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Mark Chadbourn
@chadbourn.bsky.social
📖Sunday Times bestselling author, 📺TV screenwriter, 📇journalist at Guardian, Times, Independent. 📶Economist. ✂️Runs with scissors. LDN, NYC, LA www.markchadbourn.co.uk for contact, agents etc
14.1k followers7.7k following18.8k posts
MCchadbourn.bsky.social

How Lib Dems won the loveliest parts of Britain.

This was by design. Lib Dem strategists invented a rule of thumb: any town outside London with a Gail's, a bourgeois bakery chain, had activists hurled at it. It worked. The result was a vote of extreme efficiency, concentrated almost entirely in Britain's lovelier parts.
In 2019 the Liberal Democrats won 11 seats with 3.7m votes; this time around they managed 72 seats from 3.5m.
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Ssolvognen.bsky.social

I've been in Gail's. A bit anodyne, its offer doesn't stand apart from competing chains. I guess public perception makes the difference, though I haven't seen any marketing for them.

1
LMlunabelle.bsky.social

Harrogate home of Bettys...says everything.

2
CHctjhill.bsky.social

I don't even know what Gail's is, so I guess that's why I heard nothing from Lib Dems.

0
MLmagslhalliday.bsky.social

There are no Gails west of Bristol so I'm not sure this is entirely true.

1
Ccarnotaurus.bsky.social

Not thrilled that the LDs could become a party of the rich - no party should be - but Ed Davey has really been excellent on strategy hasn’t he? Hope that even though FPTP is working for them now they stick to the PR guns.

2
Ggingoddess.bsky.social

It's interesting, isn't it. We are saddled with FTTP voting in most of UK, for now. Labour and LibDems worked out how to use that to their advantage - garner the votes they needed in the constituencies they targetted. [Rather than chase 99% of the vote somewhere.] And now that's wrong, too.

1
Nnorthofcam.bsky.social

Also ely in ely and East camb is very pretty but the surrounding countryside and village while v nice to live I woukd struggle to say the lovilest and pretty sure no Gail's in ely

1
JBjames.barisic.fr

I've just had the Lib Dem target map leaked to me. You can let people see it but don't say it's from me, ok?

1
DUunclebeard1978.bsky.social

I wonder if this works for other retail chains? I suspect there’d be a high vote for Reform where there are lots of betting shops and fast food outlets, for example.

3
Oambridgeolwen.bsky.social

Probably wanting to ensure local supply of mini croissants for all those breakfast meetings 😏

0
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Mark Chadbourn
@chadbourn.bsky.social
📖Sunday Times bestselling author, 📺TV screenwriter, 📇journalist at Guardian, Times, Independent. 📶Economist. ✂️Runs with scissors. LDN, NYC, LA www.markchadbourn.co.uk for contact, agents etc
14.1k followers7.7k following18.8k posts