We asked Braintree's Ukip hopeful Richard Bingley six questions, but only gave him 50 words to answer. These are the results:

1. What do think about the current Government-set house building targets in Braintree? If you don’t agree with them, how will you fight them?

They don’t make any sense. Moreover, local Conservative Councillors have let down residents by feebly accepting the potential destruction of our countryside. There are 700,000 empty homes already in the UK. Moreover, we should sensibly develop Brownfield. I’ll use the platform of being your MP to provide sensible, sustainable, alternatives.

2. Apart from the NHS, what should be the government’s number one spending priority?

Homeland security. There are 410 less police officers in Essex since David Cameron came to office. Our Army has been cut by 12,000 by Messrs Cameron and Clegg. Prison and parole services need urgent investment. Elected politicians need to invest in national resilience and security; not take it for granted.

3. What personally sets you apart from the other candidates?

To be fair, I don’t really know the others, and can only take responsibility for my UKIP team and myself. Sorry!

4. Name a pledge you will fulfil, if elected, within 100 days.

I will hold a constituency surgery in each of the thirty or so towns and villages of this constituency. Being an elected MP is about serving the constituent, not disappearing down to Westminster and serving a particular Party Headquarters. I’ll have a constituency office in the heart of our community.

5. What do you think is the biggest challenge Braintree will face over the next five years (house building aside)?

Our biggest local issue is our biggest national issue…National Debt. Under Labour it was £1trillion. Now, thanks to increased EU fees, uncontrolled immigration, and overseas ‘aid’ spending, national debt has risen to £1.485tn. That’s £22,000 in extra taxes for each Braintree resident and sky-high business rates for years to come.

6. Is there a policy or piece of legislation YOU would personally propose if elected which is not in your party’s manifesto?

Yes. I feel that all public bodies should not shy away from supporting the values of a fair, free and compassionate, democratic civil society. I would like to see the first Ten Articles of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights exhibited in every publicly-funded body in the UK.

Oh, and if you don't mind...ten quick questions:

1. If I could give the younger me one piece of advice… it would be from Ghandi: ‘Live as if you were going to die tomorrow and learn as if you were going to live forever.’

2. The first record I bought was… it was some sort of Chaka Khan remix in the mid-1980s. It was awful.

3. My most embarrassing moment was… falling through a bus shelter window when there was no glazing in the frame. It was in front of my first girlfriend. I was 15.

4. The special talent I wish I had is… Playing the piano.

5. My guilty pleasure is… being an eighties child, anything by Rick Astley!

6. My proudest moment was… seeing my students graduate.

7. What scares me is… on a societal level, the idea that personal responsibility no longer exists, permeates everywhere and is totally frightening.

8. If I had one day left to fulfil my bucket list I would…turn off all mobile communications devices and spend the day with people I love the most 9. If I was stuck on a desert island (and my family were at home) I would be there with…Bear Grylls… he would increase my chances of survival!

10. My most read book is… Robert (Bob) McNamara’s: ‘In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam’.