Labour and Liberal Democrats in the south are counting on a recent surge in support for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg to help them hold off an advancing Conservative Party at Thursday’s general election.

The Tories had been considered a threat to the Lib Dems’ hopes of retaining their three south Hampshire seats – Romsey and Southampton North, Eastleigh and Winchester – dubbed the “Lib Dem triangle”.

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However, following the Lib Dems’ unprecedented ten percentage point increase in national support since the election campaign began, the party now believes that it is in a strong position to halt the Tory tide.

A source in the Lib Dem campaign told the Daily Echo: “Our chances are better than they were at the start of the campaign and we are more confident than we were two weeks ago.

“It looks like we might be getting more votes.”

Labour, meanwhile, admitted that it is focused on protecting its two Southampton seats from the Tories rather than making new gains in Lib Dem and Conservative territory.

According to reports, the Conservatives nationally are switching their efforts from Lib Dem seats to Labour seats – including Southampton Itchen, where Cabinet minister John Denham is defending a majority of 8,484 when boundary changes are taken into account.