'Broad right' pact in motion as Lib Dems seek to downplay Reform UK links

A 'broad right' electoral pact first reported by the Independent has been put into action as Liberal Democrat leader amazonas122 looks most likely to enter No 10 after the upcoming general election, despite the fact that Labour is favoured to win the most seats.

The state of play is substantially similar to what was reported by this masthead last week, though the Conservatives ultimately decided to stand candidates in the West Midlands and the Lib Dems were forced to walk back plans to stand aside for Reform UK candidates in the East of England region.

Projections from a polling firm reveal that while Labour are projected to narrowly win the election, any majority government would need the support of the Liberal Democrats. Given that amazonas122's party has endorsed the Conservatives in three regions but has not backed Labour, who are running candidates in every constituency in Great Britain, it is not unreasonable to suggest that they are preparing to enter Downing Street with the backing of the Tories.

Strange bedfellows in Westminster

It will come as a surprise to many that the Lib Dems are considering entering a coalition with the Conservatives, given their recent leftward drift, which largely began after their resounding defeat at the 2015 general election.

The Liberal Democrats spent much of the 2017-2019 Parliament battling the Conservative government's attempts to exit the European Union, becoming the standard-bearers for a rump Remain campaign that persisted until Boris Johnson finalised Brexit in January 2020. The Lib Dems continued to oppose the Sunak government throughout the last Parliament, with outgoing leader Ed Davey describing himself as an 'anti-Conservative' and pledging to work with then-Labour leader Keir Starmer to remove the Tories from office.

This about-face suggests that in the minds of the Westminster political class, Brexit has largely ceased to be a salient issue in the upcoming election, with the bitterest enemies over Europe capable of setting their issues aside in a return to a more traditional left-right spectrum.

However, the Lib Dems continue to strenuously deny any links to Reform UK, the rebranded Brexit Party that were their arch-rivals in Britain's final European Parliament elections. Lib Dem leadership have heavily briefed the Telegraph to deny that they are open to working with Reform UK, citing an internal pledge from the Lib Dem leader that had not previously been provided to the press. They likely feel secure in making such a pledge because while they are both involved in the right-wing electoral pact, it is unlikely that Reform will win enough seats to make or break the new government's majority – and could be open to a confidence and supply arrangement if needs be.

It remains to be seen, however, how far to the right the Liberal Democrats would be willing to govern as the nation looks set to put an end to fourteen years of Conservative occupancy of No 10.