Broad Right to form large scale electoral pact

As the election draws closer, a number of parties have been engaged in confidential discussions with ideological allies to form so called “electoral pacts”, where parties stand down and endorse each other reciprocally.

It is understood that the most developed of these agreements has been carried out discussions of the so called “broad right bloc”, consisting of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and Democratic Unionist Party. It is further understood that talks have been carried out between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and Labour and the Greens, although these are at a less developed stage.

This type of agreement has been demonstrated recently in France, but is relatively unusual in British politics, with the most recent example being the “Unite to Remain” alliance between the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru in 2019. While this agreement covered less than 10% of seats in the 2019 election, it is understood that the pacts currently under discussion would be far greater in scope, with candidates poised to stand aside for other parties in every seat in the country.

The Broad Right Pact

The so called “Broad Right Bloc” agreement would see voters in most constituencies limited to only a single party on the so called “broad right” who they would be able to vote for in seven out of the eleven national constituencies, with only the West Midlands, South West, Wales and Northern Ireland seeing two parties from the Broad Right running. The proposed pact would see the following consequences at constituency levels.

While this pact would not see the Liberal Democrats and Reform directly endorse one another, this agreement would allow them to focus their resources on limited constituencies in order to maximise the number of seats gained by each in the coming Parliament, however the main winner could be the Liberal Democrats who not only are poised to stand in the largest number of constituencies but are also understood to have approached Labour for a similar pact, specifically seeking endorsements in London and the South East. This could potentially result in the Lib Dems running virtually unopposed in these constituencies, which make up just over a quarter of the total number of seats in the new parliament.

Trouble in Paradise?

While the Liberal Democrats appear to be an enviable position, it is understood that internal tensions on the future direction of the party have been growing, with the party understood to be deeply split on policy for their forthcoming manifesto.

Furthermore, although this pact would appear to be the initial overtures towards a potential Broad Right government, it is understood that an internal vote by the membership of the party ruled out a deal with Reform, with 82% of those voting refusing to "in anyway consider a deal with [Reform]”, even if they produced a more moderate policy platform than that previously espoused by the party since its formation.

Discussions between members of the Liberal Democrats and other Broad Right parties have raised policies on immigration, LGBT+ rights and Europe as points of contention, although if the election should result in a viable path to some form of agreement between the Broad Right parties, cooler heads may begin to prevail.

Article written by Piers Farquhar, Independent. Leaks verified by the Quadumvirate.