Landing on doormats across Somerset in recent weeks has been a Tory election leaflet the like of which locals have never seen before: "A vote for UKIP is a vote for the Lib Dems. UKIP has no plans or policies for Somerset. Only the Conservatives can deliver an In/Out referendum by 2017."
The wide fields and market towns of this part of the country have changed masters six times since the 1970s, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats sharing the county council spoils.
Labour has traditionally struggled to find a foothold in the area, but Nigel Farage's U.K. Independence Party has never even won a council seat, attracted more than a few hundred votes in any electoral ward, nor looked particularly likely to make any such a breakthrough.