There has been at least one letter in the Swindon Advertiser recently blaming immigration for the problems in the NHS and suggesting UKIP’s policy of restricted immigration will save the essential service we all rely on.

I hope, therefore, that everyone is aware of the comments made to an American audience by Matthew Richardson, UKIP’s secretary, and reported in the Independent on January 25.

He described the NHS as “the Reichstag bunker of socialism” and the “biggest waste of money in the UK”.

If people want to vote for UKIP then I respect their democratic right, but it’s vital that they are fully aware of the party’s true views on a wide range of issues before they decide where to put their cross on May 7.

No matter how Nigel Farage tries to spin it, a vote for UKIP is a vote for the dismantling and sale of the NHS.

As an aside, there have been accusations of bullying in some letters recently.

I would suggest that questioning the provenance and veracity of a stated ‘fact’ is far from bullying and is actually a vital aspect of healthy debate.

If letter writers are personally upset by having their views robustly analysed then they should not be sending them to the local newspaper for print.

Neil Mercer Maidstone Road, Swindon