UKIP’s candidate for Finchley and Golders Green says he is confident he can win the seat.

Richard King, 54, has been selected by the Eurosceptic party to take on Conservative Mike Freer in this year’s general election.

Mr King, a project manager in the city who lives in Ilford with his family, said he got involved in the party because he is “fed up" with the status quo.

Despite living in a different part of London, he said he knew the constituency “reasonably well”, as he had friends in Finchley.

He said: “The big issues are to do with local services being attacked, like the library service, which we are against. There are also huge parking problems, and problems with energy prices. Particularly, we have massive overdevelopment going on, and rising crime, despite what the Government says. Our NHS is also on the point of collapse.”

The political hopeful added that a lot of these issues stemmed from “a massive increase in population”, which put pressure on public services.

He added: “Unless we leave the EU, we cannot control any of these things. We are the only party prepared to say we will leave. Whether you vote Tory or Labour, it makes no difference. It’s a bit like rearranging the chairs on the Titanic, while the whole ship is sinking under the weight of the EU.”

Mr King said he had been getting a good response from people on the doorstep.

“We firmly think we can win here. Everyone I speak to is very positive about UKIP, even though they may not say so publicly. They are sick of the main parties. They have bankrupted our country and they will do so again.

“Finchley is a particularly good seat for us. The two main parties are busy fighting against each other, but we hope to come right through the middle and take it from them. We certainly think we are in with a shout.”

Other candidates who will contest the seat include Sarah Sackman for Labour, and Adele Ward for the Green Party.