The Lib Dems today refused to rule out a coalition with Labor after claims of a back-room deal during the local elections.
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper insisted the party’s main aim was to get Boris Johnson and the Tories out of power.
But she repeatedly dodged on the prospect of a tie-up to govern with Keir Starmersaying it is ‘too soon’ to make any decisions.
The Lib Dems emerged as the big winners from the council polls last week, gaining hundreds of seats and making inroads into so-called ‘Blue Wall’ Conservative heartlands in the South and West.
However, the vote shares suggested that Labor is still some way off winning an overall majority – raising questions about what alliances Sir Keir could make to get into No10.
The Tories that there was already a de facto deal in place before the May 5 battle, something that was denied by both the Lib Dems and Labor.
Asked several times on Sky News whether her party was ruling out a coalition with Labor, Ms Cooper said: ‘The Liberal Democrats have said that we want to win as many seats as possible off the Conservatives at the next general election and one way or another we would like to play a role in ousting this Conservative government.
‘It is far too soon – what that might look like, how that might work, but we would want to play a role in ousting this Conservative government, that’s our number one priority.’
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper (pictured) insisted the Lib Dems’ main aim was to get the Tories out of power. But she repeatedly dodged on the prospect of a tie-up to govern with Keir Starmer, saying it is ‘too soon’ to make any decisions
Boris Johnson suffered a torrid set of election results, but the vote shares suggest that Labor is still some way off winning an overall majority
The MP for St Albans added: ‘We have no interest in doing a coalition with this Conservative government at all. We have said that we are second place to the Conservatives in about 80 seats around the country and those are the areas where we will be targeting Conservative MPs with the aim of ousting them.’
Ms Cooper described the Lib Dem local election results as ‘fantastic’, with ‘inroads’ into ‘our blue wall area’, including West Oxfordshire, Wimbledon, Esher and Walton, and Harpenden.
The Lib Dems, she added, ‘want to target Conservative MPs’ at the next general election, as well as in the Tiverton and Honiton by-election triggered by the resignation of pornography-watching MP Neil Parish.
She said: ‘Well, certainly in Esher and Walton, which is Dominic Raab’s seat, we have a very strong local government base now and we are hopeful that that is a seat we might be able to win at the next general election, and in Tiverton and Honiton, I think you can see really across the whole of the South West actually, the Liberal Democrats have a very strong history of being the key challengers to the Conservatives in that area and we are starting to see a revival there.’
Asked if there was a risk he could lose his seat to the Lib Dems, Deputy PM Mr Raab said: ‘Look, it’s going to be a tough fight for me in my seat.’
The Lib Dems have built on their successes in the North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham by-elections.
Last week they took control of Somerset and Woking in Surrey, where the Conservatives had run a minority administration.
Mr. Johnson is betting on the Red Wall to get his premiership on track after a disastrous performance, with Levelling Up and Brexit set to dominate the Queen‘s Speech this week.
The PM suffered a body blow as the Tories lost hundreds of councillors, with a bloodbath in London.
Conservatives – including a serving minister – have renewed calls for the government to cut taxes in the wake of the meltdown and with the cost-of-living crisis ramping up.
However, the immediate coup threat to Mr Johnson seems to have receded, partly because Labor failed to make inroads into the Northern and Midlands areas that delivered his historic majority in 2019.
The premier – who was heavily damaged by the Partygate row – has also been helped by police announcing they are investigating whether Keir Starmer breached lockdown rules over the so-called Beergate episode.
Mr Raab told Sky News that the party was faring better in Red Wall areas and Mr Johnson ‘can and will’ win the next election.
A projected vote share by Rallings & Thrasher for the Sunday Times found that Labor was on 35 per cent after the elections, with the Tories on 33 per cent and the Lib Dems on 17 per cent
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