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If I was designing #UKLabour, #LibDems, or #SNP strategy right now, it would look something like this. A thread. (1/12)
1) Accept that Johnson has a majority of 80 for the next 4.5 years. Seriously - that's done, it's there, that won't change. There aren't going to be rafts of Tory defectors. (2/12)
What there *could* be, though, are individual Tory MPs in fear of their continued political survival. Even already, with Tory lead in polls reduced to ~4%, many MPs are currently in seats that they will lose at this vote split in 2024. (3/12)
To mitigate immediate damage from the Tory policy platform, the only people that can realistically moderate it are, sadly, Tory backbenchers. Local campaigns to make these people as afraid for the jobs as possible *will* result in larger rebellions, and less extreme policies (4)
2) Every single line of attack against the Government needs to be taken. Some are easy - job losses this year will be unprecedented, the Covid death toll. Some are harder, a good example of which is Hong Kong. (5/12)
I approve of the Hong Kong route to citizenship plan. But it IS still a line of attack - because they can't say "we're full, no immigrants please" one minute, and then change that to opening the door to all HK residents. (6/12)
This issue, though, is so sensitive, that any attacks on this need to come from non-party affiliated groups - and yes, I want us to take a leaf out of Leave's book, and start infiltrating their groups and bubbles and sowing discontent. (7/12)
3) Real, hard evidence of corruption, such as that with Jenrick, needs to be calmly gathered amid the media storms, and rammed down the Tory throats, publicly, but ONLY when it's instantly overwhelming. (8/12)
4) Starmer needs to continue holding to his more moderate line (because people need to feel comfortable voting for Labour who were not comfortable doing so with Corbyn.) (9/12)
5) The Lib Dems need to elect a leader who is publicly prepared to say that they will work with Labour. This should be easy, a centre-left party is *much* closer to the politics of every LD member I know than Johnson's far right is. (10/12)
6) Labour and Lib Dems need to shut up about Scotland and independence. Sorry, but we do. That's for the Scots to decide and deal with.
7) Don't get dragged into a culture war. Focus on numbers, the economy, and facts. (11/12)
7) Don't get dragged into a culture war. Focus on numbers, the economy, and facts. (11/12)
Do all of this, constantly, for the next 4.5 years, while continuing to put forward alternative options that are both progressive economically and genuinely deliverable, and we have a chance. (12/12)
