THE Liberal Democrat candidate aiming to be the next MP for Dudley North has been revealed.

Ian Flynn has been announced as the party's parliamentary candidate to take on sitting independent MP Ian Austin when the next election is announced.

The revival of Dudley town centre and attracting investment to the area are priorities high on his agenda.

He explained: "I became active in local politics because I wanted to do what I could to help our local community improve and thrive. But since then I’ve watched the national political scene polarize between left and right.

“At the moment the Liberal Democrats are the only good choice for the ordinary families, who are just getting by.”

He added: “We’ve been led down the road by far too many public school boys who don’t come from areas like ours, with a major manufacturing industry that has so much at stake if Brexit goes ahead.

“I want to make sure that more support is given to Dudley High Street – lets level the playing field with digital retailers by repurposing our town centres. We need to reinvigorate our town and protect our local community.”

Mr Flynn was born in the West Midlands and has since moved back to the Black Country with his wife and children after living in Scotland and the Far East.

He credits his experience of living elsewhere for revealing how the Black Country lags behind other areas of the country in investment.

He said: “When I returned to the Midlands, I was disappointed to see that my community had fallen even further behind London and the South East in terms of incomes and investment.

“I’m proud to be from the West Midlands, and I’m lucky to be here in the Black Country. Let’s work together to create a better, fairer today and tomorrow."

The date of the next election is not yet known, after MPs twice blocked Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempt to call a snap election.