The most populous region wields wide-ranging powers in areas such as health and education in Spain's decentralised political system, giving national significance to such deals

Spain’s main opposition conservative party allied with the far right on Thursday to continue governing the key region of Andalusia, in a potential dress rehearsal for next year’s general election.

The country’s most populous region wields wide-ranging powers in areas such as health, education and housing in Spain’s decentralised political system, giving national significance to such agreements.

The deal between the Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox is the fourth in recent months after similar coalitions were agreed following regional polls in Extremadura, Aragon and Castile and Leon.

Mirroring a pattern in those votes, Andalusia’s incumbent PP leader Juanma Moreno won the most seats in a May election but fell short of repeating his majority.