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The great grandson of one of the co-founders of the Labour Party will stand for Parliament in next year’s General Election as Ukip’s candidate for Alyn and Deeside.

Blair Smillie, from Higher Kinnerton, revealed to The Chronicle that he will not follow in great grandfather Robert Smillie’s footsteps and will instead stand for Ukip.

However, the 61-year-old says his famous ancestor would back his decision.

Mr Smillie, who owns Living Floors in Bumpers Lane in Chester, which opened in 1997 and employs 14 people, says he was inspired to get into politics after learning about his great grandfather’s history and his dedication to the working class, especially the miners.

Robert Smillie was a founding member of the Independent Labour Party in 1893 and one year later became president of the Scottish Miners Federation, fighting for better conditions for miners and workers.

Mr Smillie joined the Labour Party himself about three years ago, but defected to Ukip after seeing Ed Miliband speak in Liverpool.

“I did work very close with the Alyn and Deeside branch of Labour but when I looked at the party I realised there was too much political correctness and I just knew I would never progress in the party.

“I remember listening to Ed Miliband speak in Liverpool and I just couldn’t believe that he never condemned Tony Blair who had made £60m in his career and he failed to say it was wrong.

“Labour are just the same as the Conservatives, there is nobody there I admire.”

He says following on from Miliband’s speech he listened to a speech by Nigel Farage which resulted in him attending a Ukip meeting.

Mr Smillie says his great grandfather would have supported his decision to defect to Ukip.

He said: “If he was here now he would tell me if you want to get into politics, do it, go in for the right reason, to represent people and do what you think is right.”

The Parliamentary candidate says one of his biggest aims if elected is to bring back coal mining to the UK in a bid to create jobs.

He said: “If we brought it (coal mining) back we could employ thousands of people and have fuel security rather than importing it from Russia and I believe Ukip are open to this happening.”

Mr Smillie also blamed Labour’s support of staying in the EU as a reason for his departure from the party, saying the Government plough millions into it yet have no authority to make decisions.

If elected Mr Smillie has pledged to attempt to bring more businesses to Alyn and Deeside, creating more jobs in Flintshire, in a bid to decrease the county’s reliance on foodbanks.

He said: “I want to help people, people who make a lot of money should reinvest in society, put it back into society and don’t throw it abroad. We need to bring back making shoes, making clothes, building ships in this country to provide jobs.

“People need work. It sickens me when there are self service bank machines and supermarket tills which are replacing people. I want to make sure in Alyn and Deeside people don’t have to use foodbanks in the future.

“I want to bring business to Alyn and Deeside and Airbus is an amazing example of a large business doing well in the county and I want to make sure we have a strategy in place for apprenticeships.

“I want to motivate people to help build up the area, there are a lot of people who are depressed and young people just have no hope and I want to bring back pride to the area.

“My great grandfather started from nothing, he had barely no schooling and if he can make it than why can’t we all. I’m 61-years-old, I have nothing to lose.”