The UK Independence Party has selected Nick Lincoln, the Watford branch chairman, to run for the town’s Parliamentary seat next year.

The 45-year-old, who owns a finance business, was elected at a party hustings last night.

Following his selection Mr Lincoln said: “I am delighted that the Watford UKIP members have elected me to challenge to become the MP for Watford in 2015. This seat has changed hands several times in recent history and is currently a closely fought three-way marginal, but that is about to change.

“In the recent Mayoral election, starting from nowhere, we pushed the Conservatives into fourth place showing that in a town wide vote we have very strong support which will inevitably make life very difficult for Richard Harrington come the General Election.”

UKIP has stood in the town in last three General elections and never won more than 2.6 per cent of the vote.

However in the last few years the party has enjoyed a surge in the polls nationally that has seen it win around 15 per cent of the vote across Watford in the last two local elections.

Mr Lincoln said the party had been buoyed by its increased vote share in the town in recent years.

He added that the party now saw the chance of winning the Watford seat next year from Conservative Richard Harrington as “a real possibility”.

Mr Lincoln added: “Encouragingly, our results in the May council elections, where we took second place in five of the twelve wards, clearly demonstrated that we are also starting to drain support from the Lib Dems and Labour.

“More and more people from right across the political spectrum are supporting UKIP and, if the present growth continues, it is very likely that come May 2015 we will have turned Watford into the country’s first ever four-way marginal seat.

“I would love to be the first UKIP MP to represent Watford and the exciting part is that what seemed unimaginable five years ago is now a real possibility.”

Mr Lincoln will join Labour’s Matt Turmaine as a challenger to Mr Harrington, who won the seat with a 1,425 majority in 2010.

The Liberal Democrats, who came a close second in Watford in the last General Election, are still yet to select their candidate.