CANDIDATES from pro-European Union parties in Winchester are part of a pact to give voters a single Remain choice at the General Election.

The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens today announced they will not run candidates against each other in 60 seats across England and Wales.

That includes Winchester and Chandler's Ford where Green Andrew Wainwright has stood down in favour of Lib Dem Paula Ferguson.

On the Isle of Wight the Lib Dem will not contest the seat, giving the Greens a clearer run.

The parties see it as the best way of maximising the impact of the anti-Brexit vote.

Mr Wainwright said today: "We understand that we are depriving Winchester and Chandler’s Ford residents of the opportunity to express their support for the agenda that only the Green Party speaks for, but extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.

"Our immediate priority is to prevent a minority Conservative government from resuming power and driving us ever further into climate chaos, austerity and social inequality. The Green Party continues to believe that the question of our continued membership of the EU is best resolved by a second referendum, allowing the British people to make an informed decision about the nation’s future, not by yet another General Election.

"Our first past the post voting system ignores the votes of millions of people. This broken system entrenches the privilege of establishment politicians, who can use their resources to target a small number of marginal seats that swing whole elections and keep Governments in power. We all deserve better than this. The Green Party is committed to making every vote matter and giving voters real choice by scrapping First Past the Post in favour of Proportional Representation, adopting the Single Transferable Vote (STV) to make sure that everyone’s vote truly counts."

Paul Ferguson said she had been in talks with the local Green Party for several months and could assure its supporters about her environmental stance.

"I'm a strong environmentalist. The climate emergency is the biggest issue we face.

"I would always like people to vote for the party they want to but this is an extraordinary election. I'm a Lib Dem but a very green Lib Dem.

"This will definitely help the anti-Brexit cause in Winchester, being able to have a clear choice of voting for a Remain candidate."

The deal, brokered by the Unite To Remain group, follows an agreement earlier this year in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, where the Lib Dems took the seat from the Conservatives after the other two parties stood aside.

Heidi Allen, chairwoman of Unite To Remain and previously MP for South Cambridgeshire, said the cross-party arrangement is “unprecedented in modern British political history”.