A LABOUR prospective parliamentary candidate says he is confident he can win one of the safest Conservative seats in the country following a high-profile and bitter row between local Tories.

Former Army major Alan Avery said while the emergence of UKIP could serve to reduce the number of Conservative votes in the Thirsk and Malton constituency, the row between the sitting MP Anne McIntosh and the leaders of her local party could split the Tory vote.

The 66-year-old publisher said he believed by highlighting environmental issues facing the North York Moors, such as the proposed potash mine near Whitby, funding of the NHS and the lack of public transport in the area he could secure the seat.

He said he would also be campaigning for the "hidden, growing minority" of the constituency's residents living in poverty.

At the General Election in 2010, Labour candidate Jonathan Roberts was in third place, with 5,169 votes, while Miss McIntosh won the seat with an 11,281 majority.

He said while the local Conservative Party had selected estate agent Kevin Hollinrake to be its candidate, after deselecting Miss McIntosh, it remained unclear whether traditional Tory voters would back Mr Hollinrake.

He said: "I am not in to to reduce the Conservative majority, I am in it to win it.

"There is a peculiar situation in the constituency, at the moment, we don't know if Anne McIntosh will stand."

Miss McIntosh, who has offered her support to Mr Hollinrake following the row in which she was accused of being high-handed, has said she will announce her future plans before the election.