General Election: Conservative Paul Uppal says he has unfinished business in Wolverhampton South West

Launching his re-election campaign with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Mr Uppal told the Express & Star he had ‘regrets’ from his previous spell as Wolverhampton South West MP but that he feels that he can deliver a ‘big win’ for the city.

He cited ‘difficulties’ with working with the Labour-led city council as one of his disappointments during his last term but maintained that Wolverhampton needed a Conservative MP to ‘beat the drum’ in Government.

He said: “Wolverhampton needs a Conservative MP to stop the cosy consensus of a Labour controlled council and having three Labour MPs.

“If elected I will beat the drum for all of Wolverhampton at the heart of Government. I do have some regrets looking back at my time as MP.

“I really tried to work with the local authority and we did work well on things like the jobs club or lobbying JLR but sometimes we could have done better working together and done a lot more.

“I tried to work with them but as a Conservative MP trying to work with a Labour council I sometimes felt that I was coming up against a brick wall and I found that exhausting.

“This time I am older, wiser, and more long-term in my views in how to get things done rather than any short-term fix.”

The 49-year-old lost by 801 votes to Rob Marris in 2015 – the man he had ousted five years earlier by just 691 votes.

Despite losing the seat, he received more votes than he did in 2010 and increased his share to 41.2 per cent.

He says he was persuaded to stand again by his wife Kashmir, and their three children Cameron, 20, Anisha, 18, and Zara,10, as well as many former constituents who have contacted him since the snap election on June 8 was called.

“It was painful,” he said, referring to his election defeat.

“I said on the night it had been an honour and a privilege was very thankful to the constituents of Wolverhampton South West for putting their trust in me.

“Time is a healer and there were times when I didn’t do everything right.

“My aim now is to do something really positive. Wolverhampton needs a big win and I feel I am the man to deliver that – the city deserves it.” Wolverhampton South West is one of the Conservatives’ top target seats.

Mr Marris is not seeking re-election so Mr Uppal will come up against trade unionist and nurse Eleanor Smith for Labour.