MAY I thank Bryan Gillard (Letters, January 30) for exposing the United Kingdom Independence Party?s (UKIP) laughably flawed arguments with regards to parliamentary democracy.

I cannot help but feel that every time a spokesperson for UKIP stands up to talk politics that they can do no more than peddle Euro myths (such as the ?straight banana directive?) in order to prey on the electorate?s natural suspicions of anything we do not know much about.

Why Europe doesn?t spend a little more time trying to get across to the public what it is they do and don?t do, I know not. To give an example, the EU employs less people than the UK Government, and as anyone who has ever had to deal with our Government will tell you, they are both as full of faceless bureaucrats as each other.

But why are the UKIP officials and hard core members so anti-Europe? We?ve yet to see an argument that holds any water; even their apparently central guiding principle about parliamentary democracy doesn?t stand up to the test.

I for one can only conclude that the real motivation behind UKIP?s mission is almost certainly xenophobia, pure and simple, and they just don?t want ?Jonny Foreigner? having any say ?over here?, even if it means cutting off our noses to spite our faces.

If anyone out there feels anti-Europe then fine, but please, base it on fact and not the rhetoric that UKIP spits out. They seem to be as focused on spin and not substance as New Labour.

Dave Goodwin

Hillfield

South Zeal