IT is interesting to hear Councillor Richardson assure people that UKIP isn't a racist party.

Has he already forgotten the Brexit campaign, and Nigel Farage's attempt to blame refugees for the UK's problems (the "Breaking Point" poster of Farage in front of a long queue of Syrian refugees, bearing a striking similarity to a nazi propaganda image)?

Has Councillor Richardson forgotten the last time Nigel Farage visited Bolton, when he was greeted enthusiastically by a group who had spent an hour in the rain chanting racist abuse and threatening anti-Farage protestors?

If Councillor Richardson doesn't know who the racists were in the public gallery at last Wednesday's council meeting, he will surely know they and others who share their views will vote UKIP next time — unless we can persuade them to identify the real enemy: the super rich who accumulate wealth at the expense of everyone else. Unity is strength, and UKIP only sows division amongst working class people.

Tom Hanley

Bolton TUC