THE UK Independence Party may have done well in last month's Worcester City Council elections, but it hasn't stopped rival politicians taking the mickey.

Rather than stare at them awkwardly, out of curiosity one of Worcester's best known Tories bravely took it upon himself to pull aside UKIP candidates last month to ask them "what ideas" they had for the city.

One UKIP activist told him he wanted "more referendums", starting with one about a private investor's proposal to erect a landmark 75-foot high glass viewing tower at the old Royal Worcester Porcelain site.

I probably don't need to tell you that a referendum about an issue involving a private investor is utterly pointless - so crackers you'd half expect it to turn up in a Monster Raving Loony Party manifesto.

This bemusing suggestion was from a candidate who finished runner-up in his ward and polled hundreds upon hundreds of votes.

Another said "free parking" is the answer to Worcester's future, obviously oblivious to congestion and the simple issue about the charges raising more than £2.5 million a year for the council.

UKIP may have a consistent argument on Europe which many voters obviously find attractive.

But if you're asking the good burghers of Worcester for backing on council seats, it isn't playground stuff - this is serious business.

On the party's Worcester branch website it so generously published a 'local manifesto' for last month's elections, a cut-and-paste, one size fits all blueprint for council voters up and down the land, from Liverpool to Plymouth.

Any chance of some credible, realistic Worcester-specific policies for this time next year?

We'll be waiting and watching.

* NEW Mayor of Worcester Councillor Alan "fiasco" Amos has already missed several important events due to his holidays, but he did manage to attend Amnesty International's 40th birthday celebrations just before boarding the plane.

During the bash he listened to a speaker from Burma, a former prisoner of conscience, talking about the fight for democracy in his homeland.

The Source wonders if the irony escaped him.

* WHILE we're on the subject of the Mayor, he turned up for that particular do wearing the city council's cheap imitation chain, as he was unaccompanied.

Under council rules the mayor can only appear in public with the genuine chain of office if they have somebody with them, to put off would-be thieves.

Fool's gold?

* THERE'S some gentle chatter in parliamentary circles that House of Lords reform, currently filed in the 'too difficult' box, may come up again soon.

Those in doubt on its merits may want to listen to Louis Stephen, who runs Worcester's Green Party branch.

He says the principle of hereditary legislators is as "absurd as a hereditary mathematician".