
A gay businessman, a former professional opera singer, an ex 'lads' mag' editor and a TV doctor are among the latest European election candidates announced by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party today.

The six, including two ex-Tory Party members, a candidate who grew up in Nigeria and an NHS dentist and self-described socialist, will all be standing in Scotland, Wales, the Midlands and the North - the Labour heartlands party leader Mr Farage has vowed to target.

Martin Daubney, now a regular TV pundit but the former editor of 1990s 'lads' mag' Loaded, said that as the son of a Nottinghamshire coal miner, he believed the current Westminster politicians were 'clueless' about the 'real world' of ordinary people's lives and 'don't know what a day's work is'.

He told a Manchester press conference: 'I have never voted for Nigel. I have never voted for UKIP. I am not a Farage disciple. But Brexit has become my politics'.

The West Midlands Brexit Party candidate added: 'Why don't we replace these people? Why don't we kick them out? Do you believe in democracy, or do you want to deny it?'

New candidate Louis Stedman Bryce, 44, said democracy was being 'betrayed' and as a gay black man he was 'tired' of the way Brexit voters were portrayed.

Mr Stedman Bryce said: 'The perception is we are white, homophobic, racists, and don't know what we voted for. So I stand before you today as a gay black man. And I definitely know what I was voting for. I voted for Brexit.'

New candidate Louis Stedman Bryce, 44, said as a gay black man he said he was 'tired' of the way Brexit voters were portrayed as racists or homophobic while Lucy Harris, a former opera singer turned Brexit campaigner, is also standing.

Martin Daubney, now a regular TV pundit but the former editor of 1990s 'lads' mag' Loaded, is standing

Nigel Farage with Aileen Kelly, 74, share a laugh at the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton as he enjoys a pint while campaigning in the town

Lucy Harris, a former opera singer turned Brexit campaigner, is also standing.

Last year she hit the headlines after she claimed a commuter called her 'thick and racist' for wearing a bag supporting leaving the EU.

Lucy Harris posted a withering Twitter response to a passenger who 'verbally abused' her on a Northern Line tube because she was holding a bag with the slogan 'The EU is not my bag'.

Ms Harris, a Brexiteer and founder of the pro-Brexit group Leavers of London, accompanied her post with a picture of the man, who denied her claims and described in the incident as 'friendly chat'.

James Wells, who is standing in Wales, told a press conference in Manchester that as a civil servant banned from political involvement, he resigned from his job as head of UK trade at the Office for National Statistics only on Tuesday.

He left work for the last time on Tuesday at 4pm and was now embarking on a campaign to become an MEP.

'It's been a bit of a whirlwind,' he said, but he could no longer go on 'shouting at the TV' as he believed 'democratic values' were being 'trampled over'.

TV doctor Dr David Bull, Nigerian-born lawyer Elizabeth Babade and top dentist Dr Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen were also unveiled.

North West England candidate Mrs Babade, who was born in London before her family moved back to Nigeria , is a lawyer who lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband and their four children.

She said: 'A lot of people would wonder why someone from an ethnic minority like myself would be standing for the Brexit Party.

'After all, one of our most vocal elected representatives recently called Brexiteers, Nazis.

'Well the answer is simple. I believe in democracy.'

She said that growing up in Nigeria she saw first-hand how a democratic election was defied by a military dictatorship and the 'negative legacy' it left behind.

She added: 'Having seen at first hand what the alternative looks like, for me democracy is non-negotiable.'

The final candidate announced was European immigrant Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, 59, a Danish national, who has lived in the UK for more than 20 years with his British wife and children.

He is an NHS dentist, senior trade union official and a socialist, who lives in London and is standing in the North West of England as a candidate.

Mr Overgaard-Nielsen said he was involved in the campaign in Denmark in 1992 to reject the Maastricht Treaty, which he said was then rejected by politicians in that country.

He said: 'What's happening in the UK now, happened in Denmark in 1992.

'The establishment did not like the answer people gave them, so they told us to vote again.

'What happened in Denmark is that democracy was overturned, voters ignored and the decision of the people cast aside.

'The Brexit Party is the way we can stop history repeating itself.'

Voters will go to the polls, if the European elections are held, on May 23.

Mr Farage was not at today's event in Manchester.

James Wells resigned from his job as head of UK trade at the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday so he can stand and was unveiled with Nigerian-born lawyer Elizabeth Babade and top dentist Dr Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen were also unveiled

Mr Farage is expected to give the Tories a bloody nose in the European elections - and Theresa May is scrambling to get her Brexit deal through to avoid going to the polls

Nigel Farage took his Brexit Party juggernaut to the seaside yesterday - but still stopped for a pint in the sunshine in Britain's 'most patriotic and Eurosceptic town'.

Bolstered by the defection of Ann Widdecombe from the Tories, Mr Farage walkabout tour of Clacton-on-Sea, where UKIP gained its first elected MP in 2014 when he was leader.

Mr Farage's Brexit Party double decker bus arrived on the Essex coast, and while wearing sunglasses he addressed people from the top deck with a megaphone.

Farage's new friends - who is in the new Brexit Party? Hardcore Brexiteers and disgusted ex-Tories are among the Brexit Party's first core group of candidates for the European elections in May unveiled by Nigel Farage. The 40-year-old married mother of one is a former Tory parliamentary candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg The younger sister of Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg was unveiled as the Brexit Party's star candidate. The 40-year-old married mother of one last appeared on the political stage in 2010 as the Tory candidate in Somerton and Froome, losing the Somerset seat to the Lib Dems by less than 2,000 votes. Ahead of the poll it was claimed David Cameron asked her to shorten her name to Nancy Mogg - but she refused and later claimed 'I think it's phoney to pretend to be someone you're not'. Annunziata married former soldier Matthew Glanville in 2010 and they have a daughter, Isadora. Last year Richard Tice applied to be Mayor of London in 2020 for the Tories, before leaving in disgust Richard Tice The founder of Leave Means Leave and Leave.EU is a former Tory who applied last year to be the Tory candidate for Mayor of London in 2020. He has since quit the Conservatives in disgust at the mess that is Brexit. He was unveiled as party chairman, saying: 'We cannot, we must not, and we will not allow this complete and utter shambles in Westminster to continue'. Mr Habib sitting between Nigel Farage and Annunziata Rees-Mogg Ben Habib According to the Brexit party he is 'CEO of First Property Group Plc, an award winning commercial property fund manager with operations in the United Kingdom and Central Europe' He has a similar background to the Dulwich College-educated Brexit party leader, in that he attended private school before working in the City. He attended Rugby School and Cambridge University before joining Shearson Lehman Brothers to work in corporate finance. He later set up First property Group, which is based in and claims to control assets worth £730million including properties in Poland and Romania. June Mummery is a member of Fishing for Leave and is from Lowestoft in Suffolk June Mummery A member of Fishing for Leave and the managing director of fish market auctioneers BFP Eastern in Lowestoft, in Suffolk. Billed as a 'veteran Brexiteer' who 'has spent years fighting for the rights of British fisherman by finally taking back controls of our waters'. Last year she told the Eastern Daily Press that some people in the East Anglia fishing port 'call me Boadicea' - after the British queen who led a doomed uprising against Roman rule almost 2,000 years ago. Alka Sehgal Cuthbert is a Cambridge-educated former secondary school teacher Alka Sehgal Cuthbert Billed by the party as 'a researcher, author, academic and educator' who is a part-time English teacher and 'educational consultant'. She boasts a PhD from Cambridge and worked as a secondary school teacher for almost two decades. She has also written for publications including the Independent and Spiked. James Glancy was a Captain in the elite British Royal Marines and Special Boat Service James Glancy James Glancy was a Captain in the elite British Royal Marines and Special Boat Service, serving in three combat tours of Afghanistan. In 2012, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) for leadership and bravery on the frontline. He is now a Director of a conservation charity, Veterans 4 Wildlife, where he focuses on the preservation of African wildlife and combating the global trade in shark fins. James is currently a host on Discovery Channel's Shark Week and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He says Brexit has made Britain an international laughing stock. Claire Fox Former Communist Party member Claire Fox admits she doesn't agree with too much Mr Farage says - but they agree on democracy Former Communist Party member Claire Fox is the director of the Academy of Ideas, which she established to create a public space where ideas can be contested without constraint. She is a panelist on BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze and is frequently invited to comment on developments in culture, education, media and free speech issues on TV and radio programmes in the UK such as Newsnight and Any Questions? She said: 'Don't get me wrong, I'm from the left. If you sat Nigel and I down, I am not going to agree with them on any range of questions. But the question now is whether we are going to let democracy be overturned'. Christina Johnson Christina came to the UK from Malaysia in 1985 Christina is a former NHS nurse turned community leader. She came to the UK from Malaysia in 1985 after starting her career as a secretary at Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. She completed her Registered General Nurse training at Winchester General Hospital and went on to work as a staff nurse. Now she lives in Salisbury after a long career in nursing. She said: 'I love this country. I want to stand up for the 17.4 million'. Lance Forman Smoked salmon mogul Lance Forman Mr Forman is owner of luxury food company H.Forman and Son, famed for its smoked salomn. Before taking over the family business, Lance Forman started out as President of the Cambridge Union. He qualified as a chartered accountant at PWC before running his salmon business out of east London. Matthew Patten Charity boss and cricket lover Matt Patten Matthew is an experienced business and charity director. He has global board and CEO experience in social impact, sports, commerce, social mobility, governance, campaigning, fundraising and business development knowledge. He has been Chief Executive of the Lord’s Taverners, Chief Executive at M&C Saatchi Sponsorship and Director of Communications for Clubs for Young People, working with over 400,000 disadvantaged young people. Advertisement

Speaking at the event to announce three new European election candidates for the east of England, he described Clacton as 'the most patriotic and the most Eurosceptic town in the whole of this country' and said Brexit 'isn't about left or right. It's about right or wrong.'

And he also stopped off in Wetherspoon's where he posed for photos with a pint, and then spoke to a crowd of hundreds gathered for a rally at the pier.

The Brexiteer then toured the town's high street surrounded by a large group of minders, journalists and placard-carrying supporters.

He said that the launch of the Brexit Party had been the 'most incredible, phenomenal success'.

'This campaign, this great battle upon which we're embarked isn't just now about Brexit,' he said.

'It's about whether we are a democratic country and whether we have trust that exists between our leaders and ordinary people.'

He was cheered by hundreds who gathered to hear his speech, with crowds lining the promenade.

The three Brexit Party candidates announced to stand in the European elections on May 23 include Michael Heaver, a former press adviser for Mr Farage who writes for pro-Brexit political news website Westmonster.

June Mummery, who runs a fish auctioneers in Lowestoft, Suffolk, is joining him alongside Matthew Patten, a former Conservative councillor for Tendring District Council.

Douglas Carswell became Ukip's first elected MP in 2014 when he defected from the Conservatives and stood for Ukip in a by-election in the Clacton constituency.

He became an independent MP in early 2017, and the seat has been held by Conservative Giles Watling since June 2017.

Aileen Kelly, 74, who spoke to Mr Farage in the beer garden of Wetherspoon's, said: 'He's a lovely man, he just tells it as it is, that's what I like about him.'

She said of the Brexit Party: 'Oh I support all of that, definitely, yes, definitely for me, all for me, yes.'

Tory stalwart Ann Widdecombe hopes to give 'cloth ear' MPs a bloody nose after she sensationally defected to Nigel Farage's Brexit Party today and said her new leader should be on a pedestal with Margaret Thatcher.

The former minister, who was a Tory member for 55 years and appeared on Strictly in 2010, has put retirement on hold because she believes Theresa May and Parliament have betrayed the 17.4million who voted to leave the EU.

Paying tribute to the former UKIP leader's political record she said: 'Nigel Farage has been more successful than any politician other than Margaret Thatcher in my lifetime in getting his agenda through, and he's done this from outside Westminster'.

She has pledged to 'campaign vigorously' for the Brexit Party in the upcoming European elections in May and will stand against Boris Johnson's sister Rachel and Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata in the South West.

She told Good Morning Britain: 'I'm on a mission. We need to send a seismic shock to both parties that the electorate have had enough. Just get it done. The cloth ears in Parliament are not hearing us. If we win an overwhelming majority this will send a shock wave and MPs will have to listen. This is not a protest vote, far from it. It is a means of trying to galvanise Westminster into getting this issue dealt with'.

The 71-year-old has joined Mr Farage's new party to try to get Britain out of the EU - and hopes that more big names will defect from the Tories and Labour.

She said: 'I do hope that more people will follow me, from both parties. When I was 21 I first voted for the Conservative party and I'm 71 now and have done nothing else in between. Leaving has been a total shock for me but I'm sure this is right'.

Miss Widdecombe, who was a prisons minister under John Major, has said Theresa May is the worst Prime Minister since Anthony Eden and in a message for the Tory leader she said: 'Ask yourself what you have been doing for the last three years other than losing our majority, giving into Juncker at every turn, instead of simply turning round to Juncker and saying to him, in a language he can understand, 'Nous allons, monsieur.' - French for 'we go'.

Asked if she blames Theresa May for the crisis, she said: 'Oh yes, I think things could have been handled completely differently. It is not just her, Jeremy Corbyn has been playing a very cynical game. In these circumstances, the national good must come first. We are talking now about a prolonged process which is damaging britain and damaging our reputation abroad'.

Miss Widdecombe had been rumoured to be considering leaving the party after she campaigned hard for Brexit and was appalled by the failure to deliver on the Article 50 commitment to leave on March 29.

She said: 'There are millions of people who voted to leave. We have a majority in the country who demanded Brexit and a majority in Parliament who want to remain and will not respect that'.

She continued: 'There is now a huge disillusionment amongst the population with its Parliament'.

Asked about the border in Northern ireland and the threat Brexit poses to the Good Friday Agreement, she said: 'The EU has borders with non-EU countries, it's got a border with Switzerland… it hasn't resulted in the sort of pictures that people are painting with what's going to happen in Northern Ireland. There is already a border there, a legally-recognised border, the question is going to be how it's going to be policed in terms of customs and immigration and there are lots of proposals for that that do not involve a return to the situation that we used to have. It's being used as a red herring in order to disrupt the Brexit process.'

The announcement that Ms Widdecombe will contest the South West region sets up the mouth-watering prospect of the election's most fearsome war of words, between several of its most high-profile and uncompromising candidates.

Among those standing for Labour is Lord Andrew Adonis, the former adviser to the Blair government whose daily barrages of anti-Brexit tweets have led him to be dubbed a 'caveman' by Jacob Rees-Mogg and a 'twisted weasel' by Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage said recently his new Brexit Party would be using the Labour's peer's own words against him on the stump after Lord Adonis said 'If you're a Brexiteer, I hope you won't vote for the Labour Party.'

Miss Widdecombe told the Daily Express: 'In early May I shall do what I have always done since I first got the vote fifty years ago, and put my cross by the Conservative candidate in the local elections - but a couple of weeks later on May 23 I shall do what I have never done and cast my vote for a different party.

'Nay, I am going further than that: I am standing for the Brexit Party in order that I may campaign vigorously and convince my fellow voters that this time it is imperative to fire a very loud warning shot across the bows of the parties they normally support.

Theresa May's Tories are in crisis over her failure to steer Britain out of the EU with the party ten points down in the polls. Conservative MEP David Campbell Bannerman said today the party 'will get a kicking' on May 23 and lose half of their 18 MEPs.

Labour has also lost ground, according to the BMG poll, down three points, with the Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Independent Group and Brexit Party are all closely matched at approaching 10 per cent.

Three in five Tory members are set to vote for Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in next month's European elections, a shock poll has found.

In an indication of the size of the grassroots rebellion against Theresa May's Brexit delay, a poll has found less than a quarter of Tory members are planning on voting Conservative.

The survey on the Conservative Home website found 62 per cent would be casting their vote for Nigel Farage's new party.

It comes days after it emerged that Tory county councillors in Derbyshire were effectively going on strike by refusing to campaign for the European polls.

They said they would not take part in the elections because they 'should not be happening' – as the UK should have left the EU at the end of March. The open rebellion comes amid growing anger at Mrs May's decision to delay Brexit until the end of October, and over her negotiations with Labour's Jeremy Corbyn.

A poll in the Mail on Sunday found that 40 per cent of Tory councillors plan to back Mr Farage's party on May 23.

And another survey for Conservative Home suggested party members were even more likely to defect than its activists.

The poll found just 23 per cent of Tory members will vote Conservative next month, compared with 62 per cent who will cast their vote for the Brexit Party.

Four per cent say they will not vote at all and five per cent have not made up their mind. Another four per cent say they will vote for Change UK, the independent group which supports a second referendum, while less than one per cent will vote for UKIP.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith warned that fighting the European Parliament elections would be a 'nightmare' for Tories and would 'resurrect the beast' of a popular anti-EU party taking their votes.

Mr Duncan Smith said it would be 'a good idea' for Mrs May to set a specific date for her departure, but said this was a matter for the Prime Minister and the backbench 1922 Committee to decide.

He said it was 'difficult to see' the current round of talks with Labour succeeding, telling the BBC: 'It's really a mess, and I don't see how Downing Street in the course of this week is going to be able to produce a solution which unites Parliament.

'Certainly they risk losing a very large swathe of their party - not just those who voted against the (Withdrawal) Agreement, but (those who would) walk away on the basis of adherence to the customs union.'

Ann Widdecombe has left the Tories after she campaigned hard for Brexit and was appalled by the failure to deliver on the Article 50 commitment to leave on March 29