A CONTROVERSIAL councillor has been selected as the Conservative candidate in the race to become the next MP in Bolton South East.

Bradshaw councillor Mudasir Dean will stand against incumbent Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi on May 7 — when voters go to the polls at the general election.

The 43-year-old hit the headlines last year when he came forward as one of two Bolton councillors who was summonsed to court for failing to pay their council tax on time.

He was questioned by police investigating whether he broke a law with regard to voting on the council tax, but was never charged.

The other Labour councillor is a Labour member and has yet to be revealed.

When asked whether he thought it was acceptable to run as an MP given his problems last year, the Bradshaw councillor said: “I think it is absolutely reasonable.

“Since the incident last year when the story broke, I have had so many message from Bolton residents, many saying how they had been through financial difficulties and how it has affected their households.

“People understand, and there are very few people in Bolton that haven’t experienced financial difficulties themselves.

“It means I understand the issues faced by residents and can represent them positively if I was elected.”

Cllr Dean also appeared on the front page of The Bolton News with his bid to see every school in the borough fly the Union flag and sing the national anthem in morning assembly — a story which made headlines across the country.

The father-of-four said if elected he wanted to spread his message of patriotism nationally.

He said: “Increasing patriotism and pride in our town and heritage would be the forefront of my campaign, and something I would like to roll out at a national level.

“I’m absolutely delighted that the local party has selected me for Bolton South East and the person who will deliver the Conservative message.

“I’m hoping to highlight some of the positive differences that the Conservative party has made to the people of Bolton South East, and between now and May see as many people as possible to try and get to vote Conservative and listen to their views.”

Cllr Dean will stand again Yasmin Qureshi MP for Labour, Jeff Armstrong for UKIP, Alan Johnson for the Green Party and Darren Reynolds for the Liberal Democrats.

You can read The Bolton News profiles with each of the candidates from Monday, March 16.