It’s a far cry from the egregious Tory right of Sayeeda Warsi’s imagination. Mark Pritchard, Secretary of the 1922 Committee, has looked at
the result of the Oldham and Saddleworth by-election and has concluded that the Tories and Liberals may have to reach an arrangement for future by-elections. He said:
“I think this has wider questions for other by-elections that will invariably come along over the next few years, and that is whether we have an open discussion now over whether we have some sort of close co-operation with the Liberal Democrats in Westminster by-elections…a quid pro quo type of arrangement. “It is absolutely clear that every by-election that comes along there will now be a media discussion about whether the Conservatives are working hard enough.”
That seems sensible. The coalition might well have won in Oldham East had it fielded just one candidate.
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