The Guardian Series has asked each parliamentary candidate to list five reasons why they should become an MP at the General Election on May 7.

Here UKIP’s candidate for Leyton and Wanstead, Rosie Beattie, explains why you should vote for her.

1. The General Election is a clear choice between the establishment parties who all want to stay in the EU, and UKIP. We have all heard the false promises about ‘renegotiation’ on important issues such as open door immigration when this is quite clearly one of the issues on which the EU will not renegotiate. We are the only party that will give an in/out referendum on EU membership. UKIP will give the people a clear and unambiguous choice. From the enormous pressure on housing, schools, hospitals and employment to the wattage of our light bulbs and hairdryers– UKIP will ensure the British parliament takes the decisions on what affects Britons. Not unelected Eurocrats.

2. We spend tens of millions of pounds every year giving free healthcare to those who are not entitled to it, nor who have paid into the NHS. This is at the expense of the British population for whom certain life saving cancer drugs are now only available on a postcode lottery and hospitals such as Whipps Cross, now in special measures with resources pushed to the limit. UKIP will ensure that all UK visitors, until they have paid National Insurance for 5 years, have valid private health insurance. This will save us £2bn, £200m of which will be used to end the appalling tax on illness – hospital car parking charges.

 

East London and West Essex Guardian Series:

Rosie Beattie is hoping she can win votes in Leyton and Wanstead

3. UKIP supports aspiration, ambition and small businesses. Under the EU yoke, small businesses have to cope with the same raft of regulation as large multinationals. Whilst a large company can easily afford a whole department to deal with this, SMEs cannot. One size does not fit all. UKIP will review all legislation and regulations from the EU and remove those which hamper British prosperity and competetiveness. We export 10% of our GDP to Europe, 10% elsewhere and use 80% domestically. Why then is 100% of our economy controlled by EU regulations? It is the tail wagging the dog, which is ridiculous. Let British trade and industry decide what is best for British businesses, whatever size.

4. Leyton & Wanstead has many areas of natural beauty and greenery, well loved and well used by the local population. The population of London is forecast to grow by another 3m by 2050 to 11m and the question is where this increase will be housed, and how will our infrastructure cope? Not only transport, schools & GP capacity, but also our water supply. Already 15,000 houses have been proposed for the Woodford/Wanstead corridor. UKIP advocates direct democracy where local people take the decisions on large scale developments. As your MP, I would ensure the voice of the local people is heard.

5. Local police stations have closed down and residents complain of lack of visible beat policing. UKIP promises there will be no cuts to front line policing. We believe the rights of the victim to be more important than the rights and comforts of the criminal. UKIP will double prison places and will also end the scandal of bargaining, early releases and weak sentencing. UKIP will scrap the misconceived Human Rights Act which will make Britain safer by removing obstacles that prevent the deportation of hate preachers, terror suspects and criminals to countries where they are wanted for trial. As your MP, I will fight to make Leyton & Wanstead a safer place for residents and businesses.