Lib Dems focus on shattering Labour
Mr Clegg's wants to make the most of Labour's woes
Wednesday, 30, Jul 2008 12:01
The Liberal Democrats have focused their campaigning activity on Labour, hoping to take advantage of the party's crippled position in the face of electoral weakness and internal feuding.
Party leader Nick Clegg made his strategy plain yesterday, saying: "The Labour party is tearing itself to pieces. I'll be honest: I've never seen anything like it. I almost feel sorry for Gordon Brown.
"This is a huge opportunity for us. We've got to seize it. So I’m shifting our resources to put more campaigners and more effort into those seats where we're taking on Labour."
Mr Clegg has instructed his campaigns chief and chief executive Chris Rennard to step up the party's campaigns in the 50 seats where the Liberals are best placed to beat Labour and special fundraising drives are being considered for those constituencies in the autumn.
Mr Clegg is also understood to be attempting a reorganisation of the party to take advantage of Labour's current crisis. He's also sending Ed Davey, campaigns and communication committee chair and Lord Rennard to the Democrat convention in Denver to see what they can learn from American campaign techniques.
Mr Clegg struggled to contain his glee when describing Labour's troubles.
"It's over for them," he said.
"There is no point voting Labour any more. There are no safe Labour seats. They will lose every by election they fight in this parliament. And at the next general election, they will lose in their heartlands to the Liberal Democrats.
"A Labour vote is now a wasted vote," he continued.
The strategy comes as party insiders realise they could act as the main beneficiary of a Labour meltdown in large urban areas such as Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Oxford where the Conservatives have little support and natural Labour supporters will either stay at home or give their support to an alternative centre-left party.
The move will come as a surprise to some analysts, who interpreted the party's recent tax-cutting pledge as a drift to the right. This announcement looks as if the party is hoping to concentrate on disgruntled leftist voters, given recent Conservative success on the centre-right.