UKIP has appointed Malcolm Bint as the new chairman of the party’s East Hampshire branch.

Malcolm, who lives in Petersfield, was elected at the branch’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, January 18.

He succeeds David Alexander, a Horndean parish councillor, who has chaired the branch for the past five years.

Mr Bint joined UKIP in 2013, has been a member of the branch committee, stood for Parliament in the 2015 General Election and was a key player in the successful EU Referendum Leave campaign in East Hampshire.

“It is a great privilege to have been asked to lead UKIP in East Hampshire in the post-Referendum phase of the party’s continuing development,” he said. “We are one of the strongest UKIP branches in the South, with a strong cadre of activists and very healthy finances which we can deploy at will. Expect to hear more, much more, from UKIP in East Hampshire as we continue to present common-sense solutions for local and national issues.”