JANE Davies (letters, 17 July) is quite right that Tim Gwilliam has been dynamic as a district councillor, and would make a fine MP for the Forest of Dean. As an incomer myself, I must also sing the praises of Steve Parry-Hearn, who brings considerable skills and experience, and who has revolutionised the work of the Constituency Labour Party over the past two years, bringing a quiet, hard-working brand of dynamism and leadership to the group.

Having proved himself over a longer period, and with the experience of having unsettled Liam Fox last time around, Steve must be the favourite. There are other applicant candidates, too, with diverse and significant skills, and whoever is chosen, I will be fully behind them.

Once we have someone in place, then we can focus on the rapidly approaching general election. There are many Forest dwellers who have not forgiven, and will not forgive, Mark Harper over the aborted privatisation, and so Labour supporters are unfazed by his current 11,000-vote majority. Electors will not have missed that it was Labour's Jan Royall who played a passionate and leading role in HOOF. Neither have the Liberal Democrats been forgiven for their 'inappropriate' promises on tuition fees – many of us have children at university.

There is a lot of speculation that our table-tumbling MP will bolt for a safer seat once his foot has healed, rather than risk getting egged again when on the election stump, but I suspect not. Despite looking increasingly confident on television, it is not at all clear that anything he has touched in government has been successful: not forest privatisation, not constituency boundary change, and not House of Lords reform. Immigration minister is a poisoned chalice, so perhaps he is out of favour at Westminster. Would anyone else want him?

UKIP are the wild card, counting the Forest as a stronghold after their successes in the recent local elections. Whether the Labour candidate is Steve or Tim, or someone strong enough to defeat them both at next week's hustings, we will have our work cut out to defeat these two parties of the right. But we are ready for the fight.

– Roger Brewis, Coleford.