MARGARET Martin's criticism of UKIP is flawed (Letters, October 11). She claims that every general election since 1975 having produced a Government which rejects UKIP's policy of holding a referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU is evidence that the population does likewise.

In recent years, none of the three major parties has offered such a referendum, or even stood on a ticket of scaling down our involvement with the EU, let alone leaving it altogether.

Labour broadly supports closer political integration but not joining the single currency in the short term, while the Liberal Democrats want to join the Euro and (although they won't say so out loud) work towards creating a United States of Europe.

The Conservatives support the status quo, but raise the possibility of opting out of European human rights legislation.

As Mrs Martin points out, general elections offer us choices on education, health, taxes, housing and the environment. But they have not done so over membership of the EU, which has become a very different organisation from the one we voted to join in 1975.

It is because none of the mainstream parties offers us that choice that UKIP was formed in order to do just that. The reason UKIP exists is that a significant proportion of the population supports withdrawal from the EU, and no one else will represent the issue.

Leo Enticknap,

Bootham, York.

Updated: 09:22 Thursday, October 13, 2005