HE IS an outspoken character, known for his controversial opinions, and the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) certainly wasn’t shy in sharing them with Basingstoke residents.

Nigel Farage was the guest speaker at a public meeting in Carnival Hall organised by the newly-formed Basingstoke UKIP branch, where he discussed his party’s policies and took questions from the audience of about 200 people.

The UKIP branch in Basingstoke only formed last year, and members are hoping to make an impact in the town at this year’s local elections.

Mr Farage, who is also a member of the European Parliament for South East England, spoke of his policies against the UK being part of the European Union, and criticised the move by Chancellor George Osborne to give another £10billion to save the Euro.

He said the figure takes the UK’s total contribution to the International Monetary Fund up to £40billion, which is the equivalent of £1,538 for every British household.

Mr Farage claimed the Euro is “destined to be a disaster” adding: “It will not work and it can’t work.”

He also spoke of the Eurozone crisis in Greece and Spain, and added: “Our message as a party to (David) Cameron and (George) Osborne is we don’t believe that any more taxpayers’ money should be used to fund a project that is causing such misery.”

The topic then turned to immigration, with Mr Farage pointing out that because the UK is part of the European Union, it cannot have its own immigration policy.

He added: “If I was growing up in Poland, I would want to come to this country. But we have a problem ourselves with young people trying to find jobs. Isn’t it mad that we have a total open door when our own young people can’t get jobs? The time has come to put our own people first. We need total control of our borders and to do that we must be outside the EU.”

The UKIP leader told his audience that, in his view, people who do not speak English must not be allowed into the country, and that immigrants should not be encouraged to live segregated within their own communities.

Mr Farage said he was “proud of the huge headway” UKIP has made in the last few months, with a recent YouGov poll placing the party above the Liberal Democrats in popularity.

He said: “People don’t just vote for us as a protest vote. They vote because we are offering radical but sensible policy alternatives.” He added: “I’m not doing this for rank or position. I’m doing it because I want to win back our liberties and freedoms.”