Liberal Democrat convention: By-election could possibly be a ‘mess’ if Lib Dems and Labour do not discuss, warns Vince Cable

Sir Vince Cable says the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire might “potentially be a mess” if his get together and Labour cut up the vote within the Conservative stronghold.

The seat is up for grabs after the exit from the Commons of Nadine Dorries – the Tory MP who ultimately stood down after 81 days in anger over a report into Boris Johnson mendacity to parliament over partygate.

Both the Lib Dems and Labour have been throwing their marketing campaign machines on the seat, with each insisting they’ll win the mid-term poll on 19 October.

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But Sir Vince – a former get together chief and minister within the coalition authorities – warned “short-term tribalism” might see the Tories sneak over the road, and the 2 rivals must be speaking to one another.

Speaking at a fringe occasion on the Lib Dem convention in Bournemouth, he mentioned as “an eternal optimist”, he thought such an end result could be “potentially an important educational experience” to laughter from members.

He added: “Let’s think about that Labour and the Lib Dems do very, very effectively – so effectively that the Tories maintain the seat. Well, that will likely be a message to all people that if we mess up and have interaction briefly time period tribalism within the subsequent election, there will likely be various seats that end up like that .

“So that will hopefully will do a powerful persuasion job on both our party and the Labour Party to get our priorities right.

“And equally if Labour or us do spectacularly badly – which I feel may be very unlikely, but it surely might occur – that may be an academic lesson on selecting our priorities extra rigorously. We acquired this terribly mistaken on the final normal election and we should not do it once more.”

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Asked by Sky News whether or not a wider deal must be made between the Lib Dems and Labour on the subsequent election, Sir Vince mentioned: “We’re not talking about deals. What is happening already and will happen in the general election is a good deal of tactical voting because the British voting system is horribly unfair.

“And you understand, the voters perceive that in the event that they need to do away with this authorities, they must select Liberal Democrats or Labour relying on who has the most effective probability of successful. So it is one thing coming in from the underside, not imposed from the highest.”

However, asked about the impact of the party’s announcements across its conference this week, the former business secretary said: “Lib Dem ministers performed their position within the time of nationwide disaster [during the collation years] and we might once more.”

The campaign in Mid Bedfordshire has made its own headlines after tensions arose between the two parties.

Labour’s shadow science secretary Peter Kyle – who has been leading on the ground in the constituency – accused the Lib Dems of “deeply private” attacks on their candidate, Alistair Strathern, telling The News Agents podcast: “I sense a method of politics by the Liberal Democrats in Mid Bedfordshire which is harking back to the marketing campaign they ran in opposition to Peter Tatchell within the Eighties.

“I have no doubt that they are so desperate to make an impact in Mid Bedfordshire that if our candidate was gay, they would be doing a family values campaign. The moral high ground does not count for the Liberal Democrats in the way they are acting in that constituency.”

But the Lib Dems hit again, calling the feedback “stupid and deeply insensitive”.

Asked if campaigning had been too “personal”, Lib Dem candidate and native councillor Emma Holland-Lindsay mentioned: “On the doorstep, people are saying how positive we are.

“After one door knock, a person mentioned he needed to satisfy [me]… so I went spherical and he hugged me and described my marketing campaign as refreshing.”

But had the attacks been aimed at Labour rather than the incumbent Conservatives?

“The anger ranges amongst life lengthy Tories is palpable,” she told Sky News. “We have centered so much on preventing the Tories – on well being providers, on value of dwelling, on sewage.”

A senior Lib Dem source added: “It has been a optimistic marketing campaign… so we do not know what that individual MP is speaking about.”

The Conservative candidate operating for the seat is Bedfordshire’s present police and crime commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye.