Can the LDs become the 3rd party once again?
Ed Davey’s party might have been smashed in the Stop Corbyn Tory surge at GE2019 but they have had one of their best parliaments ever in terms of winning Westminster by-elections. They’ve taken three seats (two of them from third place) from the Tories and have a great chance of gaining another in Mid Bedfordshire if Nadine is made a peer in BoJo’s resignation honours.
Their target at the general election surely must be to become the third party at Westminster once again. This has huge benefits like their leader being allowed to have two questions at PMQs every week. Currently, Davey can only ask just one question every five weeks.
What could really help them in the battle for third place at the general election is the decline of the SNP which has nothing like the support in Scotland that has existed since the IndyRef in 2014.
Current Scottish polls suggest Labour look set to make many gains at the next election from the SNP. They will really need this if Starmer is to become the Prime Minister of a majority government. Currently just one of the 59 Scottish seats is in Labour hands. At GE2010 what was then Gordon Brown’s party took 41 of them.