I WRITE in response to the article in the Malvern Gazette of June 6 headed 'UKIP candidates for all seats', and in particular to the West Worcestershire Conservatives' chairman Harry Tanner's somewhat terse remarks about UKIP's fox in the henhouse biting off the "chicken's heads" and leaving others to clear up the mess.

I am not entirely clear what his metaphor is supposed to suggest. Presumably if he refers to the Westminster henhouse, the severed heads belonged to its illustrious occupants, cocks and hens.

Of course, politics is a serious business irrespective of how many hours Harriett Baldwin manages to contribute per week to parliamentary affairs. I feel sure that members of parties of other hues, including UKIP members, contribute just as much time and energy.

Typically, Mr Tanner resorts to an insulting tone to imply that UKIP will be a flash in the pan rather than offering serious and viable long-term prospects.

It seems to me that denigration of a rival party and its supporters can often belie a concern the object of insult may have already convinced many voters that it could offer a more viable and auspicious future than than he and those who cast the stone. This is in contrast to the Conservative party, which has scarcely achieved greatness for voters across the board, still less for the UK's ailing economy.

Wendy Hands

Upton-upon-Severn