UKIP selects same candidates for Walsall seats in General Election
UKIP has re-selected the candidates who won thousands of votes for the party in Walsall two years ago.
Derek Bennett will again be standing in Walsall South while councillor Liz Hazell will contesting Walsall North in the General Election.
In 2015, Mr Bennett came third with 6,540 votes – 15.6 per cent – and councillor Hazell, who also came third, won 22 per cent of the vote with 8,122 people supporting her.
Both seats are held by Labour but are top Tory targets on June 8.
Mr Bennett has also stood in the 2001, 2005 and 2010 elections while Liz Hazell also stood in 2010.
Mr Bennett said: “It was due to UKIP that brought about the EU Referendum after more than 20 years of campaigning. It is only UKIP who will hold the Government to the promise of carrying out the will of the people."
Councillor Hazell said: "Only by selecting a UKIP Member of Parliament will the people of the Borough of Walsall be able to challenge and robustly push the Government to get the best deal with the EU. The Labour Party are too busy infighting. Our current Labour MPs voted remain and therefore do not represent the views of the majority of the people in the Borough of Walsall.
"Any elected Conservative MP, due to fear of not being able to climb the party ladder, would abide by the party whip, whereas all UKIP MPs have no such fear and can tell the truth. We in UKIP are there to represent the people and not the party. We know that the money returned from the EU needs to be spent in the UK on education, hospitals, social care, infrastructure and many other areas.”
“We will be campaigning to represent the people of the Borough of Walsall in Westminster not representing Westminster in the Borough of Walsall.”
In Walsall North the Labour candidate is David Winnick and the Tory candidate is Eddie Hughes.
In Walsall South the Labour candidate is Valerie Vaz and the Tory candidate is James Bird.
