Bill's Biography

I was born in Wolverhampton in 1970 

My family was of the aspirational working class. My father worked all day and studied at night to improve his career prospects while my mother continued working part time after my birth.

My grandparents were hard working people who never claimed a penny in benefits or spent time out of work until they retired. My Grandad Etheridge was mentioned in dispatches and commended by Field Marshall Montgomery for his bravery fighting the Nazis in Europe, including hand to hand fighting in an around Brussels. 

I went to an inner-city comprehensive school in Wolverhampton and then studied at Wolverhampton Polytechnic before entering a career in the Steel Stockholding industry. 

My career in industry included everything from working on the shop floor to being a Managing Director. Twenty years in the Steel Stockholding trade gave me real life experience of business and industry across the UK and parts of Europe.

I originally started in Politics as a campaign executive working for the Tories. During that time I met two of my great inspirations Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit. I also had the far less pleasurable experience of meeting both David Cameron and Boris Johnson. 

I joined UKIP in 2011. During my years with the party I have had serious involvement in every part of the process from walking the streets leafletting and eventually running a branch all the way through to becoming an MEP and a Metropolitan Borough Councillor. 

My electoral experience as a candidate includes five local council elections, Two Westminster elections, a Police & Crime Commissioner election and a European Parliament election. I have also campaigned on behalf of others in numerous elections across the country. 

My speaking experience includes participating in debates at local council level, European parliament and at the United Nations.

Media experience includes being interviewed by the likes of Andrew Neill and Piers Morgan as well as many other national and regional TV, Radio and newspaper interviews. I also participated in several televised debates during the Brexit campaign 

My media experience also includes being on the other side of the microphone having had the dubious honour of interviewing Sir Keir Starmer for local radio. 

In recent years I have set up a charity to help those in need with their physical and mental health as well as becoming a published author.

Bill's Principles:

"Only Government by what the people want"

Westminster politicians are notoriously out of touch 

They mostly live in a privileged bubble far away from the concerns of the people they claim to represent. 

For years they have sought to understand the people by using focus groups or even worse by relying on cliched views of what people from different demographics want. 

One of the most disenfranchised and misunderstood sections of the population is what used to be loosely classified as the Working class. Westminster politicians seem convinced that the people they consider as an uneducated rabble are there to be instructed in the error of their ways whilst being cared for by an ever-growing welfare state. 

This approach is so far from the truth as to be purely fantasy. The lack of understanding of what the vast majority of the public who fit into this broad category believe in or want was superbly demonstrated by the Brexit vote. The establishment felt sure that if they lectured and threatened the people enough, they would see the error of their ways and they were genuinely astonished when the people stood up and demanded change. 

I come from the demographic that broadly covers the working class. I remember how delighted my grandparents were when they could buy their council houses. The staunch values of hard work and standing on your own two feet were embedded in me as a youngster. The workers of this country do not want handouts they want opportunities. Opportunities to improve the lot of their families through their own efforts and opportunities to have their voices heard 

The establishment parties slavishly follow the edicts of organisations like the World Economic Forum regardless of the views or aspirations of the people. They recklessly continue to drive millions into poverty with their obsession with Nett Zero targets at the same time as condemning anyone who stands up against them as being dangerously divisive. 

It may seem like the die is cast and we are living through the inevitable and managed decline of the western world with our own beautiful and historic nation changing before our eyes whilst we watch on powerless. 

I believe that there is still hope. We stunned the establishment with Brexit and we can shock them again if we unite behind a purpose and a glorious mission. That mission is to argue for freedom and to stand by our traditional values. 

The opportunity to be the movement that argues for more personal freedom and direct democracy is a golden one for UKIP. There is presently no credible or serious opposition to the establishment parties and the gap for a serious, passionate and sincere movement for freedom is gaping like never before. 

Love is the most powerful of all emotions. If we unite and campaign motivated by love of freedom and of our wonderful nation, we will be successful. 

In this UKIP internal election campaign, we have the opportunity to set aside hate and negativity and replace it with love and positive energy.

We, the people can stop the establishment juggernaut sweeping us into poverty and virtual serfdom. We did it before and we can do it again. 

I truly hope you will choose to honour me with the opportunity to lead our party on this wonderful new mission. 

Let us change the course of history yet again and give our nation and its people true independence.