Why I should be mayor: Paul Turner

My name is Paul Turner and I am the UK Independence Party mayoral candidate for Bristol.

I grew up and went to school in Hartcliffe. I currently live in Hotwells and work as a self-employed telecommunications consultant to small businesses.

I will be a mayor with a vision of a Bristol where no one sleeps on the streets, the Bristol of equal opportunities in education, healthcare, work prospects and social mobility. A Bristol where business thrives and jobs are created now and in the future.

I will look to build modular prefab pod style temporary accommodation quickly and cost effectively to provide safe practical accommodation for those who are homeless.

At the same time we must free up brownfield sites for more permanent accommodation to be constructed so we can start moving those on the housing list into affordable homes.

I will look to introduce a mayor’s charter to cover the property to let market to ensure standards of accommodation are kept to an acceptable level.

I will review both the 20mph blanket speed limit and the RPZ’s. With full consultation with residents, local businesses and neighbourhood partnerships with a view to making alterations or even removing if requested by sufficient numbers of local residents.

Far too much emphasis and public money has been spent on schemes with minimal impact and the very real issues of road safety have largely been ignored.

I will look at accident hotspots across the city and the circumstances of accidents so we are better placed to prevent accidents from happening in the first place, we should be striving for no injuries not settling for less severe ones.

There is no easy answer to the city’s congestion problems. The existing road network does not allow traffic to flow easily, to improve the situation I will look at better coordination of roadworks, a reduction in the number of traffic lights and to positively encourage car sharing by offering benefits such as free parking for the day if you drive into the centre of Bristol with two or more passengers.

The opportunity to obtain a quality education should be available to all students across the city.

I will work with all the schools across Bristol to ensure every student has equal opportunity and therefore able to fulfill their full potential.

All we hear about these days are cuts, cuts and more cuts. Where the young, vulnerable, terminally ill and elderly are concerned we should be increasing the level of spending not decreasing.

It is a sad reflection on the current administration that funding can be found for dozens of the most senior members of staff to receive high pay increases, for tens of thousands of pounds to be found each year to be spent on vanity projects, and that tens of millions of pounds are available to build a new arena, yet the funds are not available to provide homes for the homeless, to keep much-needed local centres open that do not just offer help to individuals but to their families and the local community as a whole many of these units save lives.

As mayor I will make it a top priority to change this immoral and improper practice.

The mayor, councillors and employees of Bristol City Council are guardians of public money. If elected I will act with prudence and common sense when it comes to your taxes, no vanity gimmicks, no cronyism no jobs for the boys.

Transparency should mean that you the taxpayer have the right to see where every pound of your taxes has been spent and to have the right to question how and why it has been spent.

For a mayor that listens, a mayor that cares about the whole of the city and all that live and work here, and a mayor that will bring practical solutions to the very real issues that face this city, vote for me, Paul Turner, on May 5.

Paul Turner is the Ukip candidate for Bristol mayor.

Read more: Interviews, videos and opinion pieces with all the candidates

Bristol24/7 is hosting a mayoral hustings featuring all candidates at The Lantern at 7pm on Thursday, April 28. Entrance is first come first served. For more information, visit www.colstonhall.org/shows/mayoral-hustings/