Nigel Farage has described the defection of Conservative candidate Mike Whitehead to Ukip as "another hammer blow to Tory pretensions in the north of England".
However, a Conservative Party spokesman dismissed Ukip's announcement as "cynical, misleading and utterly calculating to try and score political points".
The Conservatives say a parliamentary candidate who "defected" to Ukip had already been sacked.
A spokesman for the Tories dismissed Mike Whitehead's announcement as "cynical, misleading and utterly calculating to try and score political points".
"He refused to support the local Conservative council candidate and so we wrote to him last week to say that his position was untenable and he could not stand for us at the general election.
"We were already selecting a new candidate for this constituency."
The Democratic presidential candidate may also have shown his cards on his choice of running mate.
The US president also shared a post on Twitter accusing Dr Anthony Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.
Fears over an impending second wave of coronavirus dominates Wednesday’s front pages.