A former Labour parliamentary candidate has been adopted as a prospective candidate for UKIP.

Frank Ward, who had been a member of the Labour Party for forty five years, joined UKIP in October 2013 after the Labour party refused to re-elect him in 2006.

The retired chartered builder and chartered manager has now been adopted as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hertsmere to fight for UKIP at the general election on May 7, 2015.

He said: “The reason I agreed to stand was to give the people of Hertsmere the opportunity to express their judgement on the other parties and find an alternative.

“I’ve got enough fire in my belly for this.”

The current chairman of UKIP’s Hertsmere branch will call for a public meeting once other candidates have been announced for the seat, allowing the public to quiz candidates on policy issues close to their heart.

The Hertsmere seat has been represented by Conservative MP James Clappison since 1992, who announced he will be resigning from politics earlier this year.

Councillor Richard Butler has already been announced as the Labour party candidate for the seat and said he is looking forward to the election. 

It is currently unknown as yet who else will be standing as prospective candidates for the seat from other parties.