Rephrased: Mapping Out the Dozens of ‘Blue Wall’ Councils Targeted by Tactical Voting

Campaigners advocating for tactical voting in the upcoming local elections have identified the “blue wall” councils in the South of England, where the strategy could potentially overturn a Conservative majority, according to research by the Compass campaign group. The Tories are expected to lose around 1,000 council seats in May’s elections. However, analysts suggest that tactical voting could make the results even worse for the Conservatives. Compass has identified 39 councils in blue wall area where the Tories won overall control with less than 50% of the vote. These areas have been dubbed “tragedy” councils as the total number of votes for left-wing parties was higher than the number for right-wing parties. Canterbury, Ashford, Harlow, East Hampshire, West Berkshire, Mid Sussex, East Hertfordshire, Basildon and Braintree are all key marginals where tactical voting by Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green voters could change who has control of the local authority.