A FORMER Labour Party parliamentary candidate for North Herefordshire says he will be voting for the Liberal Democrats in the upcoming general election.

Roger Page, who stood for election in 2017, received 9,495 votes finishing second to Conservative Party candidate Bill Wiggin on 31,097.

But the current mayor of Bromyard says he could no longer remain in the party led by Jeremy Corbyn and his top unelected advisors.

“After 53 years I decided to leave the Labour Party and am now Independent, quite simply because the party has moved so far to the left and is no longer a home for social democrats like me,” he said.

“I have great respect for many Labour candidates including Anna Coda in the Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency and that makes me sad that I can no longer vote Labour.

“We moderates in British politics are faced with an extreme right wing Tory party backed by Farage and the Brexit Party and an extreme left Labour leadership.

“Neither should be given a majority and must be moderated by moderate centre left MPs with the Lib Dems at least becoming the third largest group in the House of Commons.

“I know people will remind me that Nick Clegg and company went into coalition with the Conservatives in 2010, but they learned a lesson and are a different party now.”

The country heads to the polls on December 12.