UKIP pick Neil Hamilton to fight Newport West by-election

UKIP's Welsh Leader Neil Hamilton is the latest candidate to be picked to fight the Newport West parliamentary by-election. His party sees the contest as a chance to revive its fortunes, as it will be held just days after Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29. MPs could decide next week to ask the EU to delay Brexit if they reject both the Prime Minister's deal and the idea of a 'no deal' Brexit.

Some UKIP members in Newport West are understood to be unhappy at Neil Hamilton's selection. They feel that he has been imposed on them by the central party when they wanted a local candidate.

Mr Hamilton joins a growing list of candidates for the by-election caused by the death of the long-serving Labour MP Paul Flynn:

• Jonathan Clark -Plaid Cymru

• June Davies -Renew Party

• Matthew Evans -Conservative

• Neil Hamilton -UKIP

• Ruth Jones -Labour

• Richard Suchorzewski -Abolish the Welsh Assembly

• Amelia Womack -Green Party

The Liberal Democrats say they'll have a candidate in place by the end of this week. But Nigel Farage has said his new Brexit party won't be standing. The newly formed independent group of MPs has also ruled out fielding a candidate. The by-election will be held on April 4.