LABOUR’S Peter Chowney has said his campaign to unseat Home Secretary Amber Rudd has received a real boost after the Green Party agreed not to stand against him.

The current Hastings Borough Council leader has had his bid to overturn the incumbent Conservative’s near 5,000 majority backed by the decision not to be on the ballot paper on June 8.

Mr Chowney has now called on the Liberal Democrats to stand aside to help close the gap still further – an offer which has not been dismissed by its candidate Nick Perry.

The Greens, the constituency’s fourth biggest party which received almost 2,000 votes at the 2015 election, said they wanted to “get rid of” Mrs Rudd claiming she had made decisions in Government which had harmed the area.

The agreement is the latest in a series of progressive alliance moves designed to remove sitting Conservatives.

Green candidates have stood down in Lewes and Brighton Kemptown while the Liberal Democrats will not run a candidate against Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion.

The agreement was sealed after assurances offered by Mr Chowney that he would support proposals for proportional representation, support moves to reallocate the UK’s fishing quotas to boats of less than ten metres and oppose fracking and any new runways at Heathrow or Gatwick if elected.

The Greens said Ms Rudd’s voting record in supporting welfare benefits cuts, corporation tax reductions, raising tuition fees and opposing tax increases for the richest went against the interests of Hastings and Rye.

The group also said as climate change secretary, she was responsible for huge cuts in subsidies for renewables.

Former Green candidate Julia Hilton said: “We have no intention of standing down in future elections but we believe this election represents a cynical attempt at a power grab and that progressive parties need to unite to oppose another five years of Tory government.

“While we are disappointed the Labour Party nationally has refused to take part in discussions on a progressive alliance, we are happy that locally we were able to reach an agreement with the aim of getting rid of Amber Rudd.”

Mr Chowney said he would not rule out further agreements despite the passing of the candidate registration deadline at 4pm yesterday.

He said: “I have not approached the Lib Dems myself but yes I think it would be a good idea if they stood down, they had fewer votes than the Greens last time.

“I think it is a real boost and though you can’t say every Green vote will go to Labour, we are the closest party to them.”