A Lib Dem parliamentary candidate has been replaced by the party after he said he would tell people to vote for his Labour rival.
Guy Kiddey, who was standing in the Derbyshire seat of High Peak, said on Wednesday he wanted to ensure a pro-Remain MP was elected.
“I will stand back, will take my foot off the accelerator, I will be there effectively as a paper candidate,” he told BBC News.
“I will encourage people to vote for the the Labour candidate, who has the best chance of beating the Tory in high peak.”
Following his comments, a Lib Dem spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “Guy Kiddey is not our candidate for the High Peak. The local party will be announcing their candidate soon and that candidate will be urging voters to stop Brexit by voting Liberal Democrat.”
The row came after Tim Walker quit as the Lib Dem candidate for Labour-held Canterbury on Tuesday evening, claiming he did not want to split the Remain vote in the marginal seat. The Lib Dems will field another candidate.
On a campaign visit to a boxing gym in north London today, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson denied she was losing control of her candidates .“Clearly as Liberal Democrats we are committed to stopping Brexit, she said.
“We have a healthy debate within the party and some candidates have made their own decisions.”
The Lib Dems have agreed not to stand candidates against the Green Party and Plaid Cymru in some seats as part of a so-called Remain alliance. But a similar deal has not been struck at a national level with Labour.
Labour has rejected the suggestion it should strike deals with other parties.
Former Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams said today Swinson should make a “bold public offer” to Jeremy Corbyn to stand aside in 25 Conservative-Labour marginals if Labour did the same in Conservative-Lib Dem seats.
Other Lib Dem candidates in other seats where the 2017 result was close remain committed to fighting the election. Nick Perry, who is contesting the Tory-Labour marginal of Hastings and Rye, said he would not be standing down.
“Local people will use their judgement as to which candidate will best represent Remain,” he told HuffPost UK.
“Own own data, based on this year’s actual election results and additional independent polling suggests that there is a Liberal Democrat surge here and the election is wide open.”
The East Sussex seat was won by former Tory cabinet minister Amber Rudd by just 346 votes over Labour in 2017. She is standing down at this election after resigning the party whip in protest at Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy.
David Gauke, the former Conservative justice secretary, this morning suggested Tory supporters opposed to a no-deal Brexit should consider “lending” their votes to the Lib Dems on December 12.
The ex-Tory MP revealed he plans to stand as an independent candidate South West Hertfordshire – the seat he has held sine 2005. The Lib Dems still plan to stand a candidate against him.