- Location
- Derbyshire
Okay, so post Alliance there have been a few attempts at this - most notably in the 90s Plaid attempted an alliance with the Greens and got an MP elected on the basis of a joint candidacy, Cynog Dafis has made it clear he doesn't consider himself a contender for first Green Parliamentarian and the deal really didn't work - Plaid holding meetings in Welsh and the Greens not all speaking Welsh was a problem. The deal apparently kept a Green Counillor in Aberystwyth until the 00s but other candidates put forward included someone who went on to a job defending nuclear energy so maybe the fusion ticket thing never quite worked. And now the Greens still don't really have a presence in Wales despite how by the numbers Cardiff meets all the demographic conditions to be favourable for them
In Tatton in 1997 Labour and the Lib Dems stood down for an Indo to get out Neil Hamilton. The Liberal Democrats stood down for Health Concern in 2005.
Then, in 2017 obviously the greens pushed hard for a progressive alliance and it was horrific - British voters don't seem to understand it - campaigning in a Green minor target seat and having to explain why people should vote Green when you're standing down for the Lib Dems in other seats was pretty bad. In 2018 the party voted never again, then did basically the same thing again in 2019. Along the way there've been big problems - how do two parties that value local party autonomy swap the Isle of Man for Lewes, for example? The Greens are really bad at this kind of disciplined thinking, and if the Lib Dems say they'll do something it's 50/50 whether they will or not.
I kinda think electoral pacts will happen one day, but right now not so much. Too much bad blood. Also, well, the Tories won Mansfield and Labour win Canterbury. Surprise wins are possible and lots of people don't quite trust targetting right now. It makes it tough to make deals.
Maybe election after next, if the Tories are still in power, Labour will consider a limited amount of that
I think specifically in London there could be a move to a much more formal Lib Dem-Green pact. Things seem pretty friendly in Richmond, and I could see a similar 'open up council seats for an uncontested run at Parliament' deal working in Sutton (the 759 Green voters would have put Brake over the top there, though I expect in reality some would have broken for Labour instead). Outside of London it feels a lot more patchy. Labour as a rule don't seem interested in anything formal, though use of Paper Candidates for informal support certainly seems realistic.