I WOULD like to address recent letters, and articles published in your paper from Alan Preest and his UKIP party attacking the good people of  the Forest of Dean Labour and as a nation as a whole.

The spread of the UKIP party in the Forest has increasingly alarmed me  over recent years.

The increasing support of UKIP in the Forest does have dangerous implications to our society.

The whole basis of UKIP's manifesto is the outright racist immigration rhetoric. In my opinion support for  UKIP was the beginning of a slippery slope for voters. UKIP are xenophobic, ultra-nationalistic and they act, in my view, as a recruiting ground for people who may later on veer even further to the right.

My view is that the deregulation of the labour markets and rampant and exploitative employers, are the ones who drive down wages, not immigrants, and as such are to blame for what is deemed the immigration problem.

I also get particularly upset when I hear that immigrants are creating too much pressure on the welfare state. Without immigrants, Britain would not have an NHS.

Both issues that are manipulated by UKIP and key manifesto points falsely bandied about by UKIP and in a way the can only be described as scaremongering and hate filled.

Alan Preest, a man who uses the moniker of  'the man of the people' only represents a certain percentage of the people.

If you are white, male and a businessman, yes, Alan supports you and represents you. But, if you do not tick any of those boxes then I'm afraid you are on your own.

UKIP's stance of immigration and benefits are clear, if you are female then UKIP wants to take all rights off you.

If you are gay, bi or transgender  then as one local UKIP representative in the Forest once said 'exercise can cure you'.

If you are an immigrant or on benefits then Alan is no friend of yours. So if you have Roman, Saxon, Viking or Norman ancestry then surely you would not meet UKIP's criteria either?

How can a man who styles himself as a man of the people represent the people of the Forest if he is so divisive, would like to split our communities or expel the good people of the Forest, all of which we know and love?

I am a Forester first, and what I love about the Forest is the vibrant life of our community of which immigration and the colourful characters it brings  is securely sewn into the very fabric.

A clear and positive effect of immigration can been seen every day on our high streets. Just remember that Alan when your tucking into your Friday night takeaway.

Let Alan Preest, continue to post his hate-filled immigration scaremongering, let him try to divide and destroy our local communities. He will not succeed. The Forest people are better than that, and deserve better. The Forest is one community which I love. Say no to his hate in the future.

– Andrew Knight, Cinderford