The Green Party has said that it will not field a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election to prevent Labour from being ousted by the Tories.

Labour MP Clive Efford is defending a 2,693 majority ahead of the general election on June 8 where he will be defending his seat against Conservative candidate Matt Hartley.

The Green Party said they had taken the decision following discussions with the local labour party.

In a statement posted on their website, they said they had received assurances from Mr Efford  that he would stand up for the environment, protect the NHS and "oppose a harmful Brexit".

The statement said: "The decision was not made as part of a so-called electoral alliance but to protect a marginal seat from falling into Conservative hands."

Ann Garret, who had been selected as the Green candidate, said: "The decision was made for the 'greater good 'of the country, which is facing severe public funding cuts as a result of a disgraceful seven years of Tory rule."

In the 2015 general election, Mr Efford defeated the Conservative candidate Spencer Drury by 18,393 votes to 15,700.

The Green Party candidate received only 3 per cent of the vote with 1,275 votes with a 67.4 per cent turnout.

However the local UKIP candidate in 2015, Peter Whittle, received 15 per cent of the vote and it is believed that many UKIP voters will vote conservative in this year's general election. 

Matt Hartley, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Eltham, said: "Other parties may be making deals with each other, but the only deal I'm interested in is with the people of Eltham on June 8th.

"The choice at this election is clear - strong leadership with Theresa May and the Conservatives, or a coalition of chaos where Labour is propped up by smaller parties like the Greens, just as we are now seeing here in Eltham."