Simon Hughes: Encouraging tactical voting

Simon Hughes has called on Labour voters to help the Liberal Democrats defeat senior Conservatives.

As Charles Kennedy sets out to visit two marginal seats held by Tory frontbenchers, the Lib Dem president told ePolitix.com that he wants Labour Party backers in those areas to "lend us your votes".

Kennedy is spending Wednesday in Haltemprice and Howden and in Dorset West where shadow home secretary David Davis and shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin are fighting for their political lives.

The Lib Dems are hoping to overturn the shadow Cabinet members' slim majorities as part of their strategy to "decapitate" the Conservative leadership.

In an interview with this website, Hughes said: "We are targeting both Labour and Conservative held seats. Some of our target seats are currently held by well-known Conservative figures.

"I think there are five which come within the achievable category, according to all our work.

"[Michael Howard's] Folkestone and Hythe, where I was the other day, is the most notable, and I was very encouraged by the campaign.

" I was also very encouraged by what I have seen in David Davis' seat - I think that is an achievable seat.

"I am also going to Dorset West and [Theresa May's] Maidenhead and I believe we can win those as well.

"All of them have a Labour vote larger than the gap between us and the Conservatives, so there is a real opportunity."

Reform

The Liberal Democrats have been calling for electoral reform for many years, believing the first-past-the-post-system is designed for two party politics and disenfranchises many of their supporters.

But Hughes says while the current system exists, his party needs to encourage tactical voting.

"This electoral system is not of our making and we've tried to change it for many years and it is not a fair system," he said.

"I always say to Labour voters in seats like Oliver Letwin's in Dorset West, that given the evidence is that your candidate will never win and your second objective is to remove a Conservative MP and prevent the Tories from making progress, then we ask you to lend us your vote to help us do that."

Hughes added: "Hopefully in the near future there will be a new electoral system where every vote in every seat counts, and what people really think will be reflected in the outcome. Frustratingly that is not the case at the moment."

'Out of touch'

Commenting on Hughes' comments to this website, Conservative co-chairman Liam Fox said they showed the Lib Dems were "out of touch".

"The Liberal Democrats do not want to talk about the issues that matter to people - all they want to talk about is their strategy and tactics," he said.

"The Conservatives are the only party prepared to tackle the problems and issues that face hard working Britons.

"We would tackle rising crime by putting more police on the streets.

"We will cut tax and ease the burden on hard working families. We would clean up Britain's hospitals.

"We are in favour of controlled immigration, and believe that there should be discipline in schools. These are the issues that matter to people in Britain.

"In stark contrast the contrast the Liberal Democrats are completely out of touch with the values of mainstream Britain.

"They think that murderers should not be given mandatory life sentences, want higher taxes and would give Europe control of our immigration system."