Chris Luffingham – Strategist

The Origins of Chris Luffingham’s Genius

Chris Luffingham gained notoriety for his strategic decisions leading to a record number of Green Party candidates losing their deposits in the 2015 general election, along with £221,000 of party funds.

In 2009, Christopher William Luffingham, affectionately known as “Billy” by no-one, boldly entered the political arena as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Henbury Ward in the Bristol City Council elections. Previously, in 2005, the Liberal Democrats had secured a respectable 1,029 votes with a 23.16% share.

Heralded as a “Commentator, campaigns specialist, thinker, connector, strategist, and CEO,” admittedly by himself, Chris Luffingham prepared to unleash his political prowess onto the establishment. However, on election night, Christopher William Luffingham managed to secure a mere 330 votes, marking a staggering 68% decrease in the Liberal Democrats vote and clinching only an 11.79% share. His narrow victory over the English Democrat candidate, surpassing them by a mere 29 votes for third place, underscored the voters of Henbury’s apparent inability to recognise a genius strategist.

Rumours abound that Chris Luffingham was last seen departing with his pride slightly wounded, muttering about “voter fraud” and echoing calls to “stop the count.”

League Against Cruel Sports

Several years ago, the League opted to register as a charity to reap the rewards of tax benefits, effectively sidelining its wildlife campaigning and political endeavors.

In 2019, Chris Luffingham, Campaign Director of the League Against Cruel Sports, proudly announced a series of “United Against Hunting” roadshows leading up to the December 2019 general election. The irony of the name persists, given that no other groups were deemed worthy of participation.

According to the League Against Cruel Sports’ Twitter feed, these roadshows spanned Bristol, Cardiff, Crewe, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Reading, Swindon, and Wolverhampton. Although legally barred from campaigning for anti-hunt candidates, the roadshows presumably aimed to bolster their chances of re-election.

We chose to scrutinize the outcome of the Crewe roadshow, a singular event devoid of overlapping constituencies and where hunting concerns could potentially influence the outcome.

In 2017, Laura Smith of the Labour Party clinched the MP seat for Crewe and Nantwich.

After the 2019 League roadshow, Crewe and Nantwich was won by the Conservative Party, accompanied by a notable 9.7% decline in Laura Smith’s vote share.

The League Against Cruel Sports claims that only Laura Smith among the main contenders attended and endorsed their event. Post-election, the League hailed the campaign as a resounding success.

However, the results suggest that Chris Luffingham’s campaign strategy offered no tangible benefits to anti-hunt candidates nor did they advance wildlife protection efforts. Instead, they served as a mere smokescreen to obscure their lack of strategic direction.

Evidently, the sole aim of these roadshows was to dupe League supporters into contributing more funds, doing little for anti-hunt causes or the animals they purportedly strive to protect.