FROM a standing start in 2021, Reform UK have grown to pose a genuine threat to the main political parties. I believe this is because we are aligned with the views of the British public.

Our values, such as individual freedom, equality before the law and the need for a government to defend its own borders seem like they were common sense until five minutes ago.

I believe that the SNP have grown complacent after 16 years in government and that, for too long in the UK Parliament, Labour and the Conservatives have been able to rely on the voting system to point to their only opposition and say: 'At least we’re not as bad as them!'

As a result, the major parties have become detached from the reality of ordinary people; whether in the case of the SNP and Labour being unable to answer the most simple questions such as ‘what is a woman?’ or the Conservatives tearing themselves apart in internal squabbles, resulting in four Prime Ministers in five years.

This election presents a rare opportunity to break the stranglehold of two-party politics in the UK and reset the relationship between politicians and the people for which they stand.

Reform UK have produced a bold and detailed contract with the people. Some highlights include:

  • Raising the personal tax threshold to £20,000;
  • Raising the VAT threshold to £150,000 and abolishing IR35;
  • On the NHS – retaining the principle of ‘free at the point of use’ but issuing vouchers to allow patients to use the private sector at no cost when target times are not met.

My pitch to Edinburgh East and Musselburgh voters is instead on the signature issue of our campaign. Immigration as an issue has been ranked consistently in the top five issues for voters for many years and was a major driver behind the decision to leave the EU.

Successive Conservative governments have betrayed the electorate on migration. Having been elected on promises to cut annual net migration on no fewer than four occasions, they have proven to be either unwilling or unable to address the issue, instead presiding over staggering rises.

Britain has been enriched by immigration from all corners of the globe but there must be sensible limits rather than the apparent free-for-all we have currently. Last year, net legal migration was 685,000. That’s more than the entire population of Edinburgh. Since 2010, net migration to the UK has exceeded the entire size of the population of Wales. While immigration is less of an issues in Scotland than in other parts of the UK, the knock-on effects impact all of us. Such a large increase in the population drives up prices and at the same time drives down wages, often at the expense of the lowest paid, while putting yet more strain on our overburdened public services.

Only Reform UK have a target of net-zero migration. If you share my view that a country without borders isn’t a country at all, I’d kindly ask you to vote Reform UK.

Derek Winton biography - I was born in Dundee, to a nurse and an RAF aircraft technician. I moved to Edinburgh in 1996 to study at the University of Edinburgh and, with a couple of short exceptions, have lived here ever since. I have lived in the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency for the last 14 years, first in Abbeyhill, then Leith and I recently moved to Musselburgh with my wife and dog, and we await the imminent arrival of our first child. The timing of Rishi’s snap election could therefore have been better from my perspective but I suspect he may now be feeling the same way. I joined Reform UK in 2021 in response to the UK and Scottish Governments' handling of the Covid pandemic and have been involved ever since.