THE Green Party has called for talks with Labour and the Liberal Democrats on co-operating against the Conservatives in Dorset at the general election.

The party says it has candidates ready to fight at the June 8 poll but wants to explore ways of getting “progressive”, pro-European MPs elected.

Issuing an open invitation to a meeting, South East Dorset Green Party said: “We believe through co-operation and agreement on some key issues we can deliver a number of MPs across this area who believe in a more progressive type of politics, including a pro-European stance and a call for proportional representation to deliver a government which represents the votes of British people.

“Britain is at a crossroads with the divide between rich and poor getting larger. This is particularly prevalent across all of our constituencies which contain some of the richest and some of the poorest areas in the country.”

Vikki Slade, the Liberal Democrats’ prospective candidate for Mid-Dorset and North Poole, said she was interested in meeting but feared an arrangement was “unlikely” to happen in the time available.

She pointed out that the Lib Dems had stood aside in Brighton Pavilion to help efforts to re-elect Green co-leader Caroline Lucas there.

“I have a 10,000 vote mountain to climb. 1,500 Green votes would really help that. If there’s no Green candidate there, none of those people will vote Tory,” she said.

“I would like to have seen us stand for one of the Bournemouth seats and the Greens stand for the other one and maybe let Labour have a really good run at South Dorset, where they’ve held the seat before.”

But she said the arrangement “relies on another local party over which I have no control or ability to offer a quid pro quo”.

Labour’s Dave Stokes, who is standing for the fifth time in Bournemouth West, said: “I don’t agree with any forms of coalition. I believe the general public should have a choice.

“I do not promote tactical voting. You should vote the way you believe. The electoral system needs changing but I firmly believe everybody should have a right to vote the way we believe.

“While I appreciate the work the Greens do and there are a lot of things I’m sympathetic with, I don’t want another coalition with the Lib Dems, who only two years ago were the government with the Conservatives.

"They’re Conservatives with yellow rosettes as far as I’m concerned. “