BORDER control, as is present in most countries outside the EU, is not racist.

Choosing whether those convicted of serious crimes in their EU countries are free to enter the UK as at present under EU directive is sensible and desirable. I have doors on my house for the same reason.

UKIP are not xenophobic – we have friends across Europe fighting the EU – and what is more UKIP want immigration equality for people such as Africans, Indians and Chinese currently discriminated against in the EU's racist immigration policy. These people make up over half the world's population.

UKIP's policies include those of the left and right, but are chosen based on common sense rather than constrained by dinosaur left/right wing ideology.

UKIP do not blame immigrants – we have a huge number of immigrant supporters, including myself, of various ethnicities and skin hues.

Recent immigrants who wish to make a long-term commitment to the UK are among those hardest hit by the EU policies that encourage the elites of poorer EU countries to come to the UK temporarily and exploit the currency differential to amass riches in their own country.

Who could blame them? – if working in France paid £3,000 per week I would work there short term to pay off my own mortgage.

UKIP are neither anti-immigrant or even anti-immigration, we would love to be able to give Indian doctors or Maori engineers an equal footing with the predominantly white skinned EU master race but we cannot thanks to the EU.

Similarly we are prevented from creating our own trade agreements with the world, since we are handcuffed to the corpse of this 1950s solution to a 1930s problem.

Look into UKIP yourselves and don't believe the EU smear campaign (funded by us).

The EU's policies are anti-UK wildlife – they prevent us from considering badger vaccination, responding swiftly to outbreaks of new animal and tree diseases, encourages UK farmers to cut down trees, and have introduced the ongoing future flooding of Somerset and the destruction of its flora and fauna.

EU green taxes have played a part in thousands of UK pensioners in fuel poverty dying every winter.

UKIP are not against the badger cull, not pro hunting, not in favour of removing maternity pay, sickness and holiday pay, not anti-NHS (look up TTIP - EU's anti-NHS policy) – these are all EU lies that I have seen bandied around even today.

It is the EU that is entirely contrary to Forest traditions and the Forest way of life – the only party standing up to them is UKIP.

I used to believe this anti-UKIP nonsense before investigating UKIP in an effort to fight racism, and before being prompted by the Rotherham scandal (Labour council took foster children from loving foster parents because they were UKIP members).

I am ashamed that I initially condemned UKIP unfairly, out of hand, as I see so many people locally continue to do.

Yes, UKIP has racists and oddballs like all the other parties, but it also has the least racist policies and seems to me to be the only party working for the good of those who wish to commit to the UK, rather than for the good of Germany, big business or the millionaire politicians of the EU in-crowd.

Please research with an open mind. If you still hate UKIP – fine.

– Karl Greenfield, Coleford.