FORMER MP Neil Hamilton will stand for Ukip in the South Wales East region in May's Senedd Election, the party has announced.
Mr Hamilton - who also stood for the party in the Newport West Parliamentary by-election in 2019 - coming third, with 8.6 per cent of the vote - was elected to the Senedd in 2016 on Ukip's regional list for Mid and West Wales.
But in this year's election he will instead stand in the South Wales East region - which covers Gwent. Mr Hamilton is the first name on the list, meaning he will be elected if Ukip wins 25 per cent or more of the vote share.
Mr Hamilton was born in Fleur-de-Lis, and went to school in Blackwood and Cefn Fforest. Today he lives in Wiltshire with his wife Christine.
The second name on the list is Ben Walker, a Royal Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan.
On his selection, Mr Hamilton said: "I relish the opportunity to return to the place of my birth, taking Ukip’s patriotic vision for Wales to former Labour voters who have been ignored by the arrogant, condescending Senedd.
"This election is their opportunity to dump the anti-British Labour Party which ignores the real concerns of working-class voters.
“Under devolution, Wales has gone backwards compared with the rest of the UK. South East Wales has stagnated and left to fend for itself by the Cardiff Bay clique. The M4 relief road would have attracted investment and jobs.
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"Labour’s abrupt cancellation of the project was a kick in the teeth by Welsh Labour to please environmental activists who prioritise newts and salamanders over people."
He also spoke out about Labour and Plaid Cymru's policy of supporting "bogus asylum seekers", and reiterated Ukip's commitment to abolishing the Senedd.
“Wales needs a straight-talking, common-sense alternative to the timid, two-faced liberal elite in Cardiff Bay," he said. "Ukip will stop mass-immigration, protect free speech and glory in Wales’s proud history. This election is the chance for voters to kick the establishment where it hurts – in the ballots.”
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