The Liberal Democrats will have a clear run at unseating the Conservatives in the Wells Constituency, which includes Shepton Mallet, following the 'Unite to Remain' pact.

The party, led by Jo Swinson MP, has made a deal with the Green Party ahead of the general election on December 12.

The deal means that the parties will not compete against each other in target seats; instead, the party deemed most likely to take each seat will run for election.

In Somerset, the Greens have agreed to stand aside in the Wells constituency to give the Lib Dems the best chance of replacing the incumbent Tory candidate.

Conservative MP James Heappey will be hoping to increase his majority against his predecessor Tessa Munt.

Ms Munt took the seat from the Tories by 800 votes in 2010, but lost to Mr Heappey in 2015.

Both candidates increased their share of the vote in 2017, with Mr Heappey's majority falling very slightly to 7,582.

Posting on her website on Tuesday (November 5), Ms Munt said she was "the only candidate" who could beat the Conservatives.

She added: "I know I'm not alone in thinking that Boris Johnson's short stint as Prime Minister has been a disaster, leaving the nation more divided and chaotic than ever.

"I have been hearing over and over again on the doorstep, including from people who have only ever voted Conservative, that they've had enough and that now's the time to build a better, brighter future."

Posting on Twitter on Thursday (November 7), Mr Heappey said: "The message in Cheddar is crystal clear. People are backing Boris to get Brexit done."

Kama McKenzie will also be standing in the seat for the Labour Party.

In Somerton and Frome, both the Greens and the Lib Dems are fielding candidates in a bid to take the seat from David Warburton, who was first elected in 2015 and increased his majority to 22,906 last time around.

The Greens alleged the Lib Dems' chief whip, Alastair Carmichael, made an "emergency dash" to Frome and met with local party leaders over whether Somerton and Frome should be included in the Unite to Remain agreement.

Lib Dem candidate Adam Boyden – who also sits on Mendip District Council – said: "We have had no visit and no instruction from our national party to stand down, so these allegations are not correct."

The Greens have since apologised and retracted these allegations.