Labour panics as remain voters switch to Liberal Democrats [View all]
Source: The Observer
Labour panics as remain voters switch to Liberal Democrats
Polls makes Vince Cables party the favourite for remainers and puts it in first place in London
Michael Savage Observer policy editor
Sat 18 May 2019 22.07 BST First published on Sat 18 May 2019 21.00 BST
Senior Labour figures were engaged in a desperate battle to shore up the partys support on Saturday night, amid warnings that its stance on Brexit was helping to detoxify the Lib Dems.
With just days left before the European elections at which Nigel Farages Brexit party is expected to triumph, shadow cabinet ministers are among those concerned that Labours ambiguous position on Brexit has helped revive the Lib Dems. It comes as new polling seen by the Observer suggests Vince Cables party is running in first place in London and could even beat Labour overall.
One senior party figure warned: If the consequence of Labours Brexit position and this European election is to essentially detoxify the Lib Dems, then thats a real problem. Clive Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister, said lifelong Labour voters would not back the party this week due to its Brexit stance. He added: It feels like weve given [the Lib Dems] the political equivalent of resuscitation.
The fears came as it emerged that:
London mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged that he will campaign for Remain day and night in any second referendum, as he urged voters, in an article for the Observer, to back Labour to stop a Farage victory.
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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/18/labour-panic-remain-voters-switch-to-lib-dems