Partners will fight out delayed election in Yorkshire

Polling in the North Yorkshire constituency was delayed after the sudden death of the UK Independence Party candidate and the election on May 27 will now represent the first test of the new coalition.

At his first Press conference as Prime Minister, Mr Cameron said the parties would be expected to show commitment to the coalition but insisted: "We are not merging our two parties so we'd expect our parties to put up candidates and to campaign in that intensely reasonable way in which we always do."

He added: "Of course people sometimes will want to take a stand on an issue but the aim is to have both parties firmly committed to a coalition agreement that is set out in full detail, that can set out in full detail, that will provide the good and stable government, and the reforms, that our country need."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "In other political cultures it would not be even a faintly radical thought that parties might co-operate with each other in government for the good of the country, but campaign against each other at election time.

"That is precisely the kind of thing that you will see now. I hope people will find it relatively unsurprising relatively quickly."

Yesterday the Liberal Democrat candidate Howard Keal said he was looking forward to a "full-on fight" against the Tory favourite Anne McIntosh.