Could it be that the best possible outcome of the Mid Bedfordshire byelection (Labour attempts to seize moment after Nadine Dorries finally resigns, 29 August) might be that, after battling it out on the doorsteps, the opposition parties split the vote and let the Tories in by a narrow majority?
That result would have two clear outcomes. First, and most important, it would clarify once for all, to all those determined to vote against the Conservative party, that tactical voting is the only sure way to get them out. And second, it would make it plain to strategists in both the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats that quiet collaboration is the only sensible way to go, given our flawed electoral system.
Beyond that, it might help voters in Mid Bedfordshire to identify how to vote against a Conservative MP in the forthcoming general election. Would not these advantages far outweigh a short-term boost to Tory morale and the price of having a Conservative occupy the seat for a few months, during which no close and vital vote is likely in the House of Commons?
Prof Roy Lowe
Birmingham
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