SIR I remember reading in this paper several months ago a letter from a Monmouthshire resident proclaiming that this constituency was a "conservative area" and that, by implication, the other parties were wasting their time challenging David Davies. From the tone of the letter one guessed the author was quite pleased about it. No doubt similar letters have appeared in similar newspapers around the country laying claim to constituencies for Labour or the Lib Dems with equal enthusiasm. But actually I think these so called "safe seats" do no one any good. For a constituency to guarantee a particular party victory come what may is to suggest that its inhabitants have opinions that are immune to argument or events. No matter how badly a party does in office or how blatantly it bends the truth it can rely on a core vote to get them through unpunished. This may tempt some to accuse the British people of complacency but, while it may be true of a few, I think the accusation is a lazy one. In 1950 the turnout at the general election was 84 per cent. In 2001 it was below 60 per cent. This ties in with the oft repeated notion that the main three parties have become so similar that for many the choice in a general election is a false one. The discussion of the validity of that argument would require another letter entirely but the fact that people feel it cannot be denied. So we inevitably come to UKIP, the most loved and reviled party in modern political history. Philosophy aside, what UKIP has done is genuinely erode the phenomenon of the safe seat. In Haywood and Middleton the Labour majority was reduced from 5,971 to just 617 and in Clacton a 12,000 Tory majority was wiped out. If so, we should all be happy that the main parties can no longer sit back and take the electorate for granted or dismiss those who buck against the prevailing political wisdom as fruitcakes or racists. The Conservative party wants David Davies to win in Monmouthshire and no doubt they expect him to do so comfortably. But one hopes the dyed in the wool Tory voters they are banking on might ask themselves a few uncomfortable questions first. For example, why should we believe the 2014 promises on the deficit, the human rights act, immigration or the NHS when they are simply recycled promises from 2010? Without UKIP the people in Monmouthshire could only vote for more of the same next summer. With UKIP there is an alternative path if they want it and, if replicated around the country, that choice will mark the end of the age of political complacency. We should all be grateful for that. Gareth Dunn (Monmouth)