Sir I was not surprised by the recent decision by a handful of UKIP activist to campaign opposite the popular Polish Deli in St John’s.

By accident or by design it highlighted their tactic of using of the oldest and cruellest political trick available; making you afraid of something and telling you who to blame for it; the politics of divide and rule.

We do have serious problems in Britain, lack of housing, cuts to social security, cuts to heath, low pay, under investment and many other issues. These are serious problems that need serious answers, they require clear ideas and new vision; they demand resolution through hope not hate. It is a fallacy to blame all these problems on immigration, but such allegations are easy to do.

You ask hard working families who remember with longing an easier time when things were better and hope was plentiful and you point to foreigners and blame them for all the problems in society. It has been done before and will be done again; but it is false, the evidence does not support such claims.

Recently we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. The wall trapped people in their own countries it stopped people from both leaving and entering by using armed guards, concrete and barbed wire. UKIP is arguing for a new wall to be erected, reducing freedom and once again entrapping people.

The UKIP politics of extremes and of hatred must be exposed for what they truly are, a con trick seeking to find blame for political advantage and not providing the true solutions and answers to the problem of Britain.

Richard Udall

County Councillor St John’s.