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The Brexit Party will not be fielding a candidate in the Labour-held seat of Bristol North West.

The decision has come as a surprise to many as the party had already named Stephen Burge as their candidate for the seat in the upcoming General Election.

But when the final candidate lists were released on Thursday night Mr Burge’s name, along with that of his party, were both absent.

Since then rumours have been circulating that some kind of deal has been struck between the Brexit Party and the Tories - in order to help the Conservative candidate Mark Weston win the seat.

However both parties have denied any such deal has taken place.

It comes just days after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage announced he would be pulling candidates out of the 317 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2017 general election.

But Bristol North West is a Labour-held constituency after it was won from the Tories by the Labour Party in 2017 when Darren Jones took the seat from Charlotte Leslie.

However, his majority was not huge - nine per cent - and he also had help from the Green Party, whose candidate Sharmila Bousa, agreed to stop campaigning in order to give Mr Jones the best chance.

The same has not happened this time round, and Mr Jones will now find himself fighting for votes against Mr Weston, Green Party candidate Heather Mack and Lib Dem Chris Coleman.

It also means that in terms of Brexit, Mr Jones will be in a three-way battle for remain votes while Mr Weston is now the only leave candidate in the race.

Mr Jones has accused the Brexit Party and Conservatives of brokering a deal, something both parties have denied.

He said: “The Tories and the Brexit Party have merged into one.

“It's quite clear that a vote for the Tories is now a vote for a hard Brexit that will hit workers, the British economy and our security.

“But it's not just about Brexit, it's about a US trade deal which will reduce food standards, it's about further underfunding of our schools and hospitals and police and it's about a continued policy of failing to tackle climate change.

“Here in Bristol North West I have built support from across party lines from local residents who want a tried and trusted Member of Parliament representing them in the House of Commons."

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Mr Weston said he was not upset to hear that the Brexit Party candidate was no longer standing, but that there has been “no formal talks or agreements” between the two parties.

He said it was more likely to be a clerical error by the Brexit Party that resulted in their candidate not appearing on the ballot paper, rather than any kind of agreement or deal.

The Brexit Party were contacted for comment.

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