Abstract
James Gurling provides an account drawing on his experiences helping run the Liberal Democrat campaign, most recently as Chair of the party’s 2019 General Election efforts. In his contribution, he notes how the party’s recovery during 2019 was linked to them strongly asserting their anti-Brexit credentials, and how this dominant issue shaped their electoral preparations including their participation in the ‘Unite to Remain’ pact in 60 seats. The chapter also offers insights into the varied opportunities and challenges that shaped the campaign in the lead up to polling day.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The result was a Conservative hold with a majority of 3,953. The Labour vote stood at 11,624, the Greens at 728 with the Liberal Democrats securing second place on a 19.6% swing.
- 2.
As a side note, it is very difficult to pivot in an air war campaign; in doing so there is a risk that the new story is how you’ve changed tack, which is focussed on the old message and the change, rather than the shiny, new, this-time-it’ll-work message. It is something that is easier to plan to do than execute.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gurling, J. (2022). An Alternative Voice: The Liberal Democrats. In: Wring, D., Mortimore, R., Atkinson, S. (eds) Political Communication in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81406-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81406-9_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-81405-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-81406-9
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)