On a sunny afternoon in the picturesque Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, recent graduate Sadie Bond is making an unusual apology to the local Lib Dem candidate, Victoria Collins. Bond says she is going to vote for Collins next month, but feels compelled to disclose her motivation. “It’s tactical, I’m afraid,” she says. “I’ve only ever really known a Tory government and I’m very much fed up with it. Everything feels a bit hopeless. I want Labour to come into power, but I know that isn’t going to happen in this constituency, so I’m voting Lib Dem.”
Far from being offended, the confession is music to the ears of Collins, who has been working to convince voters that she and the Lib Dems are the best vehicle for anyone simply wanting to stop the Tories here. While Harpenden and Berkhamsted is a new seat, it would be a solid brick in the Conservative blue wall in more normal political times. What makes the Lib Dem task here more intriguing is that this seat is sandwiched between two Labour targets – Hemel Hemstead and Welwyn and Hatfield. In the latter, Keir Starmer’s party hopes to fell cabinet minister Grant Shapps.
