UKIP selects Jewish candidate for Euro poll

A former Hackney Councillor has been selected by UKIP as a candidate for next year’s European elections.

Shneur Odze, who now lives in Manchester, will stand in May’s poll as a candidate for the north west region. The list will now go forward to the party’s national membership to select the order they should stand in their regions.

Odze – who could be the first Jewish MEP since David Sumberg who served as an MEP for a decade until 2009 – said: “I am humbled to have been ranked so high and will be reaching out to as many members as I can in the next few weeks. I am confident of achieving a very realistic position.”

Calling for support from members of the Jewish community, he added: “Most issues such as religious slaughter, circumcision and school entry, are decided in the European parliament, it’s imperative we have someone there fighting our corner.”