IT’S been a week of change for voters in the three constituencies covered by the Gazette this week, as candidates were selected and also withdrew from the race in response to national pacts made by their parties.

In Wiltshire, all four Brexit Party candidates have stood down after the party’s leader Nigel Farage decided not to field candidates in seats held by the Conservative Party.

This means Daniel Day-Robinson (Devizes), Dr Julia Reid (Chippenham), Leslie Willis (North Wiltshire) and Diana Chaloner (South West Wiltshire) will no longer contest the seats.

A national spokesman for UKIP said they would be publishing details of their candidates late on Wednesday evening or early this morning (Thursday), after the Gazette’s press deadline.

Meanwhile, Chippenham’s Green candidate, Margaret Green, has confirmed she has stepped aside in line with the party’s electoral pact with the Lib Dems last Thursday.

She said: “We were approached several weeks before to say the discussions were going ahead. I was then asked if I would be prepared to step aside.

“We then put a poll to some of our members to ask if they think it would be a good idea for us to accept the pact and of the 119 who voted only eight said no.

“Liberal Democrats have put a lot of pressure on our North Wiltshire candidate, Bonnie Jackson, to also step aside. We said we only would if Lib Dems stepped aside in Devizes, which they refused to do.

“So we have candidates in both North Wiltshire and Devizes and are planning to go all out to get as many votes as we can.

“It would have been nice if the Lib Dems have given us more ‘step asides’. It feels a bit unbalanced at the moment.

“I didn’t mind stepping aside as I was happy to back up my colleagues in Devizes and North Wiltshire.”

On Saturday an aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Devizes, after sitting MP Claire Perry chose not to stand, at a selection meeting at the Corn Exchange in Devizes which was attended by nearly 300 local Tories.

He has been political secretary to the Prime Minister since July and had previously worked as chief speechwriter to David Cameron.

Mr Kruger has said he is keen to boost local NHS services, support the police to tackle rural crime, ensure schools get their fair share of increased funding, push for greater infrastructure investment, enhance the rail and bus network and help businesses be more productive.

He is a supporter of the armed forces and wants to ensure the relocation of service families to wiltshire is a success.

Mr Kruger supports Mr Johnson in getting Brexit done as soon as possible.

He said: “I’m proud and excited to be selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Devizes and I’m looking forward to knocking on doors, meeting local people and addressing their concerns.

“Devizes is a great constituency with so much potential and, working with the strong team of Conservatives locally, I will do everything I can to lead everyone towards a brighter future.”

Stuart Wheeler, acting chairman of Devizes Constituency Conservative Association, said: “We had a high quality list of candidates to choose from and Danny stood out with his energy, drive and optimistic outlook.

“He is a tremendous campaigner with a very impressive track record and will be a strong voice in Parliament, standing up for Devizes and local residents.

“We look forward to working closely with Danny to return him as our next MP, supporting a Conservative agenda to deliver Brexit and take this country forward.”

In Wiltshire, all four Brexit Party candidates have stood down after the party’s leader Nigel Farage decided not to field candidates in seats held by the Conservative Party.

This means Daniel Day-Robinson (Devizes), Dr Julia Reid (Chippenham), Leslie Willis (North Wiltshire) and Diana Chaloner (South West Wiltshire) will no longer contest the seats.

A national spokesman for UKIP said they would be publishing details of their candidates later this evening (Wednesday, November 13) or early Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Chippenham’s Green candidate, Margaret Green, has confirmed she has stepped aside in line with the party’s electoral pact with the Lib Dems on Thursday.

She said: “We were approached several weeks before to say the discussions were going ahead. I was then asked if I would be prepared to step aside.

“We then put a poll to some of our members to ask if they think it would be a good idea for us to accept the pact and of the 119 who voted only eight said no.

“Liberal Democrats have put a lot of pressure on our North Wiltshire candidate, Bonnie Jackson, to also step aside. We said we only would if Lib Dems stepped aside in Devizes, which they refused to do.

“So we have candidates in both North Wiltshire and Devizes and are planning to go all out to get as many votes as we can.

“It would have been nice if the Lib Dems have given us more ‘step asides’. It feels a bit unbalanced at the moment.

“I didn’t mind stepping aside as I was happy to back up my colleagues in Devizes and North Wiltshire.”