THE POLITICS FILE: By-election must not become a vote on Brexit

But to do so does a deep disservice to the 88,250 people living in the constituency.

Whoever is elected to succeed Paul Flynn will be responsible for representing the people of Newport West on the issues which matter to them the most – not just Brexit.

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Many people in Newport West care deeply about Brexit and have very strong views on how it’s been going – mostly “it’s a complete mess”. But they don’t care about it anywhere near as much as they care about drug-dealing on the corner of their street, that their kids are able to go to decent schools near their homes and whether their bins get collected on time.

And when they go to the ballot box on April 4 Brexit will only be part of the decision they make on who to vote for.

It's important that the candidates recognise this and don't get swept up in the national conversation around what the result will mean for Brexit – and for the most part I think they do.

Plaid Cymru candidate Jonathan Clark

Renew Party candidate June Davies

Conservative candidate Matthew Evans

But it was worrying earlier this week to see Ukip leader Gerard Batten describe the by-election as “a referendum on the Lib-Lab-Con’s betrayal of Brexit”.

And picking Neil Hamilton - yes that Neil Hamilton - over a more local figure as the party's candidate to fight the election doesn't speak wonders about their commitment to local issues.

I understand Newport's Ukip branch are not at all happy about Mr Hamilton's selection, and it does seem to be something of a kick in the teeth for local campaigners.

Ukip candidate Neil Hamilton

Ukip have a reasonable record at the ballot box in Newport over the past couple of elections - although there was a pretty dramatic drop in support in 2017 - but this was always with local figures.

I've already seen suggestions a decent chunk of Newport's Ukip faithful might not be inclined to lend their votes to Mr Hamilton, a divisive figure within his own party, so this decision could be a bit of an own goal for the party.

That said, whatever you might think of him, Mr Hamilton is not an idiot, and he's no stranger to the campaign trail - he knows you win votes by appealing to the issues which matter most to people in the constituency in their day-to-day lives. Or at least you would hope he does.

But to effectively use the election as a test case for Brexit is unfair on the people of Newport West, who will need an MP who will represent their interests long after we've left the European Union - whether that's at the end of this month or further in the future.

Labour candidate Ruth Jones

If the whole country had a vote in the by-election it would be fair, or at least inevitable, to see it, as Mr Batton has framed it, a referendum on the state of Brexit. But thankfully this isn't the case.

And this isn’t a General Election – whichever party wins isn’t going to tip the balance of power in the House of Parliament.

So candidates must not focus their campaigns on the big national issue of the day, but what matters to people in Newport West every day.

And in case you think I'm unfairly singling out Neil Hamilton, it can't be ignored that Richard Suchorzewski of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party has made it clear he is under no illusions that he won't win, but wants to use the opportunity to get the message of his party out.

Is this a fair approach? That's for the voters to decide.

Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party candidate Richard Suchorzewski

Green Party candidate Amelia Womack

The others seem to be more aware of and focussed on the everyday issues facing the people of Newport West - whether that remains the tone throughout the campaign remains to be seen.

My fear is that the national attention paid to the by-election will mean the candidates spend far more time talking about Brexit than crime in Pill, litter in Maesglas and redevelopment in the Gaer.

Meanwhile, nominations for the election close on Friday, so the seven announced so far are unlikely to be the only choices. The Lib Dems have said they are in the process of picking their candidate and I wouldn't be surprised to see others go for it too.

Sadly, an approach I made to Lord Buckethead - who so memorably ran against Theresa May in 2017 - asking if he was going for it went unanswered.

You know what they say about a week in politics, so what's going to happen between now and April 4 is anyone's guess. Game on.