Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps has revealed the party will "love-bomb" Liberal Democrat voters in the Westcountry to win the next general election.
He told the Western Morning News that highlighting socially liberal policies such as same-sex marriage, allied to "hard-nosed" pledges including an in-out EU referendum, would be key to beating the Lib Dems in ten target and marginal seats across the greater South West.
Mr Shapps said a "love-bombing plus" strategy was an updated version of the 2010 election plan, which urged Lib Dem supporters to vote Conservative as they shared common ground but had a better chance of being in power.
Now the message will be that the Conservatives cannot be painted as "nasty, socially illiberal", and at the same time they promise to tackle immigration and Europe that "mirror" concerns of Lib Dem voters in the region.
For their part, the Lib Dem election pitch will centre on having pushed through "fair" policies on income tax and schools funding that would not have happened otherwise.
The Tories need gains in the South West to secure a majority, and will have to take seats from the Lib Dems in their heartland.
But Mr Shapps suggested Lib Dems being in power "gives them less of an advantage" as the "romantic idea" of being a protest party has now disappeared.