REMAINER supporters must vote tactically in the “most important election for a generation”, anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller said yesterday.
Miller, who successfully challenged moves to trigger Article 50 without a parliamentary vote, is to spearhead a £300,000 tactical voting push in an attempt to derail Theresa May’s hard Brexit strategy. Launching her crowdfunded Best for Britain campaign yesterday, she said no hard and fast decisions have been made about which candidates to back.
However, the initiative will fund up to 100 of those it believes have a chance against pro-Brexit rivals.
This includes potentially supporting Tories who campaigned for a future within the EU.
Miller said: “There are up to 100 marginals. How many we deep-dive into, that we would like to make recommendations in, depends on the final research we get back.”
She went on: “People are worried about the future direction of this country, they believe in parliamentary democracy and they believe, as do we, that only tactical voting in this election can ensure that parliament plays its full part in the future of this country.”
Finance for the initiative, which will work with Strategic Voting Canada, is drawn from crowdfunding and Miller said she had been overwhelmed by the level of support given by more than 10,000 donors.
Polling data, 2015 General Election results and information about local opinions on tactical voting will be used to decide which seats the campaign targets.
Focusing on younger voters, Miller said the push would aim to ensure “the next government has no mandate to destroy our rights”, adding: “This is the most important election for a generation. It’s crucial people feel inspired to register and vote. It is especially important for young people to vote as they will be living with the consequences of the decisions taken in the next parliament for their entire lives.”
Previously part of the anti-poverty campaign One, set up by U2 frontman Bono, Eloise Todd, the chief executive of Best for Britain, insisted the drive is “not about ideology” and will not operate along party lines.
On Theresa May’s decision to call a General Election, Miller said: “The election was more about power grabbing than strengthening the negotiating hand.”
She went on: “Only tactical voting in this election can ensure that Parliament plays its full role in the future of our country. We need MPs to be strong and open-minded about what is best for Britain.
“The idea that Parliament should simply rubber-stamp a binary deal or no-deal option put by a future government, and ignore any other alternative, would reduce democracy to a mere footnote.
“While Brexit is a very important issue in this election, there is a much wider issue here which is about electing MPs who will stand on their principles and hold the government to account.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here