A ‘coalition of chaos’? That’s exactly what our country needs this General Election

I’ve worked with the Liberal Democrats for over a decade, so trust me, I know what an electoral battering looks like.

And the punishing blow delivered to Rishi Sunak on 3 May truly was a historic one. 

Most leaders would probably be put off going to the voters again for as long as possible, but not our Prime Minister. A mere 20 days later, a drenched Sunak was outside Downing Street asking for more on 4 July – a General Election.

The Tory leader has said – and will continue to say – that Britain is facing a hung parliament. That is, a minority Labour Party reliant on smaller, left-of-centre parties for power.

Sunak has already declared that prospect ‘a disaster for Britain’. But a disaster for whom, exactly? I think it is exactly what we need.

As we brace ourselves for six weeks of election campaigning, we will be battered with the warning that voting anything other than Conservative gets us a ‘coalition of chaos’.

The ‘dangers’ of a hung parliament worked spectacularly in 2015; scare stories of Ed Miliband whistling to the tune of Alex Salmond and shots fired at a beleaguered Nick Clegg helped secure David Cameron a shock majority.

Setting aside that a ‘coalition of chaos’ was, in fact, the last UK Government to serve a full term without collapsing, we are not in 2015 anymore. A lot has happened since then. 

Our country is almost unrecognisable. Those of us who love it recognise that we are more divided than ever, more tribal as a people, and the very character of our United Kingdom is somewhat lost.

Therefore, a government built on cooperation, dialogue and mutual understanding between different parties is the dream outcome of this election.

This government’s record of delivery leaves the Conservatives nothing of real substance to campaign on, bar a less-than-predicted drop in inflation.

So, I’m afraid this campaign is going to be ugly. We are going to find ourselves locked in a battle for the soul of our country.

Everything from single-sex spaces, immigration, rainbow lanyards, and net zero will front the Tories’ attempt to fight a campaign on wedge issues. It will further divide our country and tear open wounds as they themselves hurtle towards likely electoral catastrophe.

Cooperation in the aftermath is the best – if not the only – remedy. A government formed between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, maybe even the Greens, makes a lot of sense because, let’s face it, the voters are already there.

Voters feel more switched on than ever, and tactical voting – which facilitated the last heavy Tory defeat in 1997 – is set to be rampant this year.

Now, in a digital age, with vote-swapping schemes, WhatsApp groups and easier access to data on who is best to win – an organic coalition of left-of-centre voters is already materialising.

From bitter experience working for the Liberal Democrats in the first coalition government, I know that a deal born from a hung Parliament is a scary prospect for junior parties.

Making tough decisions for the national interest is a noble but thankless task, and our mistakes unjustly overshadowed monumental achievements in government, like closing the educational gap for disadvantaged children and care leavers with the £2.4bn pupil premium, lifting 3.4million of the lowest earners out of paying income tax altogether, and finally securing same-sex marriage, despite fierce resistance.

Sharing responsibility must be one of the key foundations of any deal to ensure it is fair, transparent and balanced for the nation, as well as the parties.

As well as working for the Liberal Democrats and Labour MPs, I am most proud to have worked on cross-party campaigns such as the movement to legalise abortion in Ireland in 2018 and, less successfully, the ill-fated Remain campaign in 2016.

These were moments when people from different parties put their differences aside and focused on what we had in common and what we believed the nation needed. It is a beautiful and, at times, emotional thing. It’s also rare when it shouldn’t be.

Six weeks may feel like a long campaign, but I promise you that time is the one thing we do not have.

Under the Conservatives, our country is hurtling towards a high-speed motorway pile-up, which poses an irreversible threat to the very foundational values our country is built upon. 

It might not feel like it right now, but the United Kingdom is a fantastic country. We are diverse, welcoming and tolerant. We are progressive, outward-looking and when we come together, we lead the world in almost every field – from health to science and transport to human rights, we set the pace.

Do not let the Conservatives put all that at risk with childish and divisive politics. A government led by Labour and supported by the Liberal Democrats working together to deliver real, tangible, and lasting change – saving our NHS, tackling the cost of living, reforming our voting system, restoring pride – is not just what I want, but it’s what the country desperately needs. 

Coalition of chaos? Rishi, don’t threaten me with a good time!

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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