Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, and Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, have publicly suggested that Labour supporters in seats where the Liberal Democrats are the main rivals to the Conservatives should switch their vote. Mr Balls said that in seats such as Norfolk North, where the Lib Dems are the main rivals to the Conservatives, Labour sympathisers were right to vote Lib Dem in the hope of preventing a Tory victory. Gordon Brown, supported by ministers including Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, insisted that Labour should be campaigning for as many votes as possible. Asked about tactical voting in an interview with Five News, Mr Brown said: “I am making it absolutely clear what my advice is. My advice is to vote Labour.” Mr Darling rejected any suggestion of encouraging Labour supporters to vote tactically. At a Labour campaign rally in London, he said: “I want to get as much support for the Labour Party as possible. I would urge every voter to vote for us.” In a swipe at Mr Balls’s advice to voters, Mr Darling said: “Voters are quite capable of making up their own minds.” Tessa Jowell, the Cabinet Office minister also cast doubt on the tactical voting call. “People have got to be allowed to make up their own minds,” she said. “Voting is a private activity.” Despite the opposition, Mr Balls stood by his support for tactical voting. Mr Balls told journalists on a train to Warwickshire: “What I am not going to do is to start telling people they are wrong when they are Labour supporters in seats like Norfolk North and they are saying, 'We just want to keep the Tory out.’ ” The Conservatives seized on Mr Balls’s remarks to argue that voting Lib Dem would help Labour cling to power after tomorrow’s election. Speaking in north London, David Cameron said: “Labour politicians are saying that if you want to keep Gordon Brown in Downing Street you vote Lib Dem. “That backs up what we have always said – if you want on Friday a new government that rolls up its sleeves, starts to clear up the mess, then you need to vote Conservative on Thursday.” Edward Davey, a Lib Dem frontbencher, said the tactical voting calls suggested Labour had “given up”. Most Labour ministers have privately accepted that the Conservatives will get the most votes tomorrow. The Labour advocates of tactical voting believe that “lending” some votes to the Lib Dems could prevent the Conservatives getting close to a Commons majority. Labour might then be able to retain power through a deal with the Lib Dems. Mr Hain, a former Liberal, urged people to “vote intelligently” to bring about a Government based on an “alliance” between Labour and the Lib Dems. However, other ministers fear that the tactical voting call could lead to Labour finishing third in the popular vote behind the Lib Dems, which would be the first time a ruling party had finished third since 1922. Despite the apparent differences between Mr Brown and Mr Balls on tactical voting, Labour sources insisted that the party leadership was relaxed about the issue. Douglas Alexander, Labour’s election co-ordinator, added to the confusion when he warned party supporters that lending their support to the Lib Dems could help the Tories. He said: “If you vote for the Liberal Democrats you could wake up on Friday morning and see a Conservative-led government, including Liberal Democrats. We are campaigning for every vote.”General Election 2010:
Labour in chaos over voting Lib Dem
to foil the Tories
Labour is in disarray over calls for tactical voting, with ministers
openly disagreeing about whether to tell some party supporters to back
the Liberal Democrats.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
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