68 Places to Change the Government's Mind

After our 26/3/11 March in London to rally resistance against the decimation of public services, it’s time to turn our attention to targeting key constituencies so that enough MPs rethink their support for the Conservative-led coalition.

We need to persuade voters in those constituencies (where the incumbent Conservative or Liberal Democrat MPs could not take for granted the retention of their seats at the next election) that Cameron is savagely cutting down the capacity of a supportive state, and its net effect would be more leeway for the rich and powerful to do as they please, while the rest of us bear the burden of their callous irresponsibilities.

So how would it work?

Discounting the effectively neutral Speaker and Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons, Cameron and Clegg currently rely on 362 of their MPs to give them a majority of 83 against the other 279 MPs who might vote against them. Thus we need at least 42 of the Con/Lib MPs to help stop the Government over their massive programme to incapacitate public services or hand them over to the profit-led sector as they are planning with the NHS.

These MPs would probably put their Party loyalty first, but if they fear the loss of their seat, they would think twice.

I have drawn up a list of 68 constituencies below where the Conservative or Lib Dem MPs would be particularly receptive to citizens’ reminder that their refusal to vote down damaging policies would cost them their seat. Others may have a slightly shorter or longer list with a number of different names, but the purpose of putting forward my list is to encourage protest coordinators to target their efforts where they are most likely to put real pressure on MPs and get them to engage with the deep suffering caused by the Government they have hitherto been backing. This could then begin to turn the tide against Cameron’s phoney majority.

Here’s my suggested list of 68 places where peaceful protest and persuasion could change enough MPs’ minds to help prevent the destruction of the backbone of our decent society:

Aberconwy (Con)
Amber Valley (Con)

Bedford (Con)
Bermondsey & Old Southwark (Lib)
Birmingham Yardley (Lib)
Bradford East (Lib)
Brent Central (Lib)
Brentford & Isleworth (Con)
Brighton Kemptown (Con)
Bristol West (Lib)
Broxtowe (Con)
Burnley (Lib)
Bury North (Con)

Cambridge (Lib)
Cannock Chase (Con)
Cardiff Central (Lib)
Cardiff North (Con)
Carlisle (Con)
Chester, City of (Con)
Corby (Con)
Croydon Central (Con)

Dewsbury (Con)
Dunbartonshire East (Lib)

Ealing Central & Acton (Con)
Edinburgh West (Lib)
Enfield North (Con)
Erewash (Con)

Gloucester (Con)

Halesowen & Rowley Regis (Con)
Harrow East (Con)
Hastings & Rye (Con)
Hendon (Con)
High Peak (Con)
Hornsey & Wood Green (Lib)
Hove (Con)

Ipswich (Con)

Keighley (Con)
Kingswood (Con)

Lancaster & Fleetwood (Con)
Leeds North West (Lib)
Lincoln (Con)
Loughborough (Con)

Manchester Withington (Lib)
Morecambe & Lunesdale (Con)

Northampton North (Con)
Norwich North (Con)
Norwich South (Lib)
Nuneaton (Con)

Pendle (Con)
Plymouth Sutton & Devonport (Con)
Pudsey (Con)

Redcar (Lib)
Rossendale & Darwen (Con)

Sherwood (Con)
Stevenage (Con)
Stockton South (Con)
Stroud (Con)
Swindon South (Con)

Thurrock (Con)

Warrington South (Con)
Warwick & Leamington (Con)
Warwickshire North (Con)
Watford (Con)
Waveney (Con)
Weaver Vale (Con)
Wirral West (Con)
Wolverhampton South West (Con)
Worcester (Con)

Long live the spirit of '68.