General Election

Licensee hopes to do well for UKIP

By Emily Sutherland

- Last updated on GMT

John Rackham is standing for UKIP in Lichfield
John Rackham is standing for UKIP in Lichfield

Related tags Alcoholic beverage

A Lichfield licensee is hoping for a good showing in tomorrow's election as a UK Independence Party candidate.

John Rackham, leaseholder at the Kings Head in Staffordshire, who has been in the trade since the 1970s, decided to stand as a UKIP candidate to “shake up local politics”.

Rackham said: “I was a lifelong Tory but felt UKIP were stirring things up. Politics needed a breath of fresh air.

“The party has really opened up the election and now the other parties are getting twitchy and starting to pick up our policies.”

Although contending with a massive Tory majority of 17,683 in the last election, pollsters have put UKIP as coming in a strong second in Lichfield – which would be a big improvement on fifth place in 2010. Locals have proved supportive so far, with Rackham reporting that the majority of his customers have responded well to hustings and meetings.

Rackham also said the pub trade had been unfairly criticised for the growing burden that alcohol problems are causing the NHS.

“It always bothers me that people come back to pubs when talking about alcohol problems,” he said. “Pubs in general are the most controlled environment to drink in. It’s the supermarkets that offer cheap booze. People can buy a litre of vodka there cheaper than I can buy it wholesale. Forget minimum pricing, supermarkets should have to pay a social tax.”

The last MP for Lichfield was Conservative Michael Fabricant — a former regular at Rackham’s pub.

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