AN 80-year-old two-time general election candidate is bidding to secure UKIP's first seat on Warrington Borough Council.

James Ashington will battle the Lymm South borough council by-election against Tory Stephen Taylor, Labour's Trish Cockayne, Liberal Democrat Anna Fradgley and the Green Party's Michael Wass.

The election, which was called following the death of Conservative councillor Sheila Woodyatt, takes place next Thursday, April 19.

Lymm resident Mr Ashington, a former management consultant, is not shy of election experience, having stood in Warrington South and Warrington North in the 2010 and 2017 general elections.

And, at 24 years of age, he became the youngest borough councillor in Gravesend.

The dad-of-four left the Conservatives to join UKIP seven years ago after becoming 'disaffected' with the party due to it stalling on holding an EU referendum.

Two of the key issues that he is campaigning on are Brexit and affordable housing.

He said: "I think politics is just bloated, unmanageable, ineffective and totally out of sync with the population.

"I think Mrs May is going to backslide and we will get BINO – Brexit In Name Only – and that is what I'm worried about and is why I'm standing.

"Some might say this is a local election but Brexit impinges on everything, everything is national now, power has moved to the centre.

"I am confident there is a positive future ahead.

"Our exports to the EU are going down rapidly and there is a big wide world out there and we need to key into it – we can't tie ourselves to a diminishing economy.

"I am also very keen on affordable housing.

"It is just not happening, the foul political establishment is not building affordable housing.

"But I do think there is a lot of over-development and want to cut that down.

"I want to protect the green belt very much but there is no way we can do it unless we tap into the brownfield sites that are all over Warrington."

Mr Ashington, who describes himself as a 'centrist right-winger', admits he 'would love' former leader Nigel Farage to return to the party.

He said: "I think there is a 50/50 chance he will come back, whether it will be for UKIP or a new party I'm not sure.

"I hope, if he does come back, it is for UKIP, as he has a lot of sympathisers and we all think he is wonderful.

"I see the future for UKIP as coming back as a really radical party, not for the right or left, but a radical centre party that can actually get things done – building houses, getting immigration sorted out and getting our fishing industry back."

And Mr Ashington called on the nation's politicians to take a leaf out of United States President Donald Trump's book.

He said: "He is trying to put the economy of the States first, which I think is admirable.

"I only wish our politicians were the same."

But, with tensions among leaders across the globe mounting, the 80-year-old raised concerns over the Government's defence budget.

He added: "The most important thing about any politics is defence.

"God knows what is happening with Kim Jong-un in North Korea. He is very unstable.

"If he suddenly decides to launch a load of attacks what can we do about it, are we prepared?"