General Election: Eddie Hughes ready to lock horns with Winnick

Councillor Eddie Hughes has been picked to fight the seat for the Tories following a controversy-laden selection process which saw the Walsall Conservatives preferred choice Douglas Hansen-Luke failing to make the two-man shortlist.

The announcement came as chaos reigned for the Tories in Walsall South, where it emerged the two candidates put forward by Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) had been effectively rejected by the local party’s selection committee.

Mr Hughes, aged 48, has been a Walsall councillor since 1999 and represents the Streetly ward. He is the brother of Des Hughes, a Labour councillor in Birmingham’s Kingstanding ward.

He said: “It is an honour to be selected to stand as the Conservative Party candidate for Walsall North.

“The referendum result has completely changed British politics and it’s time for a change in Walsall North.

“A vote for me is a vote for a strong voice to make Brexit work for the people of Bloxwich and Willenhall.

"I will fight for every vote and do my best to meet as many people as I can during the campaign.”

Mr Hughes beat off competition for the candidacy from Mohammed Hanif Asmal, who stood for the Lib Dems in Walsall South at the 2005 General Election.

Louise Harrison, Tory councillor for Bloxwich West, said: “I am delighted we have picked Eddie to fight the general election for the Conservative Party.

"He has a strong history of public service in Walsall and is a strong community campaigner.

"Eddie campaigned alongside me and many others to leave the European Union.

"A vote for Eddie Hughes is a vote to get on with the Brexit that 68 per cent of us in Walsall voted for.”

Party chiefs in the constituency had backed Mr Hansen-Luke for the candidacy.

In 2015 he was narrowly beaten into second place by Mr Winnick, producing one of the best performances of any Tory opposition candidate in the West Midlands.

Mr Hansen-Luke said today: “Obviously I am disappointed not to be able to stand for Walsall North but delighted at the support from the Conservative Association and constituents.

"Now the most important thing is to back a candidate to put the people of Bloxwich, Walsall and Willenhall first, a candidate who gives them a voice in Westminster and who backs the Prime Minister in making the best of Brexit.”

Labour currently holds a majority of 1,937 in Walsall North, which has been highlighted by the Tories as one of three Black Country seats the party can take from Labour.

Meanwhile in Walsall South, selecting a candidate to challenge Labour’s Valerie Vaz has proved to be equally problematic.

The Express & Star understands that CCHQ drew up a shortlist of two candidates.

They were Chris Grayling’s former press secretary Alicia Kearns, the deputy chair political at the Cambridge Conservative Association, and Jonathan Gullis, a candidate for Stratford West in today’s Warwickshire County Council elections.

But at a meeting of the party’s Walsall South branch earlier this week, leading local figures refused to back either of them on the grounds that they were not from the area.