proposed fighting together – a move that one election expert has predicted could have delivered an extra six seats in Brussels.*
Instead, it’s a full slate of Liberal Democrat candidates.
Here’s how you can help them win.
* Cooperation can bring more seats because of the way in which the European Parliament elections use d’Hondt.
At one of the most important points in the last fifty years we are like”bald men arguing about a comb”
This is a reality check on warm feelings about Change UK.
They need a bad Euro result to wake up and realise they need to cooperate. At the moment they are blinded by media attention and their own hype.
In my region, SW England, we have some very impressive candidates selected. If we get our act together and campaign like we do in FPTP elections (actually deliver leaflets about the candidates) we might do better in these PR euro elections.
Why throw your hand with a ragbag of EX labour and Tory MPs . Remember the last time you joined forces with another party .
Arithmetic of d’Hondt system means that Lib Dems, Greens and Change UK have a good chance to get MEPs on their own in London and the South East – but elsewhere the remainers’ prospects would be better with some sort of alliance, or endorsing SNP and PC in Scotland and Wales. “In the national interest”?
The Tiggers are beginning to remind me of David Owen and the SDP, who thought they was so important that they refused to join in with the LibDems. The result then: The SDP coming behind the monster raving loony party in a bye-election which kind of killed them off. The Tiggers need to be very careful.
The United Kingdom European Movement (a cross-party group) must now broker a deal between the Lib. Dems., Change(TIG) and the Greens to stand candidates on a joint ticket, in order to elect the maximum number of Remain MEPs.
We get the same with the Greens at local level. Every year they stand in our target seats, when other more winnable seats are ignored. They are not well organised locally and have little discipline.