Reform UK and The Social Democratic Party (SDP) have today confirmed details of how they intend to co-operate in a significant number of constituencies at the next General Election.
The reciprocal agreement will see each party stand aside for the other in six key constituencies and will also see over a dozen candidates in the South Yorkshire area standing under the joint branding of ‘Reform UK & The Social Democratic Party (SDP)’.
As a general rule, I don’t much like electoral pacts as they deny the electorate a proper choice. However, we are in abnormal times and this may be the way forward to dent the current incumbents. If it costs them a few seats all the better. At the very least, I’d like to see a significant shot across the bows. If this achieves that, then job done.
It’s my view that politicians don’t take hints. They are typically too invested in their own careers to notice the signalling of others. Taking ‘their’ seats though is too much to ignore – it’s a threat, not a hint.
I’m all for it.
U.K and European M.P.s are bought and paid for by Washington. The C.I.A. meddle in U.K. political affairs as they do in European ones. This co-operation will be still born before it takes any serious form. There is a
special relationship between the deep states of Washington and London but it only panders to those who do the buying.
Any thoughts on democracy, variety in political parties or anything straying from the political doctrines in place will be crushed. Just look what happened to Corbyn and soon Brexit.
Surely there must be seats that are just there for the taking. There has to be millions of people who don’t see the existing choices as a choice at all.
It takes effort to get out and vote, so what’s more likely to happen is people just won’t bother…
Please don’t forget Scotland. We need a viable alternative.
i’m for anything that impacts the gravy train that our scumbag politicians are on.
I’ve quoted this piece over at my place and although I can see value in our host’s worries about electoral pacts I believe that this is a very sensible move. A pact will ensure that the SDP and REform don’t campaign against each other and split the anti-Tory and anti-Socialist vote. Personally I’d like to see this pact tested during the next local elections as this will be a chance to iron out any issues that need to be sorted out with this pact prior to the next General Election.
What’s in a name…?
Surely the Social Democratic party could have come up with a less confusing name:
“Social Democrats? I thought that was a 1980s fad,”
“Social Democrats? Do you mean the LibDems?”
“SDP? Do you mean SNP?”
etc.
Well the name Liberal Democrats is already taken, by a party that believes in neither liberty or democracy. But I agree that the name Social Democrats is unoriginal and a bit vague.
Yes the Lib Dems are now so divorced from classical liberalism and from democracy that maybe they should be prosecuted under the 1968 Trade Descriptions Act.
As I understand it, I believe that some the founders of the SDP of today are those who didn’t want to see the original SDP that they’d been members of die out when the early 80’s SDP, they of the ‘Gang of Four’ and all that jazz, merged or rather were eaten up by the Liberals in the late 80’s.
I can understand why you say tht the name seems unoriginal and I agree that the name could be vague, but it is the original name of the party as set up way back then. I’m a politics nerd so the SDP has for me good brand recognition as I know where it came from which is Labour politicians such as Dr David Owen who had got sick of the far leftery in Labour deciding to leave.
If these new or re-emerging parties do make any kind of progress at the next GE, I wonder if there will be any genuine Conservatives or old Labour types abandoning their sinking ships?
There might be both which will be interesting as it will create a coalition that could be moderately left on the economy but also to the right on culture and social policy, which is something that appears to be in tune with what the UK electorate want according to some political surveys I’ve seen over the years.