CONSERVATIVE Party chairman Eric Pickles has accused Devon's Liberal Democrats of "relentless infighting", as two parliamentary candidacy seats stand vacant after bitter rows.

The Lib-Dems, the dominant force in the Westcountry before the Tories snatched control of Devon County Council and the most seats on Cornwall Council earlier this year, stand accused of being "prisoners to the factions within their own party", after they announced East Devon candidate Paul Buchanan had been deselected.

In July, Mr Buchanan was issued with a two-year ban from operating as a councillor, after the Adjudication Panel for England ruled he had acted out of revenge in making complaints against the conduct of Somerset County Council's then chief executive, Alan Jones.

But the ruling was highly controversial, and Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger even raised the issue in a speech loaded with scandal and salacious detail in the House of Commons. However, following an internal investigation, the Lib-Dems have deselected him.

It comes hot on the heels of the departure of Sally Morgan, Mid Devon's LibDem parliamentary hopeful, in the summer. She stepped down following an explosive e-mail sent out to MPs and fellow candidates. In it, she berated party leaders, accusing them of employing "apparatchiks" to "frisk" her of money.

Her seat is still empty, although an internal selection process is understood to be under way. The Lib-Dems have declined to give details of applicants.

Yesterday, Mr Pickles said of the double fiasco: "It's a great shame that the LibDems are prisoners to the factions in their own party. Instead of listening to the real concerns of voters, they are consumed by relentless infighting."

Mr Buchanan said the Lib-Dems had "done what they had to do" in deselecting him after the adjudication panel ruling "irrespective of what everybody with any brains knows was an absolute travesty".

Hugo Swire, MP for East Devon, said he expected the Conservatives to pick off Lib-Dem voters in the next election, because of shared policies on the environment and civil liberties.

He branded the situation "quite extraordinary", and said it was a by-product of Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg focusing his attentions on Labour-held seats away from the Westcountry. He said: "They are abandoning the South West in favour of shoring up their Labour seats in the rest of the country."

A Lib-Dem spokesman said it was "completely natural" to have two seats free in one county, considering the election was on the horizon, and it bore no reflection on the party's effectiveness or unity. He said: "We will continue to strive to make sure that we do select the best possible candidates for the general election, to make sure that we best represent the constituencies."

Adrian Sanders, Lib-Dem MP for Torbay, said the Tories were being "a bit cheeky and mischievous" in suggesting the party was retreating from the Westcountry.

He said: "We are doing what we have always done in the Westcountry, but we are also now moving into Labour areas in the north. It is not a retreat from the South West – it is an expansion across the country."