A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT candidate has made a shock eve-of-poll move in an ultra-marginal seat by throwing his weight behind his opposing Labour candidate.

With less than 24 hours before the polls open, LibDem Brendan Devlin announced his backing for Labour’s Paul Williams, who is defending a slim 888 majority in Stockton South.

“I am giving my approbation to Dr Williams, as a man, as a GP, as a local doctor – not because he’s the Labour candidate but because he’s a genuinely good guy,” Mr Devlin said. “Of the candidates in Stockton South with a chance of winning, he’s definitely the better choice.”

Mr Devlin said he did not endorse either the Labour Party or its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, although both he and Dr Williams support a second Brexit referendum and Britain’s continued membership of the EU.

Mr Devlin’s move came immediately after a poll showed that the Conservative candidate, Matt Vickers, was ahead with 46 per cent of the vote to Dr Williams’ 43 per cent, with the LibDems trailing the Brexit Party on 3.4 per cent. However, the poll, conducted by a pro-second referendum group, showed that if the LibDems withdrew, Labour would win the seat with 48 per cent to the Conservatives’ 43 per cent.

Mr Vickers said: “A vote for Labour or the LibDems is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister. If you want to end the gridlock, get Brexit done and move the country forward, you have to vote Conservative.”

Mr Devlin’s name will remain on the ballot paper, and he declined to say whether he would be voting for himself.

In 2017, the LibDems received 951 votes in Stockton. Mr Devlin commended Dr Williams’ stance on the NHS, social care and Brexit, and said: “This election is far more important than party loyalties or the careers of the people involved, and I am saying this about Paul Williams while thinking about the best interests of the country.”

Dr Williams said: “If you were planning to vote Liberal Democrat, the local LibDem candidate and I are both asking you to lend me your support. If you do, we can stop Boris Johnson from winning the unlimited power that comes with a majority in Parliament. He’s always craved that level of power and I daren’t think about what he would do with that for five years.

“I want to thank Brendan Devlin for his endorsement. I’ve grown to know him during this campaign an honourable and a thoroughly decent man. He’s put his own personal interest and his party’s interest to one side in favour of the national interest. That’s a rare thing for a politician and I am grateful to him for putting his faith in me.”

Mr Devlin said he was looking forward to having a post-election pint with the Brexit Party candidate John Prescott, who he said was the only candidate offering clarity on Brexit.