The Times Series has asked each parliamentary candidate to explain why they should become an MP at the General Election on May 7.

Here Independent candidate for Chipping Barnet, Mehdi Akhavan, explains why you should vote for him.

This is not the first time that I have been nominated as a candidate. Twice I was nominated in Iran as a member of parliament.

I came to London in 1977 and I was nominated twice in Camden as a councillor. I was elected twice as a member of the leaseholder forum in Camden and served eight years. I moved to Barnet and for five years I have had a shop in Friern Barnet.

During the period I have been a resident of Barnet, I have received three civic awards from three different mayors of Barnet for my outstanding contribution to the Barnet community. I was a candidate for the Coppetts Ward 2014 as a councillor and I gained ten votes more than the Liberal Democrat candidate.

I have many ideas for the improvement and betterment of the lives of the residents in my constituency. Five reasons that the residents of Chipping Barnet should vote for me are:

1. I am educated, have 60 years experience in business, proud to be British, and am an active member of the Barnet community. I have experience as a journalist, writer, poet, artist, film and theatre actor, theatre director, estate agent, and antique dealer.

2. If I am elected, I will put all my efforts to provide more homes for the homeless.

3. I will provide more training courses for the unemployed. I will propose that business courses be made available by the council, that unemployed people gain the knowledge to run their own businesses. I will propose to the council that commercial properties – shops, offices – be given to the people on social security and they can sign off and run their own businesses. If they do this, the council will not have to pay the rent for their houses as they are running their own businesses, they are self sufficient and can earn money.

4. I will propose ideas that people on housing benefit can get residential accommodation and not to suffer more as the private landlords refuse to offer them their vacant properties. The council to pay all their rent for those on housing benefit, direct to the landlord.

5. I will propose plans to have a cleaner Barnet.