| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:defects from the Conservatives to Labour to Reform | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 11/06/25 14:27:00 |
| I'm not sure the appointment of the Trump-loving former host of Most Haunted Live! will be quite the draw for lifelong Conservative voters that you think he will be. However, while the Conservatives may currently be ruling out any formal pact on a national or local level with Reform, at a grassroots level, all parties operate with more flexibility. In Hounslow, Reform have a strong card to play. If they put up candidates in the three Chiswick wards, they could hand all of the seats to Labour. They would probably seek a free hand in Hanworth and Feltham in return for not standing here. Tactically that would make sense for both parties, strategically it might be a bit of a poison chalice for the Chiswick Conservatives who will find it hard to distance themselves from Reform particularly if Jenrick has taken over by that point. For every swing voter convinced by the strong constituency work done by local councillors there is likely to be another who can't stomach anybody who is Farage adjacent. I don't envy whoever has to work out the party's strategy but in their shoes I would turn down any deal so that, even in the event of a loss, the candidates could continue to hold their heads high in the local community. |