Labour and the Liberal Democrats are accused of ‘squalid’ anti-Tory plot to deny their voters a choice and inflict by-election humiliation on Boris Johnson
- Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey faced claims they made a deal together
- Tories said Lib Dems waged token campaign in Wakefield, 2019, to let Labour win
- They claim Labour is effectively returning the favour in Tiverton and Honiton
Labour and the Liberal Democrats were last night accused of a ‘squalid deal’ to deny their voters a choice in a bid to inflict by-election humiliation on Boris Johnson.
Leaders Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey faced claims that they had secretly agreed to give each other a free run in two by-elections that could prove crucial for the Prime Minister’s survival.
Tories accused the Lib Dems of waging a token campaign in Wakefield to let Labour regain the ‘Red Wall’ West Yorkshire seat lost to Mr Johnson’s party in 2019.
And they claim Labour is returning the favour in Tiverton and Honiton by effectively standing aside to allow the Lib Dems to overturn a huge Tory majority in the Devon seat.
Last night, Tory MP Richard Holden said: ‘It’s pretty clear that Labour and the Lib Dems have done a squalid deal behind the voters’ backs. They’re just not being honest with the electorate.’
Leaders Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey faced claims that they had secretly agreed to give each other a free run in two by-elections that could prove crucial for the Prime Minister’s survival
Both Opposition parties are fielding candidates in the two seats and denied any pact – with the Lib Dems saying deputy leader Daisy Cooper would be campaigning in Wakefield tomorrow. However, a Lib Dem source admitted that Sir Ed had not yet hit the campaign trial and had no plans to do so.
Campaigning for the by-elections – on June 23 – is reaching a climax after Mr Johnson survived last week’s no-confidence vote, though 148 Tory MPs – 41 per cent of the parliamentary party – voted against him. Despite his survival, rebels claim that defeats in the two upcoming by-elections would add to pressure on the PM – especially if the Tories lose badly.
Conservative suspicions of a Labour/Lib Dem deal follow hard on the heels of claims from Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden that during May’s local elections campaign, Sir Keir did not field candidates in areas where the Lib Dems were strong, while Sir Ed did the same in parts of the country dominated by Labour.
Tory anger has focused on reports that Labour is soft-pedalling in Tiverton and Honiton even though it came second there in 2019, with the Lib Dems third.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey at the Lib Dem office yesterday in Honiton, Devon, with Richard Foord, his party’s candidate, as they go on campaign trail for the upcoming Tiverton and Honiton by-election
However, the Lib Dems are traditionally strong in the South West as well as being considered ‘more palatable’ for Tory voters who want to register a protest at a by-election.
Lib Dem sources were yesterday playing down any talk of a famous victory – not least as the Tories are defending a 24,239 majority held by former MP Neil Parish, who resigned last month after admitting watching pornography on his phone in the Commons.
However, the Lib Dems overturned a Tory majority of almost 23,000 in Shropshire North about six months ago.
In Wakefield, Tory insiders concede that with a much narrower 3,358 majority over Labour, they will struggle to hold the seat – one of the string of so-called Red Wall constituencies in the North and Midlands that fell to Mr Johnson’s party at the 2019 Election.
To add to Tory woes, the Wakefield by-election was caused by the resignation of sitting Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
One opinion poll last week suggested a decisive Labour victory – with the party 20 points ahead of the Tories.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs attend the Royal Cornwall Show yesterday
However, Conservative morale was boosted last night when an Opinium survey said the Labour lead nationally had narrowed over the past fortnight from three to just two points.
Last night, Ms Cooper insisted ‘there is no pact’ and dismissed Tory claims as ‘another desperate attempt to deflect from Boris Johnson’s lies and law-breaking’.
A spokesman for Sir Keir said there were ‘no deals, no pacts’ and added: ‘We have a strong candidate in Tiverton and Honiton, and we’re working hard for every vote.’
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