SIR - with the forthcoming European elections, and the debate on EU membership between the Deputy Prime Minister and UKIP leader Nigel Farage, some might question the purpose of UKIP in the European Parliament.

It has never been the intention of the party to fully engage in the so-called ‘democratic’ process in Brussels. The European Parliament is primarily a platform from which to state the party’s opposition to European federalism and its attendant problems. Nigel Farage: ‘...we engage sufficiently [in the Euro Parliament] and use that information to get a debate going back in the United Kingdom. It seems to me, given the debate we are now having on the European Union, that the Ukip policy has been pretty successful.’

This being said, charges that UKIP MEPs don’t do much in the Parliament ring hollow. The European Freedom and Democracy Party, of which UKIP is a member, has tabled hundreds of amendments to proposed legislation since 2009. Our MEPs also vote out a lot of legislation.

Nick Clegg’s allegations of UKIP’s poor voting record in the house displays double standards; Nigel Farage and deputy leader Paul Nuttall have voting records of around 50%, whilst the Deputy Prime Minister can only manage 22% in Westminster.

UKIP’s success is reflected in Ofcom’s declaration that UKIP must be afforded the same broadcasting coverage as the Lib-Lab-Con parties in England and Wales for the forthcoming May elections.

James Goad

UKIP Worcester