Seat In The Spotlight: Finchley & Golders Green

December 10, 2019 | by Field Team

In our General Election special series, the Field team are shining a spotlight on the local nuances and dramas of key seats

Something that will make for interesting viewing on election night will be how Tory and Labour defectors do in constituencies where they’re standing as Lib Dems. This includes in Golders Green where former Labour MP Luciana Berger, who was hounded out of the party by activists for her criticism of Jeremy Corbyn’s inaction over anti-Semitism, is standing.

The seat which Margaret Thatcher held for three decades, which was slightly redrawn and switched to Labour in 1997, and then back to the Tories in 2010, has traditionally always been a two-horse race. The Lib Dems came a distant third in 2017, trailing second place Labour by around 20,000 votes. However, they’re hoping that their pro-Remain message and Berger’s treatment by Labour activists in a constituency with the largest Jewish population in the country will resonate with voters.

There are indeed encouraging signs for Lib Dems, with polls showing around a 25% swing towards Berger. But she still tails the Tories by 5 points, with Labour in a distant third place.

At the beginning of this election campaign, the Lib Dems decided to put their “stop Brexit” message front and centre of their campaign. However, it seems that in many pro-Remain seats, the Lib Dems’ hopes to capitalise on the pro-Remain vote may ultimately split remainers and possibly deliver an MP in favour of “getting Brexit done”.

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