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Have the Tories made an ‘electoral pact’ with Ukip?

This week David Cameron invited Ukip voters to ‘come home‘ to the Conservative party. ‘Come with us, come back home to us rather than risk all of this good work being undone by Labour,’ he pleaded at a campaign event.

However for all of Cameron’s talk, Labour sources claim that the Tories would be quite happy to form a coalition with Ukip after the election. Now, Jonathan Reynolds, the Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, says that a pact has been made in Tameside, the Greater Manchester borough, between Ukip and the Tories. It’s claimed that the parties have agreed not to stand against each other in a number of wards for the local election in order to increase their chances of beating Labour.

There are five Tory candidates standing for Tameside District Council who face no Ukip opponent:

  • Ashton Hurst
  • Hyde Werneth
  • Stalybridge South
  • Longdendale
  • Denton West

Meanwhile, there are Ukip candidates standing in four wards where there are no Conservative candidates standing:

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