General election: Lib Dems agree ‘Remain alliance’ with Greens and Plaid Cymru
Heidi Allen, who played a key role in finalising the plan, said the level of cross-party working was ‘unprecedented in modern British political history’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Liberal Democrats say they have brokered an electoral pact with Plaid Cymru and the Green Party not to field candidates against each other in at least 60 constituencies.
Details of the so-called Remain alliance will be announced at a press conference on Thursday by the Unite to Remain group, which helped to engineer the deal.
“We are delighted that an agreement has been reached,” said Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson. ”This is a significant moment for all people who want to support remain candidates across the country.”
Ms Swinson has come under fire after she “absolutely categorically” ruled out working with Jeremy Corbyn, even if it meant delivering another referendum.
The agreement comes after the Lib Dems beat the Conservatives in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election after the other two parties stood aside in a move partly engineered by Heidi Allen.
Following the Lib Dem’s by-election success, Ms Allen – a former Conservative, Change UK and Lib Dem MP – launched the non-partisan Unite to Remain.
“With a single remain candidate in 60 seats we will return a greater number of remain MPs to parliament,” Ms Allen told The Guardian.
“This is our opportunity to tip the balance of power away from the two largest parties and into a progressive remain alliance.”
In September, Tory chairman James Cleverly reported the pro-EU group to the Electoral Commission, claiming MPs planned to circumvent spending limits.
Mr Cleverly allegedly sent texts written by Ms Allen encouraging MPs to run as independent candidates via “shell parties” to the watchdog’s chairman Sir John Holmes.
In the wake of Mr Cleverly’s complaint, Ms Allen suggested at least 20 “One Nation” Tories could be willing to jump ship to the Liberal Democrats, however none did so.
An announcement on a pro-EU general election pact had been expected for some days. Recent polling has consistently suggested a majority of voters now favour remaining within the EU.
Additional reporting by PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments