LONDON – One of the key questions heading into the June 8 general election is how many extra seats a resurgent Liberal Democrats party can realistically expect to win.
Leader Tim Farron has framed the party in unambiguous terms as the country’s anti-Brexit party and has reaped the rewards in recent local elections and by-elections.
In the Richmond Park by-election in December, for example, Lib Dem candidate Sarah Olney won the seat from former Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, with a whopping 21% swing in favour her party’s favour.
The Lib Dems currently have 9 MPs in the House of Commons but if Farron’s party can attract enough anti-Brexit votes then this number could possibly rise to 15, 20, or perhaps even more.
Here are 9 sitting MPs who have to fight hard to fend off the looming threat of the Liberal Democrats.
Constituency-based EU referendum results are based on data published by academic Chris Hanretty.
Daniel Zeichner (Labour) — Cambridge
Cambridge is the Liberal Democrats’ top target seat. The party finished second here in 2015 to Labour’s David Zeichner but by a tiny majority of just 599. The Remain vote in Cambridge was estimated to be 69% — one of the biggest in the country. If Farron’s Lib Dems do enjoy a revival at the ballot box in June then Cambridge is the most likely seat to fall in its hands.
Neil Coyle (Labour) — Bermondsey & Old Southwark
Labour’s Neil Coyle enjoys a larger majority of 8.9% over the Lib Dems in this London seat. However, with 68% of voters estimated to have voted Remain an anti-Brexit backlash could easily give the Lib Dems back the seat it lost as part of its collapse at the 2015 election. One Labour source told us this week that Coyle is “very worried” about the June contest.
Thangam Debbonaire (Labour) — Bristol West
Bristol West was another seat the Lib Dems lost under Nick Clegg in 2015. However, a massive 80% of voters here wanted to Remain in the EU, meaning Debbonaire’s 17% majority over the Lib Dems might not be enough to keep her seat. It’s worth noting, though, that the Greens finished second here in 2015 and will be hoping to go one better on Thursday, June 8.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
April 29, 2017 at 11:29AM
from Adam Payne
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