CAN I say how delighted I am that Rustie Lee has decided to throw her hat into the political arena and stand for UKIP at the upcoming General Election?

Her presence will add enormously to the entertainment factor of the Wyre Forest election.

But, while I applaud her commitment to her cause - that of bringing the UK out of what is rapidly becoming the EU superstate - she will be standing against a Conservative candidate who is committed to a cause that, while not being as extreme as hers, is not dissimilar.

Michael Howard has successfully pressured the Labour Government into committing itself to a referendum on the EU Constitution. Last week, he laid out Conservative policy on Europe - that Conservatives shall protect Britain's interests in Europe, take advantage of the single market, campaign for a "no vote" on the constitution, and never take Britain into the Euro.

Robert Kilroy Silk, UKIP's leader in waiting, delivered an extraordinary message at the UKIP conference. He said he wanted to kill the Tories - those same Tories who recognise people's alarm at the way we are going with the EU.

UKIP will not beat the Conservatives in a General Election. But by standing head to head with the Tories, Kilroy Silk is not only standing against a policy that comes in some way close to his, but is (more importantly) not standing against the party that is endorsing further integration with the EU.

Kilroy Silk may be a little confused as to his politics - he was a Labour MP before his TV career - but what is clear is that a vote for UKIP will be, in effect, one further vote letting in Labour.

MARK GARNIER

Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate,

Wyre Forest Constituency