Ukip hopes to make gains in wake of Brexit results

Ukip, not Labour, is the party representing working class interests, says the Wigan constituency boss launching his bid for a parliamentary seat.
Ukip's Nathan RydingUkip's Nathan Ryding
Ukip's Nathan Ryding

Nathan Ryding, who as a teenager is thought to be one of the youngest branch chairs in the country, hopes to shake-up the Labour stranglehold on the borough’s political scene.

Announcing he will stand against Lisa Nandy for Wigan’s seat, Mr Ryding told the Post he will introduce a policy of “direct democracy” if elected, handing responsibility for his parliamentary voting over to the public.

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He said: “The people would be in charge, I would simply just vote on their behalf, I would set up E-Democracy on my website where all residents can see what votes are coming up in parliament and they will tell me via a majority vote on which bills to vote on and how exactly I should vote.

“They can also suggest policies that they would like me to put forward in Parliament, once again, through majority vote.”

Despite gaining ground in the borough, the right-wing Euro-sceptic party has to date failed to land a seat in the council chamber.

But next month’s general election will be the first major vote since the borough’s over-whelming pro-Brexit stance.

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Despite the area’s three Labour MPs supporting the remain campaign, the vote was a 64 to 36 per cent split in favour of Brexit. And the disconnect between the result and the support of the incumbent MPs will be something the Labour Party will attempt to reconcile ahead of the vote on June 8.

Mr Ryding has previously said his party had seen a surge in membership since the referendum and he is working to appeal to a younger audience.

Residents are becoming disillusioned with the Labour run council, he said.

He added: “I am hoping to see Ukip make significant gains, we are out everyday speaking to the residents, holding table events, cleaning up fly-tipping sites and much more. We are showing the people why they should vote for us. People should vote UKIP because we are the party of the working class, UKIP Wigan have done more for this town in the past couple of months than Labour has in years.

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“We are speaking to the people and listening to what they have to say and so far it has been extremely positive. People are becoming disillusioned with the Labour party as they only work for themselves, not the people and that is why UKIP do not whip its councillors or MPs.

“Labour have had their time in Wigan and they have wasted it, it is now time to have a UKIP MP who will put the people first.”