I READ that the UK Independence Party reckon they are doing more "groundwork" during this election campaign than the Green Party.

What groundwork is this when they don't stand in local elections and have no councillors?

Perhaps a measure of how connected UKIP is to activity in York is that we saw precisely zero candidates in the last York local elections and their most recent letter in the EP came from Sheffield.

Why should people vote for UKIP, when all their MEPs do is to vote no to everything they're presented with? Does Yorkshire really need yet another Euro advocate of the World Trade Organisation, the special relationship with the USA and privatisation?

I bet £100 (a princely sum for me) that UKIP will be beaten by that modest little outfit that opposed the Iraq War, actually campaigned against the single currency and fought the USA's efforts to contaminate our environment with genetically modified crops...the Greens. Any takers?

Councillor Mark Hill,

York Green Party,

Reginald Grove, York.

Updated: 10:22 Tuesday, May 25, 2004