Left-wing plot could see Labour MPs team up with Lib Dems and Greens to keep Reform out of power

Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and other left-wing MPs are convinced that encouraging supporters to back candidates outside their usual preference could prove decisive in keeping Mr Farage out of Downing Street.

A Liberal Democrat MP highlighted the potential to organise anti-Reform tactical voting in the same manner that anti-Tory coordination operated at the previous election.

The emerging progressive alliance is expected to remain informal rather than involving official pacts where parties withdraw candidates from specific seats.

Instead, party headquarters will be "judicious" about where they concentrate their campaign efforts, effectively clearing the way for rivals with stronger prospects in particular constituencies.

That strategy saw the Lib Dems take 71 seats, and Labour securing a commanding majority of 174 with 411 MPs.

A senior Liberal Democrat MP explained the rationale: "Definitely, there is appetite out there to stop Reform. I'm picking that up on doors all the time, I'm getting asked about it all the time: 'the question is, how do we stop Reform?'"

“What we always try and do and a lot of this is just common sense we target our resources and everyone understands that.

"To an extent, parties get out of the way for the other where they see that there is a more credible challenge it will be fairly common sense," the MP told The i Paper.

Green Party of England and Wales leader Zack Polanski has also indicated openness to an electoral arrangement with Labour to block Mr Farage, though only if Sir Keir Starmer is replaced as leader.

The anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain's tactical voting website, where they set out plans to unseat Conservative MPs, attracted more than six million visits during the 2024 campaign.

The organisation estimates that without such coordination, Labour would have won 62 fewer seats, the Liberal Democrats 29 fewer, and the Conservatives 91 more.

However, the group has cautioned that similar results may not be achievable next time.

Naomi Smith, Best for Britain's chief executive, said: "Tactical voting played a crucial role at the last general election, but it may be insufficient to avoid disaster next time round, particularly in the face of a likely Reform-Conservative pact to stand down candidates similar to the one Farage led in 2019."

She added: "The next general election could be more than three years away and the circumstances very different, but as of today, parties who want to keep Farage out of power should seriously consider the consequences of fighting a stand-aside sledgehammer with a tactical-voting pillow."

Louis O'Geran, research and communications associate at the More in Common think-tank, added that the historic unpopularity of Labour under Sir Keir Starmer presented a clear issue.

"While progressive voters still say they'd vote against Reform above all else, a growing minority of left-wing voters want to vote against Labour," he said.

November polling from More in Common found 38 per cent of respondents would vote against Labour if given the choice, compared with 29 per cent selecting Reform.

Mr O'Geran noted that hostility toward the Conservatives among Reform supporters had more than halved, suggesting "Reform anger toward Conservatives is dissipating".

However, the October Senedd by-election in Caerphilly offered progressives some hope that tactical voting can work against Reform.

Plaid Cymru captured 47 per cent of the vote, comfortably ahead of Reform on 36 per cent, while Labour managed just 11 per cent in a seat the party had dominated for a century.

The Liberal Democrats and Greens each received only 1.5 per cent, suggesting progressive voters had consolidated behind Plaid as the most viable anti-Reform option.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid's leader, claimed that the Caerphilly result demonstrated the "appetite on the progressive side of politics to defeat the populist right".

A Labour source told GB News that they were: "The only party delivering a fairer future for working people. This year we're going to be showing the British people that we are the only party with a plan to ease the cost of living, fix our NHS, and bring investment into communities across the country. And we'll make sure people can really feel that change. These are Labour choices and support for any other party just puts that change at risk."

GB News has approached the Liberal Democrats for comment.

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