Steve Thompson continues to write numerous letters to the Swindon Advertiser setting out what he claims to be the policies of UKIP. This is a strange situation, given Mr Thompson’s position in Swindon’s Green Party. Whilst he is happy to misrepresent the policies of others, when asked for his own policies to address the issues in this town, the silence is deafening. Swindon residents expect their representatives to listen and then act on the real issues that are affecting us on a daily basis.

Ironically, given Mr Thompson’s claims about UKIP’s stance towards working people, it is the patronising indifference shown by his and other parties which have left so many people feeling unrepresented and ignored. As chairman of Swindon UKIP I need to set the record straight and explain our actual policies.

Let me be clear that we do not want to get rid of the NHS or remove workers’ rights and we are certainly not the enemy of working people. The allegations made are the precise opposite of the truth. The working people who have approached me have major concerns about the increases in their cost of living and the pressures on their wages.

We need to address wage compression by introducing fair and appropriate controls on immigration. We need to address high home energy bills by immediately abolishing the so-called ‘green’ taxes and generating power more economically. We need to reduce food bills by leaving the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and reclaiming control over our indigenous food industry. We strongly believe that the lives of working people in this country can be significantly improved. We are the party that wants to take real action and it is UKIP that is moving the debate onto the real issues that affect working people.

John Short Chairman, Swindon UKIP