James Forsyth James Forsyth

Two coming revolutions: in election tactics, and in Whitehall

The parties are changing. They want the civil service to change too

[Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire] 
issue 05 April 2014

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[/audioplayer]This is a unique moment in British politics. All three major parties have a realistic prospect of being in power after the next election, but they are all acutely aware that they’re won’t be swept to power. Success will have to be eked out constituency by constituency — so the expensive business of polling specific constituencies, normally left until much closer to the election, is under way for all three. And that’s not all.

The Liberal Democrats know that an election that followed the national swing would be a disaster for them. So they are busy digging in at each of the 57 seats they hold. They’ve drawn up a league table of their MPs based on how much canvassing they do, and those who slip into the bottom half are getting a call from Nick Clegg telling them to up their game.

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