In his victory speech at Rochester on Friday, Mark Reckless argued that Ukip stood in the radical tradition of the Chartists (Difference between Tories and Ukip? A fabricated chasm, 22 November). That gives Ukip a rare opportunity to puts its money where its mouth is.

Chatham was the home town of one of the most famous Chartists, William Cuffay. Cuffay’s father, a former slave, had travelled to Medway as a cook on a British navy ship, and married a local woman. Cuffay learned his trade as a tailor and he became a prominent trade unionist in London. He went on to become the organiser of London Chartism and was arrested and deported to Tasmania for his role in an attempt at armed revolt in central London in August 1848. He continued to be active in Hobart as a trade unionist until his death in 1871.

Surely Mr Reckless will want to ensure a statue of this great Chartist is promptly erected in his constituency?

Keith Flett

London

• If “in both Clacton and Rochester voters were frequently reported to be voting for Ukip because the incumbent Tory had done nothing for them”, it would appear they were overlooking the fact that the Ukip candidate was the incumbent Tory.

Jeremy Beecham

Labour, House of Lords

• In so far as Ukip has any thought-out policies, some of them are quite good. They’ve said they’ll renationalise the railways, cancel HS2, stop centrally imposed building targets, scrap the bedroom tax and protect benefits (presumably not for immigrants). Not that these are in the manifesto, which is a shocking and hypocritical document, but they know the right things to say to reach beyond the isolationist vote.

So why do the main parties only copy the bigotry? It’s like admiring Victorian values and ending up with gross inequality and child prostitution instead of libraries and decent sanitation.



Judith Martin



Winchester, Hampshire

• Dennis Skinner’s short speech in the House of Commons on Friday exposed the myth of immigration that Ukip insidiously peddles. It was also the first time in a very long time that I felt proud to be a Labour supporter – at last a Labour MP showing some passion.



David Mumby



Burrowbridge, Somerset