Ukip leadership election: Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge launches bid to replace Nigel Farage
West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge, whose constituency includes Shropshire, today launched a bid to become Nigel Farage's successor as Ukip leader.
Mr Etheridge spoke of his hopes of bringing Britain together by being 'the party for everyone' and making the West Midlands proud.
Speaking at the launch at a pub in Sedgley, Mr Etheridge said he wanted a reduction in 'sin taxes' on alcohol and cigarettes and to implement a firmer take on crime.
He said: "I want us to represent the view of the people against the establishment.
"I want changes and I think people are unhappy with how lenient we are with crime and by seeing lots of money go away in taxes and then questioning where it has gone.
"We need to get in there as outsiders and look at how the country is being run and question everything."
He continued: "I'm not going to be the next Nigel Farage but I do want to be the first Bill Etheridge.
"It is time to move on and get a different approach. I want us to be more considered and understand the will of the people as the party for everyone."
His decision to stand for leader follows deputy leader Paul Nuttall's decision not to put himself forward earlier this week.
And the party's Shrewsbury-based former deputy chairman Suzanne Evans, who is currently suspended by the party, has blasted new rules that any potential successor to Nigel Farage must have been a party member for at least five years, ruling her out, among others.
