'No magic wand' - Sedgley prospective councillor hits out at former boss at campaign launch
A former UKIP MEP from Sedgley who worked closely with Nigel Farage has said the Reform leader doesn't have a magic wand to solve the country's problems.
Bill Etheridge will stand in the ward where he lives May in the local elections for Dudley as a member of the Conservative party once more where he said "Policies not rhetoric" would win the votes.
The Conservatives will attempt to take overall control of Dudley Council once more along with Mr Etheridge, who was a member of UKIP between 2011-18 and a member of the executive committee.
He announced in September last year he would be returning as a candidate for the Conservatives in Sedgley, where he served as a councillor for UKIP for four years.
On Thursday he addressed in Dudley a gathering of councillors, party supporters former Conservative MP Suzanne Webb and Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley, who himself said he was 'confident of success in May'.
Mr Etheridge said: "As far as I know and I worked very closely with Nigel in UKIP he doesn't have a magic wand and has never had a genie who can change everything.
"He has been washed along on a cult of supporters who think they are going to stop immigration and solve the problems of the country.
"For the people who shout 'Vote Reform' ask them why you should and they haven't got an answer. And in Dudley, unless the boats they are trying to stop are coming up the canal then it doesn't have much relevance to us.
"A campaign has to be policy based and I believe the Conservatives have those policies and the experience that will served Dudley well as they have done and that will see the party regain overall control in May,
"I wouldn't have re-joined if I didn't think so and have done a lot of campaigning on the door step which tells me we have the support locally which is massively important.
"Reform have one policy and would struggle if they did take control of the country because that is only a small part of the problems they would face. "
Leading the meeting, councillor Harley said he was confident of success in May and cited the Conservatives record in cracking down on anti social behaviour, particularly amongst the properties the council rents out.
He also said only hotel in the borough had been used by Serco to provide asylum accommodation which was 'one to many' but that at least it housed families and not young single males which was where the problems were.
The meeting also heard from Mark Littlewood, the founder of PopCon, an ally of former prime minster Liz Truss whose group represents popular Conservatism and is independent of the main party but closely associated with the right wing of it.
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