The Brexit Party candidate for Bracknell constituency thinks his party will pick up votes not just from Conservatives but disaffected Labour voters too.
David Winsper was speaking after a meeting of supporters at the Peacock Farm pub in Bracknell on Friday, November 8.
Thirty people packed a room to ask questions of the candidate and share views on the current political climate.
Mr Winsper told The Wokingham Paper: “This was the third meeting for the Brexit party of Bracknell. We’re growing in numbers on every single meeting. [There were] lots of ideas that came from everybody, lots of people getting The Brexit Party message out there.
“We have members from all walks of life and political persuasions: Labour, Conservative and the Lib Dems; from all walks of life, whether they are nurses, businessmen, and also salt of the earth coalface workers as well.
“I think it represents the diverse spectrum of Bracknell and we are growing, and we are here to change politics for good for the constituents of Bracknell.
“We have been completely let down by not only the Bracknell Conservative party but their MP Dr Phillip Lee.
“As we all know, he crossed the floor to the Liberal Democrats but doesn’t have the decency and integrity to stand and face the electorate – he is now going over to Wokingham.”
Mr Winsper felt that Bracknell’s would-be backers of The Brexit Party’s message of leaving the European Union: the party does not support the deal arranged by Boris Johnson that would see Northern Ireland have a customs border with the UK.
Paradigm shift in voting intentions
And this, Mr Winsper believes, means that voting along traditional lines is over.
“I believe the old school two-party political system has gone,” he said. “I think there is going to be a paradigm shift come the General Election on December 12th, and it does fill me with confidence.”
He cites Bracknell’s voting intentions in the last two General Elections: in 2015, the UKIP candidate polled 8,339 votes and Labour had 8,956. But in 2017, Labour’s vote doubled to 16,886, while UKIP’s vote went down to 1,521.
“You can also look at historical figures for Bracknell: at the general election previous to Teresa May’s, 8,000 votes went to UKIP from Labour. People are arguing that the Brexit Party are suppressing the Conservative vote. You can see historically here in Bracknell, we’re going to pick up a lot of Labour votes and if you can turn that to the country, there are 5 million disaffected Labour voters.”
Winsper calls for a Leave alliance
And Mr Winsper felt that the national picture over Brexit will also influence support for his party. There have been calls for a Brexit alliance, similar to the one proposed by Lib Dems, Greens and Plaid Cymru for Remain seats. The argument goes that by splitting the remain or leave vote, voters will elect the opposite of who they want to represent them.
Mr Winsper wants co-operation between Conservatives and The Brexit Party to ensure that voters can elect a Brexiter as their MP.
“This also goes down to Boris Johnson and whether he wants to do a deal with the Brexit Party or he doesn’t,” he explained. “I don’t know why but he’s not at the present moment in time whether it through his own stubbornness or Conservative stubbornness but common sense and practicality for a pragmatic approach dictates otherwise, as far as I’m concerned.
“Of course he has to the 14th of November [the last date for nominating candidates] right to the wire to decide that. Otherwise, the Brexit party will stand in every single seat and I’m proud to say, I’m going to be the Brexit party candidate for the Bracknell constituency.”
The Bracknell parliamentary constituency includes parts of Wokingham Without, Crowthorne and Finchampstead.
