The party is far from over for Change UK

The results of the Euro elections came as no surprise in the end yesterday. The Brexit Party came out as the biggest winners and the Liberal Democrats eclipsed Labour as expected. The Greens also did well winning an extra 4 seats probably as the result of a general disillusionment amongst the younger left wing voters who felt betrayed by Corbyn. The Tories were virtually wiped from the board.

For me of course the big but anticipated disappointment was the low performance of Change UK who got just under 4% of the vote nationally though 5.3% in London where it had been expected to do better and was the one hope of an MEP for the new party.

A slow start, some might say stalled beginning that does not bode well for the new party. It's performance will worry both the current MP's and those that have been reported to be considering defecting from the Tories. Of course they still could but the risk factor is now greater.

The current leader of Change UK, Heidi Allen caused some consternation after her interview in which she seemed quite clearly to be looking towards a future merger with the Liberal Democrats, though did admit this was not shared by her colleagues. This caused distress and arguments on the pages of more than one Change UK Facebook forum .

Whilst Change UK remains a minor player without any actual organisation on the ground with no actual members or policy making process the party remains in a sort of "limbo" despite attracting thousands of supporters and donors, a majority undoubtedly from former Labour Party members and voters. Change UK still gained hundreds of thousands of votes in the Euro's. There remains a small but viable base upon which the organisation can be built.

Now the Euro's are over the task of building that organisation has to begin in earnest and an e-mail has been sent out stating that this will begin shortly. Like most sympathisers I wait patiently for this to begin.

The collapse of the main two traditional parties along with continuing divisions in both their ranks does open an opportunity for a new political movement. The Brexit Party is a one issue movement with no members and no organisation either. It's success has been to unite Brexiteers who feel cheated by the Government's failure to deliver Brexit.

The upcoming by-election in Peterborough will in all likelihood see a Brexit Party victory there. Labour has slipped badly and the unfortunate fact the former Labour MP disgraced herself and ended up in jail won't help them much either.

In fact Labour are in a difficult position.  The Euro-elections showed a collapse of the Labour vote even in Corbyn's own borough with the Liberals coming first. Of course votes may change in a general Election but the outlook for Labour is frankly as uncertain as the Tories though if they elect Boris Johnson as expected the Conservative Party may rise once more and regain the votes it lost to the one-issue Brexit Party.

There remains the question of a viable alternative to the main parties long term. The Liberal Democrats have been lucky but are still under performing to gain power on their own. Even if Heidie Allen had her way that would not increase their chances. In fact if the political centre is to rise again Change UK must get it's act together and become the home for disillusioned Labour Party members and supporters that it should have been in the first place.

Many people including this blogger want a new party and are not prepared to join the Liberal Democrats simply because they are not "Liberals". An electoral pact is a necessity especially where there are sitting MP's, but a new politics must lead to a pluralistic centre rather than just the one party. Change UK must be built and remain a separate entity. The Liberals swallowed up the SDP and Change UK must not go the same way.

There remains a lot of work to be undertaken in the coming months. It will not be easy and there will be disagreements. Heck I've had some already! However the centre can and must be rebuilt with a radical outlook on both domestic and international policy to offer voters the chance to fix Britain's broken politics.

Change UK will be part of that process if those of us who support it pull together and create the organisation that can replace the tired old political system that has got the country in the mess it is. Join us in that task.