The Conservatives have held Devon’s seat ever since it was created in 1997, but could face a tough battle after MP Neil Parish resigned after admitting to watching pornography twice in the House of Commons. While the Labor Party has finished ahead of the Liberal Democrats in the constituency in every general election since 2015, Davey’s party is set to say it is most likely to defeat the Tories based on the strongest local election results in the region. That’s what they did in the December North Shropshire primary, coming from a distant third place in 2019 behind the Tories and the Labor Party to win the Conservative stronghold with almost 6,000 votes following the resignation of another embarrassed MP, Owen Paterson. Asked about the prospects for his party in Tiverton and Honiton, Davey told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I think the Liberal Democrats can be the real culprits. We have a real legacy of success in the Southwest. “We ran in the North Shropshire primary, where we were third in the previous general election, but we defeated the Conservatives. “Nobody gave us a chance, but in these rural communities across North Shropshire we found lifelong Conservatives who feel they take them for granted.” The Liberal Democrats and the Labor Party strongly reject the idea of formal pacts, with Davey and Kir Starmer denying that their parties had backed down in some areas in Thursday’s local elections. However, both have shown a willingness to campaign less hard in seats where the other is more likely to defeat the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats are expected to do so in the next election in Wakefield, where Labor hopes to regain the seat following the resignation of Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. A Labor Party source said: “All parties are committed to devoting the right time and resources to positions where they have the best chance of winning or creating a good story by gaining ground.” Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Asked if the Liberal Democrats deliberately stepped down on Thursday in areas such as the north-east of England, where the party is running for 56% of council seats, up from 78% when they last fought four years ago, Davey denied the deal. “There is no agreement now, there will be no agreement in the future,” he told Ridge. “The Liberal Democrats are really fighting Labor in many areas: in Hull, in Sunderland, in Sheffield, in Hurray, in Southwark. “These council numbers are a bit distracting and they are quite desperate for the Conservatives. Let us remember, they always range from election to election. In fact, the Conservatives have more than 100 fewer candidates this time around. “ Starmer also rejected the idea of a secret deal, according to Conservative leader Oliver Dowden. “I would not take anything Oliver Dowden says very seriously,” he told Ridge. “There is no pact, everyone knows there is no pact.”
