Unite to Remain () was a campaign and electoral pact during the 2019 general election. It involved three parties that supported remaining in the European Union: the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party of England and Wales, and, in Wales, Plaid Cymru. Its stated goal was to avoid vote splitting and maximise the number of MPs elected who would oppose Brexit.
In 49 constituencies in England and 11 in Wales, the pact led to only one of these parties standing a candidate. Of the 60 constituencies, 43 had Liberal Democrat candidates only, 10 had Green Party candidates only, and 7 had Plaid Cymru candidates only. The seats covered by the pact included some defended by a Unite to Remain party, as well as target seats held by the Conservative or Labour parties.
Nine Unite to Remain candidates were elected (5 Liberal Democrats, 3 Plaid Cymru, 1 Green), which represented one gain and one loss compared to the 2017 general election results.
Details Though there was no formal pact, the August 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election saw the Greens and Plaid Cymru stand aside for the Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds, who defeated the Conservative candidate by a small margin. This arrangement was mooted as being the basis for a wider-ranging "Remain Alliance".
The Unite to Remain group which brokered the pact was formed by the outgoing MP for South Cambridgeshire, Heidi Allen and former Liberal Democrat Treasurer Peter Dunphy in July 2019. The alliance approached the Labour party at an early stage, but were rebuffed. The Labour peer Jim Knight was one of the directors of Unite to Remain. The group was registered as a "non-party campaigner" with the Electoral Commission in November 2019.
Seats were selected based on a targeted pooling of resources and only with the consent of local parties. All the parties also support electoral reform. Liberal Democrat activists in constituencies where their party stood aside were encouraged to either campaign for the Unite to Remain candidate there, or to campaign in a nearby seat.
On 13 November 2019, Unite to Remain and the Renew Party announced that Renew would not contest any of the 60 Unite to Remain target seats.
List of constituencies Incumbents marked in italics did not stand for re-election in that constituency.
Darker rows indicate constituencies where the Unite to Remain party won the previous election (the 2017 general election or the 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election). The pact also covers three seats where, during the 2017–2019 Parliament, incumbent MPs defected from other parties to the Liberal Democrats.
Constituency CountryUnite to Remain partyUnite to Remain candidateIncumbent partyIncumbent RefsResult Arfon Wales Plaid CymruHywel WilliamsPlaid CymruHywel WilliamsElectedBathEnglandLiberal DemocratsWera HobhouseLiberal DemocratsWera HobhouseElected Bermondsey and Old Southwark England Liberal Democrats Humaira AliLabourNeil CoyleNot elected Brecon and Radnorshire Wales Liberal DemocratsJane DoddsLiberal DemocratsJane DoddsElected Brighton Pavilion England GreenCaroline LucasGreenCaroline LucasElected Bristol West England GreenCarla DenyerLabourThangam DebbonaireNot elected Buckingham England Liberal DemocratsStephen DorrellSpeakerJohn BercowNot electedBury St EdmundsEnglandGreenHelen GeakeConservativeJo ChurchillNot electedCaerphillyWalesPlaid CymruLindsay WhittleLabourWayne DavidNot elected Cannock Chase EnglandGreen Paul WoodheadConservativeAmanda MillingNot elected Cardiff Central WalesLiberal Democrats Bablin MolikLabourJo StevensNot elected Carmarthen East and Dinefwr WalesPlaid CymruJonathan EdwardsPlaid CymruJonathan EdwardsElectedCheadleEnglandLiberal DemocratsTom MorrisonConservativeMary RobinsonNot electedChelmsfordEnglandLiberal DemocratsMarie GoldmanConservativeVicky FordNot electedChelsea and FulhamEnglandLiberal DemocratsNicola HorlickConservativeGreg HandsNot electedCheltenhamEnglandLiberal DemocratsMax WilkinsonConservativeAlex ChalkNot electedChippenhamEnglandLiberal DemocratsHelen BelcherConservativeMichelle DonelanNot elected Dulwich and West Norwood EnglandGreenJonathan BartleyLabourHelen HayesNot elected Dwyfor Meirionnydd WalesPlaid CymruLiz Saville RobertsPlaid CymruLiz Saville-RobertsElectedEsher and WaltonEnglandLiberal DemocratsMonica HardingConservativeDominic RaabNot elected Exeter EnglandGreen Joe LevyLabourBen BradshawNot electedFinchley and Golders GreenEnglandLiberal DemocratsLuciana BergerConservativeMike FreerNot electedForest of DeanEnglandGreenChris McFarlingConservativeMark HarperNot electedGuildfordEnglandLiberal DemocratsZöe FranklinIndependent won as ConservativeAnne MiltonNot electedHarrogate and KnaresboroughEnglandLiberal DemocratsJudith RogersonConservativeAndrew JonesNot electedHazel GroveEnglandLiberal DemocratsLisa SmartConservativeWilliam WraggNot electedHitchin and HarpendenEnglandLiberal DemocratsSam CollinsConservativeBim AfolamiNot electedIsle of WightEnglandGreenVix LowthionConservativeBob SeelyNot electedLlanelliWalesPlaid CymruMari ArthurLabourNia GriffithNot electedMontgomeryshireWalesLiberal DemocratsKishan DevaniConservativeGlyn DaviesNot electedNorth CornwallEnglandLiberal DemocratsDanny ChambersConservativeScott MannNot electedNorth NorfolkEnglandLiberal DemocratsKaren WardLiberal DemocratsNorman LambElectedOxford West and Abingdon EnglandLiberal DemocratsLayla MoranLiberal DemocratsLayla MoranElectedPenistone and StocksbridgeEnglandLiberal DemocratsHannah KitchingLiberal Democratswon as LabourAngela SmithNot electedPontypriddWalesPlaid CymruFflur ElinLabourOwen SmithNot electedPortsmouth SouthEnglandLiberal DemocratsGerald Vernon-JacksonLabourStephen MorganNot electedRichmond ParkEnglandLiberal DemocratsSarah OlneyConservativeZac GoldsmithElectedRomsey and Southampton NorthEnglandLiberal DemocratsCraig FletcherConservativeCaroline NokesNot electedRushcliffeEnglandLiberal DemocratsJason BillinIndependentwon as ConservativeKenneth ClarkeNot electedStroudEnglandGreenMolly Scott CatoLabourDavid DrewNot electedSouth Cambridgeshire EnglandLiberal Democrats Ian SollomLiberal Democratswon as ConservativeHeidi AllenNot electedSouth East CambridgeshireEnglandLiberal DemocratsPippa HeylingsConservativeLucy FrazerNot electedSouth West SurreyEnglandLiberal DemocratsPaul FollowsConservativeJeremy HuntNot electedSouthportEnglandLiberal DemocratsJohn WrightConservativeDamien MooreNot electedTaunton DeaneEnglandLiberal DemocratsGideon AmosConservativeRebecca PowNot electedThornbury and YateEnglandLiberal DemocratsClaire YoungConservativeLuke HallNot electedTotnesEnglandLiberal DemocratsSarah WollastonLiberal Democratswon as ConservativeSarah WollastonNot electedTunbridge WellsEnglandLiberal DemocratsBen ChapelardConservativeGreg ClarkNot electedTwickenhamEnglandLiberal DemocratsMunira WilsonLiberal DemocratsVince CableElectedWantageEnglandLiberal DemocratsRichard BenwellConservativeEd VaizeyNot electedWarrington SouthEnglandLiberal DemocratsRyan BateLabourFaisal RashidNot electedWestmorland and Lonsdale EnglandLiberal DemocratsTim FarronLiberal DemocratsTim FarronElectedWatfordEnglandLiberal DemocratsIan StotesburyConservativeRichard HarringtonNot electedWellsEnglandLiberal DemocratsTessa MuntConservativeJames HeappeyNot electedWimbledonEnglandLiberal DemocratsPaul KohlerConservativeStephen HammondNot electedWinchesterEnglandLiberal DemocratsPaula FergusonConservativeSteve BrineNot electedWitneyEnglandLiberal DemocratsCharlotte HoaglandConservativeRobert CourtsNot electedVale of GlamorganWalesGreenAnthony SlaughterConservativeAlun CairnsNot electedYork OuterEnglandLiberal DemocratsKeith AspdenConservativeJulian SturdyNot electedYnys MônWalesPlaid CymruAled ap DafyddLabourAlbert OwenNot elected
Pre-election analysis Psephologist John Curtice stated that the pact could be critical in "half a dozen" seats that could have otherwise been won by the Conservatives.
An analysis published in the Financial Times attempted to evaluate the potential impact of the pact. This analysis applied uniform regional swing based on polling (as of early November) to the 2017 result to estimate the parties' standings in the seats before the pact, then assumed that voters for parties standing aside would transfer their support as per the pact. The analysis found that in 18 seats the Unite to Remain party would not need the pact in order to win, in 39 the pact would be insufficient to secure victory, and in two (Brecon and Radnorshire and Winchester) the pact would make the critical difference between winning and losing for the Unite to Remain party.
Other pro-Remain arrangements In addition to the Unite to Remain pact, the Liberal Democrats did not stand candidates against the following anti-Brexit or "soft Brexit" supporting incumbents: Dominic Grieve (independent), Beaconsfield Gavin Shuker (independent), Luton South Anna Soubry (The Independent Group for Change), Broxtowe
All failed to be elected.
In Canterbury, the original Liberal Democrat candidate (Tim Walker) stood down in aid of the Labour incumbent Rosie Duffield, but the Lib Dems stood a replacement candidate. Duffield retained her seat.
In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party in Northern Ireland all stood aside in certain constituencies to increase the chances of anti-Brexit candidates.
See also 2019 United Kingdom general election#Electoral pacts and unilateral decisions Liberal Democrat–Green Party alliance
References
External links (Archived site, 13 December 2019)