A pub owner says he hopes to deliver change when people in Lichfield and Burntwood go to the polls on May 7.
John Rackham will stand as the UKIP parliamentary candidate for the constituency.
The 69-year-old, who is the owner of the Kings Head pub on Bird Street, believes that Conservative and Labour dominance of Westminster is over.
He has owned the city pub for the past 10 years and lived in Lichfield for 25 years. He insists he wants to be a politician who listens and acts on his constituents’ concerns.
UKIP’s candidate added that the party’s priority in Lichfield is to scrap the £50 billion HS2 rail link, which Mr Rackham claims is “unnecessary”.
He said: “I am standing for UKIP in Lichfield, because Britain’s politics needs change and a breath of fresh air.
“UKIP are offering that and they’re changing things in their own way by the fact that the other parties are waking up to the idea that they have got to get up and do something.
“UKIP’s main concern locally is HS2, because that is going to blight quite a bit of the area, and we think that it’s unnecessary and that there are better ways of spending money than just on one rail track.
“Running pubs is about the people, and politics is the same, because it’s the British people who matter. Our people want their parliamentary representatives to act in their best interests.”
A referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union is something Mr Rackham believes is inevitable if UKIP holds the balance of power after May’s election.
UKIP claims leaving the European Union will save Britain £10 billion annually.
Although the party has proved controversial in some quarters, Mr Rackham insists a vote for them “will be good for everyone” and he has urged the people of Lichfield to examine all party manifestos “carefully”.
He said: “People need to have a look at what’s on offer – and think about what has been happening over the past five years, and if they aren’t happy and they want change and some fresh air put into British politics – they need to start voting for UKIP.
“The more seats we get, the bigger the voice in parliament we’ll have.
“We’re saying as a party that we would want to leave the European Union and save £10 billon annually, and we would be asking for an in-out referendum on Britain’s EU membership from whoever is the largest party in Westminster.”
UKIP’s parliamentary candidate for Lichfield admitted he faces an uphill battle to overcome Lichfield Conservative MP Michael Fabricant’s 17,683 majority.
But Mr Rackham believes he’s more than capable of giving the Tory favourite a run for his money when the votes are counted and the result is revealed.
He said: “The bookies have got some prices out and in Lichfield constituency the Tories are 100-1 on, and UKIP are 16-1. I said that I was going to put money on UKIP at least coming in second.
“Michael Fabricant won with a massive majority in 2010, the Lib Dems were second, Labour were third and we finished last.”
In the run up to the general election, Mr Rackham will take part in two debates with students at South Staffordshire College’s Lichfield and Tamworth campuses on Monday April 20.
The first debate will be held at South Staffordshire College’s Tamworth campus at 10am, with the second at the Lichfield campus at 1.15pm.
Mr Rackham has urged young people in the city to seize these opportunities by making their voices heard.
Only 44 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in May 2010, and the UKIP hopeful believes it’s important now more than ever that young people take an interest in politics.
He said: “Young people have started to engage much more in politics and in my opinion they need to engage more in politics. These debates are an opportunity for them to hear all sides of the story.”
The candidates standing in the parliamentary election in Lichfield are:
- Andy Bennetts – Class War
- Michael Fabricant – Conservatives
- Robert Pass – Green Party
- John Rackham – UKIP
- Paul Ray – Lib Dem
- Chris Worsey – Labour
