What does "division of the opposition vote" mean?

NIK   Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:34 am GMT
Did the conservatives win courtesy of the division of the opposition vote between the Labor and the Liberal Democrats?
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For the sentence above, I am not clear about the meaning of the latter part
"the division of the opposition vote between the Labor and the Liberal Democrats". What does that mean? Would anyone paraphrase it in simpler language? Thanks.
Damian in Holyrood (only   Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:14 pm GMT
First and foremost if you are referring to this political scenario as taking place in the UK then the relative party name is spelled Labour. :-)

In response to your query, it basically means that the Conservatives won a particular vote in favour of/or opposing a particular issue because the votes from the two other parties (Labour and Liberal Democrats) was "split" in the voting process. Most probably some of the Liberal Democrats voted the same way as the Conservatives therefore supporting them on their stance on the matter in hand, while you can rest assured that the Labour members voted against and in unison, for the most apart anyway. All parties have one or two mavericks at least some of the time in the House of Commons.

This, therefore, caused the win for the Conservatives due to a division in the voting between the two other parties. This is not an unusual situation when it comes to the more contentious of issues.
Damian in Edinburgh   Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:16 pm GMT
Holyrood (only joking)