Tactical voting
Such woeful logic emphasises the folly of coalition government with a minor party of limited talent. The Tories poured massive effort into Newark, yet their vote share fell by almost 9 per cent. Meanwhile, the Lib Dem vote share nose-dived by more than 17 per cent. This suggests to me that not many of their deserters transferred to the Tories, though Mr Alexander considers it “clear” that they did so. On what evidence, may I ask?
Copying Mr Alexander’s redefinition of a thumping defeat, I would suggest that most of the missing Lib Dem supporters “voted” tactically by not voting at all.
Robert Dow
Ormiston Road
Tranent, East Lothian