Kris Hicks – UKIP List Candidate for the European Parliament elections 2019

Below is our candidate Q&A – we have approached all parties asking them to circulate our questions to candidates – you can see more replies and details on the election on Wrexham.com/european-elections-2019/ ! All answers are from the candidates and are unedited.

Q1 Are you able to tell us a little about who you are, and what skills you can bring to the MEP role?

Born in Bridgend, Wales on the 25th August 1987. I have lived most of my life in Wales, but have also lived and worked in Slovakia and Germany.

I hold a BA and MSc (Econ) in Politics from Aberystwyth University and joined UKIP in 2011. I have mostly worked in the private sector where I rose to become Head of Marketing at a company in Swansea. I am married to Nikita.

I was appointed Head of Press and Communications for the UKIP Group in the National Assembly for Wales in May 2017, and then Head of Press and Communications for the UK Independence Party in July 2018.

I will be the voice of Welsh Brexiteers in the European Parliament through effective communication in the struggle to get Wales out of the European Union. I believe that Nathan Gill has failed to achieve prominence and this election is a referendum on Mr Gill’s time in the European Parliament.

Q2 How did you vote in the EU membership referendum in 2016, and what are your thoughts on how the outcome of that vote has progressed?

I voted to leave. The treatment of the will of the people by the establishment is a gross display of arrogance. The UK should have left the EU on March 29, yet here we are, chained inside the EU and facing another European Parliamentary election.

Q3 If elected what do you see your role as MEP entailing?

The primary role of any Brexiteer MEP is to make it loud and clear in the European Parliament that the British people voted to leave, and it is disgraceful that we continue to remain.

Q4 You are standing for the ‘Wales region’, how have you engaged with constituents to ensure you understand their issues to then represent them?

So far I have travelled through South Wales and I will head up to Mid and North Wales soon, meeting regular people in the streets and chatting about the important issues in an informal setting. I see the instruction of June 23rd, 2016 as the ultimate message, and I represent that will.

Q5 What would be your personal priority if elected?

It’s not about what Wales gets out of the European Union – it’s about getting Wales out of the European Union. These elections should not be taking place – we should have left by now. The debate was held in 2016 and Wales chose to leave – that instruction has not been carried out and I will strain every sinew to deliver it at the earliest opportunity.

Q6 Wrexham / Deeside are in the north east of Wales, what are the key issues relevant to your possible position as MEP, and what will you do about them?

The people of Wrexham and Deeside, like the majority of Welsh people, voted to leave the European Union. This is the will which has not been respected and I will fight for the delivery of their will on their behalf.

Q7 You are standing to be part of something Wales on the whole, and Wrexham and Deeside also voted to leave, were the majority of those who voted wrong?

The people were right to vote to leave. They voted to return the United Kingdom to the status of a truly independent, democratic nation-state. They voted against continued association with the European Project which is heading in the direction of a federalised state.

Q8 Turnout is notoriously low in EU elections anyway, why should people vote in these elections?

The people should vote to send a clear message that they want to leave and to punish the political establishment for their failure to carry out the will of the 17.4 million people who voted to leave. You told them once, now tell them again – vote UKIP on May 23 and make Brexit happen!