Witney byelection could be an opportunity Green (Progressive Alliance ).

So now no longer Prime Minister  the prospect of being an ordinary backbencher does not appeal to David Cameron and he will resign his seat of Witney .

In the face of it there will be no problem for Tories in retaining the seat

General Election 2015: Witney^[13][14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	David Cameron	35,201	60.2	+1.4
	Labour	Duncan Enright	10,046	17.2	+4.2
	UKIP	Simon Strutt	5,352	9.2	+5.7
	Liberal Democrat	Andy Graham	3,953	6.8	-12.7
	Green	Stuart Sutherland MacDonald	2,970	5.1	+0.9
	National Health Action	Clive Peedell	616	1.1	N/A
	Wessex Regionalist	Colin Roland Bex	110	0.2	+0.1
	Independent	Christopher Tompson	94	0.2	N/A
	Reduce VAT in Sport	Vivien Inez Saunders	56	0.1	N/A
	Give Me Back Elmo	Bobby Smith	37	0.1	N/A
	Land Party	Deek Jackson	35	0.1	N/A
	Independent	Nathan Paul Handley	12	0.02	N/A
Majority			25,155	43.0	+3.6
Turnout			58,482	73.3	+0.00
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.4

However some of  Camerons votes surely  come from his high profile  when he first stood in 2001  did not have the dominance  he has now

General Election 2001: Witney^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	David Cameron	22,153	45.0	+2.0
	Labour	Michael Bartlet	14,180	28.8	-1.8
	Liberal Democrat	Gareth Epps	10,000	20.3	+0.5
	Green	Mark Stevenson	1,100	2.2	+1.1
	Independent	Barry Beadle	1,003	2.0	N/A
	UKIP	Kenneth Dukes	767	1.6	+0.2
Majority			7,973	16.2	+3.8
Turnout			49,203	65.9	-10.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Even if you look at the last vote nearly 40% of those who turned up to vote did not vote for Cameron even though it was clear to them he was going to win.

With Labour likely at war with itself  and Ukip perhaps floundering in finding a unique selling point  after the Brexit referendum who will voters to in an Anti-Tory vote

Well maybe the LibDems bit a few council byelection gains are not totally convincing as an indication that they are making a recovery which will take them back to anything like their pre 2015 level.

Does this mean that there is an alternative? With 5.1% of the vote the Greens may be far behind but the potential is still there .

With a little imagination they can put forward themselves  as part of a "Progressive Alliance" of Parties like Plaid,SNP,Mebyon Kernow together  with regional parties that offer a real alternative,

According to Wikipedia the Wessex Regionalist Party  which has has stood in Witney is a Centre Left Party which pr emotes Wessex Regionalism,Civic nationalism,Social democracy, and Environmental protection so on paper an Ideal partner.

OK their vote is dismal but that does not mean there is no potential for arguing for Wesssx devolution

Plaid and the SNP could offer help in the organisation of the Green (Progressive Alliance) Byelection whilst not making a presence that results in the Daily Mail going into  apoplectic fit.

I know this seems unlikely but if we a to have a real Progressive  alternative to the Tories we need to take this opportunity.