Rebuilding the Core

Former Cambridge MP David Howarth and Liberal Democrat commentator Mark Pack have been taking a look at the evidence on what the Liberal Democrats need to do to recover from the May 2015 disaster.

They've written a pamphlet setting out their solution, called "The 20% Strategy: Building a core vote for the Liberal Democrats", and, for what it's worth, I pretty much entirely agree with their analysis.

The Party was massacred in May 2015, and although that was a particularly harsh reaction by the voters on much good work done by the Party in Government, it really wasn't unforseeable after the electoral massacres of the Party in 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014. Despite that, the Party continued pursuing a strategy of trying to maximise personal votes and target seats: those tactics CAN push you "over the top" but you do have to be within sight of the summit to begin with. With a core vote down to 5% of the vote that summit wasn't in view for anyone bar a tiny number of seats (8, as it turns out).

We need a clearer offer, we need stronger campaigning around those issues that define us, and we need changes to the Party campaign leadership structure to deliver it nationally and locally. David and Mark make a number of suggestions to do so: most I'd entirely agree with, and it's well worth a read by Party members.

Download "The 20% Strategy: Building a core vote for the Liberal Democrats".