Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray has been selected as a Liberal Democrat candidate n the seat of Cynon Valley.
Party leader Jo Swinson insisted that Bray - who is famous for appearing in the background of TV broadcasts outside parliament brandishing anti-EU withdrawal placards and bellowing ‘Stop Brexit’ from a megaphone - would not be seen as a joke candidate.
The south Wales seat has been held by Labour for more than 30 years but its longstanding MP, Ann Clwyd, has retired and is not standing again.
Bray, 50, is a former rare coins dealer from Port Talbot, south Wales.
Swinson said: “Our candidates are chosen by local and national parties, so the constituency will have chosen Steve as a candidate.
“He is a Liberal Democrat member and he is a passionate campaigner.
“He has been well-known within the Remain cause more widely and I am sure he will bring that energy to the campaign here in Wales.”
Bray has long been the scourge of broadcasters who park themselves on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament, frequently putting reporters off their stride with his loud, relentless ‘Stop Brexit’ refrain.
He said his plans to swap his “blue EU hat for a yellow one” come as a result of Swinson’s pledge to stop Brexit.
In previous elections he said he had voted for Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and once for the Conservatives and he admitted he faced a challenge to take the seat from Labour.
He said: “Its a Labour stronghold. I hope to boost the (Lib Dem) vote in the area.
“As much as I hate to say it, another referendum would just leave divisions.
“If that’s what it takes, so be it, but I would rather they put a stop to it at parliament and they revoke Article 50.”