THIS pair of knackered shoes, mutilated beyond belief, illustrates the true price some of our parliamentary hopefuls are paying for this mother of all snap elections.

Step forward (geddit?) Worcester Conservative Robin Walker, who has already completely finished off a set of his finest footwear on the campaign trail.

"I need stronger, stabler shoes," he tells us.

* UKIP's deputy treasurer Peter Jewell seems to have a problem even bigger than Brexit - he just can't stop standing in elections.

After trying to become West Mercia's police and crime commissioner he stood for Redditch at the 2015 General Election, before duly being re-selected to stand again in the same seat on June 8.

He then pulled out of the Redditch contest, telling yours truly that upon reflection he had "no intention to stand again in a key seat", especially at the tender age of 68.

Lo and behold, he's surprisingly been unveiled as UKIP's new parliamentary candidate in the London seat of Richmond, 120-odd miles from his Worcestershire home.

That's one funny itch!

* THIS area's MEP's are already suffering sleepless nights about what on earth they will do with their careers post-Brexit, and who can blame them.

That includes Labour's Neena Gill, who tried to become the party's parliamentary candidate for June 8 in the Birmingham seat of Edgbaston, but ended up losing the race to a councillor in nearby Sandwell.

* MIND you for all of Worcestershire's Euro-MPs life post-2019 may not be quite as bad as some of them are fearing.

Under Brussels rules, after Brexit all of them will qualify for a 'transitional allowance' lump-sum payment to allow them to adjust to their new lives, starting at £41,000.

* COUNCLLOR Jabba Riaz has been elected as the new deputy Mayor of Worcester, leaving him in pole position to take the chains in 12 months' time, but it could have been different.

Labour Cllr George Squires was originally being lined up to get the nomination on Tuesday, only for the sands to shift in rather curious fashion.