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Labour and the Liberal Democrats have fuelled speculation about an informal non-aggression pact in next month's local elections.
Data from nominations, which closed this week, reveal that the two opposition parties appear to be giving each other a free run against the Conservatives in many of their key target seats.
Across swathes of the 'Red Wall' battleground in the Midlands and the North, the Liberal Democrats are fielding candidates in only a fraction of the seats up for grabs, leaving the field clear for Labour to take on the Tories.
In Bury, for example, the Lib Dems are standing in only 15 of the 51 seats being contested. In Hartlepool, Sir Ed Davey's party is contesting just two of the 13 seats up for grabs, while in Blackburn they are fighting just four of 15.
Data from nominations, which closed this week, reveal that the two opposition parties appear to be giving each other a free run against the Conservatives in many of their key target seats
The situation is mirrored in the so-called 'Blue Wall' in the south of England, where the Lib Dems are perceived as the biggest challengers to Conservative rule.
In Somerset, Labour is fielding candidates in only 45 of the 110 seats contested; in St Albans, Sir Keir Starmer's party is fighting just 25 of 56 seats; and in Cheltenham,
