Former Tory councillor selected as Brexit Party election candidate in Arundel and South Downs

Robert Wheal lost his Arundel and Walberton seat at May’s Arun District Council elections.

He has since joined the Brexit Party and has been chosen as its prospective parliamentary candidate for Arundel and South Downs, where Tory Nick Herbert is currently the MP.

Mr Wheal, who has lived in Arundel for the past decade, is the second former Tory Arun councillor to be unveiled as a Brexit Party candidate, with Trevor Bence standing in Chichester.

He said: “It is imperative that the UK leaves the EU on the mandate the UK people gave Parliament in the June 2016 referendum, when the majority voted to leave.

“Democracy has been betrayed and I want to defend it in Westminster with the Brexit Party. Labour and the Tories no longer represent the people in our constituency or country.”

He also wants to see reform of the House of Lords, the BBC licence fee, the civil service and deal effectively with electoral fraud and postal voting.

He added: “We must ensure the UK leaves all EU legal controls, has a controlled immigration policy and the ability to trade freely globally, to the benefit of British jobs and businesses in the UK and our area.

“I firmly believe the people of our constituency deserve transparent representation which they have not received from successive governments for decades.”