PRO-EU campaigners in York are organising a vote-swap between the city’s two constituencies in a bid to get two Remain supporting MPs to Westminster.

If it gets enough support, the tactical voting plan would see Labour's Rachael Maskell re-elected in York Central, and Lib Dem James Blanchard ousting the Brexit-supporting Conservative Julian Sturdy in York Outer.

The city campaign group, part of the wider Britain For Europe movement, has set up a website to encourage Lib Dem supporters in York Central to pledge their support for Rachael Maskell, in return for Labour supporters in York Outer agreeing to vote for James Blanchard.

By pairing voters up across the two constituencies, they say people will still be able to support the party they want without splitting the “progressive vote” and letting other candidates win.

Jamie Wood is part of York For Europe. “It’s really important to us to elect two candidates for York who are more reflective of York for Europe’s views,” he said.

With some commentators predicting a surge in pro-Remain votes, York campaigners want to make sure that surge comes in York Outer but does not split the vote in York Central and threaten Rachael Maskell’s seat, he added.

“We feel this is an appropriate solution for York, which is a heavy Remain constituency.”

The site has been live since the middle of last week, he said, and it will operate a waiting list if sign-ups in one area outstrip the other.

The initiative, however, has split the candidates, with Mr Blanchard backing it, but Ms Maskell claiming the logic is flawed. She stands to benefit from the tactics, but she said her party’s currently unknown candidate in York Outer would be a better bet for voters worried about a hard Brexit.

“It’s difficult to comprehend this because at the last election, James Blanchard massively dropped Lib Dem votes and Labour were in second place,” the Ms Maskell said.

“Labour got more than twice the number of votes at the last election than the Lib Dems.”

She also said Labour’s “strong position” on Europe, and what should happen now Article 50 has been triggered, meant it was a better bet for people who want to elect a party to speak out on Britain’s relationship with Europe.

Mr Blanchard, however, said he welcomed the signs that people from other parties were thinking about a vote for the Lib Dems.

He said: “We all know that nationally 2015 was not a good year for us, but we were within a couple of thousand votes in 2010 and since 2015, the opinion polls have gone up for the Lib Dems and down for Labour.”

He went on to say that vote-swapping was a sign of how dysfunctional the electoral system was. He added: “The Labour Party’s plan seems to be going along with everything the Conservatives propose in terms of a hard Brexit, which is an approach I don’t think people in York Outer actually want.”

Mr Sturdy, who had a 13,000 vote lead over his nearest rival in 2015, said the real choice was not between pro-EU candidates, but between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn “propped up by the SNP and Liberal Democrats”.

“It has been an absolute privilege to serve the people of York Outer for the last seven years, and I am proud of my record championing the issues that matter most to our area,” he added.

The other candidates so far announced are Nick Love for the Lib Dems and Ed Young for the Conservatives in York Central and Andy D’Agorne and Bethan Vincent for the Greens in York Central and York Outer, respectively. Labour has not yet announced a candidate for York Outer.