The Conservative Party’s decades-long grip on power in North Yorkshire could be weakened to just two seats as activists canvassing ahead of a by-election next week say the result is “too close to call”.

Liberal Democrats and Conservatives who have been braving wintry weather to door-knock residents across the Masham and Fountains division said they believe Westminster politics and ongoing unrest in the Tory party could impact on the February 9 poll.

The by-election follows the death of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson in November and will see Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, who is the Countess of Swinton, take on Conservative candidate mother-of-five Brooke Hull.

Following last May’s elections, the Conservatives’ control of the 90-member authority was significantly dented, with 47 seats. The party has held sway over the North Yorkshire authority for more than two decades.

The election has been limited to two candidates after the Green Party made an informal agreement with the Liberal Democrats to step aside to give Ms Cunliffe-Lister improved odds.

Last May’s election in the division saw Ms Atkinson win 1,076 votes, followed by Ms Cunliffe-Lister, who stood as an independent, with 738 vote and. Liberal Democrat candidate Judith Hooper who received 620 votes.

With just over a week until the residents of the rural Masham and Fountains division go to the polls, the leaders of both parties on the council described their candidates as “excellent”.

The Tories have claimed the countess is less representative of the population than their candidate, while Liberal Democrats have countered mother-of-five Ms Hull has made no reference to her party in her election leaflet, despite being the constituency party’s campaign manager.

Ms Cunliffe-Lister said it appeared that her rival was trying to “create a little bit of distance between her and the party she represents”, before rejecting Conservative activists’ claims that as the owner of the 20,000-acre Swinton Park Estate she was less representative of residents than Ms Hull.

The former solicitor said:

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Ms Hull dismissed claims that she was trying to dissociate herself from the Conservative Party. She said the omission of the party’s name on one of her leaflets had been an oversight. She said: