AN INDEPENDENT Torfaen councillor has announced he will stand as the Brexit Party candidate for Torfaen in the next general election.

Cllr David Thomas, ward councillor for Llantarnam, resigned from the Torfaen Labour council group in March along following the authority's decision to raise council tax by nearly six per cent.

And now he has been announced as the Brexit Party’s candidate for the constituency when the next General Election is held.

Cllr Thomas said his main priorities would be to deliver the will of the people in Torfaen when it comes to Brexit, and focus on boosting investment in the north of the borough.

“I’ve been a big believer in Brexit for a long time, even when I was part of the Labour party,” he said. “Westminster and Labour and the Tories don’t represent the people in my area.

“When you are a public servant, these powers are given to you by the people and you have to represent those people.

“Our political elite have gone against that."

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He added, while he currently sits on the council as an Independent member, he will be declaring himself as a Brexit Party member.

“At this time, I’m still an independent councillor and a prospective Brexit Party parliamentary candidate,” he said. “I went to London for the interview for the Brexit Party very recently. I will be declaring myself as a Brexit Party councillor.”

Cllr Thomas said he wanted to develop the north of the borough - highlighting Blaenavon and Pontypool as areas which had been “neglected for decades”.

"The south of the borough is thriving, and the north will never get that way if we don’t invest in it.

“The people can see that everything goes to Cwmbran, but there needs to be a voice that pushes for these things in the north.

“It’s all well and good throwing money at these areas but those places will never thrive without the right infrastructure.

“We need to try and get Torfaen County Borough Council to look at the north and encourage businesses to come there.”