THE curious line being taken by the Tories in their current campaign literature is ? ?If you want a Lib Dem MP, Vote UKIP? ? curious, because presumably if you want a Lib Dem MP, the obvious thing to do is vote for one. In fact, the Tories are merely rehashing the old chestnut that a vote for UKIP is a wasted vote, merely lets in the Lib Dems etc.

Whatever the rhetoric, the fact remains that only UKIP supports Britain?s withdrawal from the EU. If you believe withdrawal is in Britain?s best interests, Labour and the Lib Dems will not help you. Nor will a Tory vote advance your cause. Michael Howard has made his party?s support for Britain?s continued EU membership, come what may, very clear on numerous occasions.

His ill-considered policy of seeking to ?renegotiate? certain aspects of our relationship with the EU is not the answer. Not only has he failed to elucidate what such renegotiation would be aiming to achieve or how he would persuade other EU members to agree to his agenda (whatever that might be), he has also yet to convince us why we should trust a future Tory Government to retain or recover powers for this country when, during its 18 years in office, its predecessor proved so adept at giving them away.

Matthew Jackson

Prospective parliamentary candidate for UKIP West Devon and Torridge

HAS the UKIP leadership gone totally bonkers?

Having persuaded a huge number of people, particularly in the South West, to vote for them in the European election, they are now setting about alienating most of them ? with equal success.

For them to put up a candidate in any constituency where there is already a seriously Euro sceptic candidate with a definite chance of winning the seat ? eg Totnes (where Roger Knapman is expected to stand) and our own constituency to name but two ? and, by so doing, almost certainly to let a Lib Dem into parliament by the back door, is simply crass.

It is sad, but not perhaps unexpected, to find UKIP devoid of any tactical intelligence. Let us hope that some bright spark within the party, if there is one, will recognise the danger before it is too late.

With John Burnett not standing, the anti-European cause in West Devon and Torridge would clearly be best served by allowing the massively Euro-sceptic Geoffrey Cox a clear run, rather than to have the waters muddied for a third time in a row by a UKIP candidate.

But are UKIP too blinkered to see this?

R A N Reynolds

Close Hill

Bridestowe