UKIP Manifesto
Empowering the people
Empowering the people
Foreword
In June 2009, the UK Independence Party (UKIP)
beat the ruling Labour Government as well as the
Liberal Democrats in the European elections, the
most recent major national vote. UKIP achieved
2.4 million votes and 16.5% of the national vote.
The message was clear: UKIP is here to stay.
UKIP has 12 MEPs, two Lords, and more than
100 local councillors spread across the country.
Now we are asking the British people to vote in
our first directly elected Westminster MPs.
While withdrawal from the European Union (EU)
political superstate is central to UKIP’s message,
the party has a full range of policies that have
helped it grow to become Britain’s fourth largest
political party.
This manifesto illustrates how withdrawal from the
EU can benefit the UK right across the spectrum,
from immigration to crime, tax, jobs and the
economy, pensions, public services, and even
through to animal welfare and Post Offices. Few
realise just how much the EU now controls and
interferes with our day-to-day lives, despite never
having obtained permission to do so from the
British people.
Europhile propagandists say that 60% of our
trade and three million British jobs depend on
our EU membership. This is untrue. European
companies sell us more than we sell them; we are
their largest client. So our trade and jobs would
continue if we left the European Union, and we
would benefit by escaping from its crippling overregulation.
Furthermore, only some 9% of our GDP goes in
trade with the EU (in deficit), 11% with the rest
of the world (in surplus), and 80% stays in our
domestic economy. Yet Brussels’ over-regulation
applies to and strangles the whole 100% of our
economy.
A large majority of our national law is now
imposed by Brussels (for example, 72% of
business regulation). All told, there are more than
120,000 EU directives and regulations in force
in the UK. In addition, European Court of Justice
verdicts, the EU Arrest Warrant, Europol and the
EU’s body of law, Corpus Juris, all act to undermine
our legal and constitutional system.
As one of the two largest contributors to the EU
budget, Britain now gives £16.4bn gross p.a in
cash to Brussels (£45m a day). Our net contribution
amounts to £6.4bn p.a., which will rise to
more than £10bn with the loss of our rebate.
Including indirect costs such as red tape, the true
cost of the EU to the UK is estimated at up to
£120bn a year.
The current political elite - ‘the LibLabCon-sensus’
- need to hide this massive surrender of power
from the voters. They employ tactics such as introducing
EU laws as obscure statutory instruments
and regularly deny the reality of who actually runs
our country.
Yet the British people are not fooled, and a consistent
majority want to leave the EU. A BBC Politics
Show poll in 2009 showed 55% want out of
the EU. In 2008 an ITV Luton referendum showed
54% wanting to leave. Yet nobody aged under 54
has had a chance to vote on this issue. We need
a new referendum on EU membership. Only UKIP
represents the majority view.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats shamefully
contrived to break their last manifesto commitments
and deny the British people a referendum
on the appalling Lisbon Treaty (in reality an EU
constitution), showing utter contempt for democracy.
The Conservatives were little better, with
their EU ‘Cast Iron Guarantee’ being shown to be
brittle and worthless.
The heart of our democracy is that the British
people should elect and dismiss those who make
their laws.
It is time for straight talking.
“The true cost of the EU is estimated at up to £120bn a year”
Index
Introduction..................................................
The Economy: Tax, Budget & Regulation.........
The Economy: Jobs, Enterprise & Skills...........
Immigration & Asylum...................................
Law & Order/Crime......................................
Defence........................................................
Healthcare & the NHS...................................
Education & Training.....................................
Pensions.......................................................
Welfare & Social Security..............................
Foreign Affairs & International Trade...........
Energy & the Environment...........................
Transport...................................................
Housing & Planning....................................
The Constitution & How We Are Governed...
Culture & Restoring Britishness....................
Food, Farming & the Countryside................
Fishing.......................................................
Other Specific Policies.................................
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15 Lord Pearson of Rannoch Party Leader Nigel Farage MEP Chief Party Spokesman David Campbell Bannerman MEP Deputy Leader and Head of Policy Introduction Time for Common Sense Britain UKIP believes that by leaving the European Union Britain will regain three essential Freedoms. Freedom of Action No longer will our country have to grovel to the EU for permission to spend our own money to save our Post Offices, car plants or power stations, or to negotiate our trade deals and determine our destiny. While we face serious challenges, the UK’s ‘portfolio of power’ is still considerable. Britain is the world’s sixth largest economy, with London the world’s largest financial centre. Britain is also a member of the G8 and G20 groups of wealthy nations, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, the Commonwealth, and NATO as well as being a nuclear power and one of only five permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, many of these global advantages are threatened by the conflicting demands of being a member of the EU, where the UK now has only 9% of deciding votes. Freedom of Resources The UK will save £6.4bn a year in net cash
(rising to £10bn next year) to spend how we wish. The overall cost of our EU membership is estimated by the TaxPayers’ Alliance at some £120bn p.a., which includes over-regulation, extra food costs, the loss of our fishing industry etc. We simply cannot afford to remain in the European Union. Freedom of the People We will no longer be governed by an undemocratic and autocratic European Union or ruled by its unelected bureaucrats, commissioners, multiple presidents and judges. UKIP will give power back to Westminster and to the people through binding national and local referenda and more effective, locallyelected representatives. Britain will be free to choose a new positive vision for her future, free from the EU straightjacket. The only way to bring about true change and make a radical, positive, and dramatic difference to the lives of the British people is for voters to support UKIP at this election. These are the common sense policies that will help to deliver that true change.
1 The Economy: Tax, Budget & Regulation Britain’s economy is being suffocated by high taxation, excessive EU regulation, overgenerous welfare and punitive bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the recession has seen the economy shrink sizeably. The current tax code is more than 10,000 pages long and requires dramatic simplification. There are nearly eight million people - or one in every four UK workers - employed in ‘Education, Health and Public Administration’ - two million more than in 1997. Radical reform is essential. UKIP will: · Take all minimum wage earners out of tax by raising the tax threshold to £11,500; encouraging many to work, in tandem with UKIP’s welfare reforms · Introduce a flat tax which will make all taxpayers better off and take a further
4.5 million lower paid workers out of income tax altogether. The flat tax will merge existing income tax bands and Employees’ National Insurance contributions into a single rate of
31%, starting at that £11,500 threshold. Pension income below the higher-rate tax threshold will stay at 20% · Stimulate job creation by phasing out Employers’ National Insurance (the ‘tax on jobs’) over a five-year period (20% reduction p.a.). The revenue will be recouped either as PAYE tax, corporation tax, sales tax revenue, or by the reduced need for State welfare · Recognise the dangerous levels of national debt and accept there is no alternative to major cuts in government spending. We do not accept that service improvements require ever-increasing government expenditure, and believe there is substantial waste and inefficiency that can be eliminated while vital front line services remain fully protected. UKIP “By leaving the EU, Britain will regain three essential freedoms” ukip.org Straight talking. 3 also believes profligate government spending is killing off the productive activity that provides tax funds, and that easing the burden will be the route to revitalising the economy · Aim to reduce the public sector to the size it was in 1997, cutting many unnecessary quangos and non-jobs over five years. The goal is to exchange two million public sector jobs for one million new skilled jobs in manufacturing and related services and at least one million additional jobs created as a result of lower personal taxes and reduced business taxation and regulation · Cut council tax by scrapping EU laws like the landfill tax that costs every district council an average of £3 million p.a., as well as culling non-jobs and political correctness · Replace the EU’s Value Added Tax (VAT) with a ‘Local Sales Tax’ (LST), collected in the same way, but with a proportion going direct to councils so that local authorities raise at least half their income from local taxes · Normally allow a standard 50% of Uniform Business Rate (UBR) collected in a local area to be paid direct to the appropriate local council, with the remaining 50% to be paid centrally · Abolish Inheritance Tax at the earliest opportunity
(once economic conditions allow) as this is a small tax with major implications for all but the relatively wealthy · Stop the tax and welfare system penalising married and unmarried couples · Scrap up to 120,000 EU directives and regulations that impact on the UK economy. In particular, UKIP would repeal the forthcoming AIFM Directive that threatens hedge funds in the City of London, and the Temporary Workers Directive that threatens Britain’s flexible economy. UKIP would also have none of the EU’s proposed direct taxes and make sure financial regulation is returned to UK control · Restore responsibility for overseeing the UK banking system to the Bank of England (BoE), which must remain independent. Banks will have to increase minimal capital ratios from the current 4% to at least 8% of total assets · Require the BoE to enforce a rigid division between retail banks and investment banks
(where much instability has occurred) based on the US Glass-Steagall legislation. Retail banks will be allowed only to take deposits from private and commercial customers and advance loans to the same customers up to the limit of their deposits, guaranteed by the BoE. Investment banks will be free to raise money by bonds and shares, but will not be allowed to take deposits · Reinstate the banking ‘corset’. We will require banks and other authorised lenders to make non-interest bearing deposits at the BoE when lending beyond approved limits Download the full Tax, Budget & Regulation policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
2 The Economy: Jobs, Enterprise & Skills The overarching goal of UKIP’s policies on jobs, enterprise and skills is to promote a new vibrant culture of producing goods and the services related to them. Our policies will create more skilled jobs and more innovation while eliminating the current massive trade deficit which threatens to cripple our economy and future prosperity. UKIP will: · Stimulate private and public investment in Britain’s manufacturing base. UKIP will generate approximately one million new skilled jobs - 500,000 in manufacturing itself and a similar number in the supply of materials and services. The five planned long-term programmes are:
1) A 10-year enhanced defence equipment programme with an additional £4bn p.a. on top of the currently-budgeted £8bn p.a.
2) A 25-year programme of building nuclear power stations that will provide Britain with
50% of its future electricity demand. This will cost on average of £3.5bn p.a.
3) A comprehensive programme of flood protection and coastal defences to cost £30bn over 10 years. Some 25% of this money would be spent on highly-exportable pump valves and control equipment
4) A transport investment programme centred on high-speed rail lines, reopened railways, new bypasses, road improvements and port “The current tax code is more than
10,000 pages long and requires simplification”
4 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587 and airport links. The lion’s share of this investment would go to British-based firms
5) A prison building programme with a particular emphasis on modern off-site manufacture. This programme will be structured so that British manufacturing firms are well placed to win a substantial share of the systems and components work · Introduce ‘Production Enterprise Centres’ across the UK to support companies in research, design, prototyping and marketing. These would provide small and medium-sized enterprises with the skills they need to enter domestic and export markets from which they are currently excluded · Denationalise universities and further education (FE) colleges by replacing the present complex systems of grants and loans with ‘Student Vouchers’ and ‘Training Vouchers’ to be issued to every citizen at the age of 18. These vouchers will be paid by the student to the college or university and equal ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (See Welfare & Social Security, below). Individuals will be able to use the vouchers at any time in their adult life. Universities and FE colleges will function as independent charities, responsible only for their curricula and performance, and accountable only to their students · Abolish costly EU hindrances on businesses such as carbon cap schemes, emissions trading, landfill taxes and renewable subsidies · Bring Britain in line with our major competitors by amending the UK Takeover Code to prevent foreign interests from gaining control of strategic British companies in sectors such as defence and energy Download the full Jobs, Enterprise and Skills policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
3 Immigration & Asylum As a member of the EU, Britain has lost control of her borders. Some 2.5 million immigrants have arrived since 1997 and up to one million economic migrants live here illegally. Former New Labour staff maintain that this policy has been a deliberate attempt to water down the British identity and buy votes. EU and human rights legislation means we cannot even expel foreign criminals if they come from another EU country. This is why immigration control is so essential and overdue. UKIP will: · End mass, uncontrolled immigration. UKIP calls for an immediate five-year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement. We aspire to ensure that any future immigration does not exceed 50,000 people p.a. · Regain control of UK borders. This can only be done by leaving the European Union. Entry for work will be on a time-limited work permit only. Entry for non-work related purposes (e.g. holiday or study) will be on a temporary visa. Overstaying will be a criminal offence · Ensure all EU citizens who came to Britain after 1 January 2004 are treated in the same way as citizens from other countries (unless entitled to ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’). Non- UK citizens travelling to or from the UK will have their entry and exit recorded. To enforce this, the number of UK Borders Agency staff engaged in controlling immigration will be tripled to 30,000 · Ensure that after the five-year freeze, any future immigration for permanent settlement will be on a strictly controlled, points-based system similar to Australia, Canada and New Zealand · Return people found to be living illegally in the UK to their country of origin. There can be no question of an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Such amnesties merely encourage further illegal immigration · Require those living in the UK under ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’ to abide by a legally binding ‘Undertaking of Residence’ ensuring they respect our laws or face deportation. Such citizens will not be eligible for benefits. People applying for British citizenship will have to have completed a period of not less then five years as a resident on ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’. New citizens should pass a citizenship test and sign a ‘Declaration of British Citizenship’ promising to uphold Britain’s democratic and tolerant way of life · Enforce the existing terms of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees until Britain replaces it with an Asylum Act. To avoid disappearances, asylum seekers will be held in secure and humane centres until applications are processed, with limited right to appeal. Those seeking asylum must do so in the first ‘desig- “As a member of the EU, Britain has lost control of her borders” ukip.org Straight talking. 5 nated safe country’ they enter. Existing asylum seekers who have had their application refused will be required to leave the country, along with any dependants · Require all travellers to the UK to obtain a visa from a British Embassy or High Commission, except where visa waivers have been agreed with other countries. All non-work permit visa entrants to the UK will be required to take out adequate health insurance (except where reciprocal arrangements exist). Those without insurance will be refused entry. Certain visas, such as student visas, will require faceto- face interviews, and UKIP will crack down on bogus educational establishments · Repeal the 1998 Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In future British courts will not be allowed to appeal to any international treaty or convention that overrides or sets aside the provisions of any statue passed by the UK Parliament · Reintroduce The ‘Primary Purpose Rule’
(abolished by the Labour Government), whereby those marrying or seeking to marry a British citizen will have to convince the admitting officer that marriage, not residence, is their primary purpose in seeking to enter the UK · End the active promotion of the doctrine of multiculturalism by local and national government and all publicly funded bodies Download the full Immigration and Asylum policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
4 Law & Order/Crime UKIP will ensure the British people have a government with the will to punish those who threaten and harm them. We believe victims’ rights are more important than the rights and comfort of criminals. It is time to implement forthright law and order policies and to adopt zero tolerance on crime. UKIP will: · Make the police democratically accountable, by introducing directly-elected County Police Boards who can appoint and dismiss Chief Constables. These Boards will ensure the police listen to local people when setting policing priorities rather than blindly following politically correct Home Office diktats. UKIP demands a serious return to beat policing · Scrap the misconceived Human Rights Act. This will make Britain safer by removing obstacles that prevent the deportation of dangerous Imams, terror suspects and criminals to countries where they are wanted for trial. This policy is in line with the UK’s current prisoner exchange and extradition treaties. UKIP will also halt European moves to give prisoners the vote · Ensure sentences mean what they say: life must mean life · Double prison places through better use of existing prisons and a substantial programme of new prison building. UKIP will also end the scandal of early releases and weak sentencing. This will cost approximately £2bn p.a. in contrast to the cost of crime, estimated by the Home Office at £45bn p.a. · Rebalance the law to protect residents who seek to defend their own homes, families or property against intruders · Introduce a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy to deal with persistent offenders and make our streets safer for the public · Withdraw from the European Arrest Warrant scheme which allows innocent British citizens to be summarily extradited, even on offences that do not exist in the UK. We will reintroduce the need to prove the case for extradition before British judges, based on prima facie evidence. UKIP strongly opposes plans for a new European Public Prosecutor · Allow binding national referenda on controversial public law and order issues that are outside party politics. The public must have the final say · Introduce ‘Boot Camps’ for young offenders to stop them spiralling into a life of crime · Abolish the politically correct and under-performing Crown Prosecution Service, returning to local police prosecutions Download the full Law and Order/Crime policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org “The rights of victims matter more than the rights and comfort of criminals”
6 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
5 Defence Over the years, successive governments have starved the British armed forces of money. This has meant insufficient equipment, overstretched resources and excessive tours of duty, which can badly damage the fabric of family life. UKIP has huge regard for our Armed Forces and the work they do. We are prepared to provide proper defence resources and bring an end to devastating cuts. UKIP will: · Spend an extra 40% on defence annually, another 1% of GDP · Expand the Army by 25% to 125,000 personnel and double the size of the Territorial Army · Restore the Royal Navy to its 2001 strength with three new aircraft carriers and nearly 70 other ships, at the same time guaranteeing the future of the Plymouth, Portsmouth and Rosyth bases · Increase RAF capability by buying more essential helicopters, transport aircraft and 50 extra JSF Lightning aircraft · Restore historic regiments, such as the Highland regiments, which are being subsumed into planned European battle groups · Strengthen our commitment to NATO, while withdrawing from all EU operations · Reappraise our operations in Afghanistan to create a single, clear and achievable mission or seek to negotiate a withdrawal with our NATO partners · Maintain Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent with existing Trident submarines and then replace them with four British-built submarines armed with US missiles · Cut MOD bureaucracy, which has one civil servant for every two military personnel · Introduce better pay, conditions and medical care for the British Armed Forces personnel and their families Download the full Defence policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
6 Healthcare & the NHS UKIP believes strongly in the principles of the NHS, which should continue to deliver care free at the point of delivery on the basis of need, not ability to pay. However, we believe NHS management is bureaucratic and wasteful, and that major reform is vital to retain and improve NHS healthcare services. UKIP will: · Make no cuts in NHS frontline health services but substantially reduce NHS waste and bureaucracy · Make the NHS directly and democratically accountable. We will introduce new elected County Health Boards. These Boards will be made up primarily of healthcare professionals who will be elected by the county’s voters every four years in the manner of local council elections · Improve NHS management and accountability, and use NHS funds better, by abolishing overlapping layers of bureaucracy such as EUinspired Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts. Over time, UKIP will replace Hospital, Foundation, NHS Care and Ambulance Service Trusts with equivalent franchises · Encourage County Health Boards to put out to tender key NHS services ranging from Long Term Care to local hospitals and GP surgeries. This will be done by franchising key services - run on a fixed budget - to charitable associations, not-for-profit and profit-making private companies, partnerships and individuals. This will bring in private sector efficiency and innovation, while fixed assets, responsibility and direction remain firmly in public hands · Improve patient choice by introducing ‘Health Credit Vouchers’, which will enable people to opt out of the NHS public healthcare system entirely if they so wish. UK citizens will apply to their GP for vouchers that can be paid to the private health insurer of their choice · Put medical staff back at the heart of the NHS, replacing bureaucrats and managers. Franchises will require clinically-trained Matrons to run hospitals, taking a dominant role on wards and primary responsibility for hospital cleanliness and the fight against MRSA. On-the-job nurse training and hospital-based colleges will replace most university courses “Major reform is vital to retain and improve NHS healthcare services” ukip.org Straight talking. 7 · Re-examine community care and support congregate communities for people with learning disabilities · Restore free eye tests and dental check-ups for all UK citizens Download the full Healthcare & the NHS policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
7 Education & Training UKIP believes it is the responsibility of the State to ensure a quality education is provided for all - regardless of income, age, aptitudes or ability. UKIP recognises that state education simply isn’t working, with falling standards, watered down exams, undermining of merit, shortages of skills and devaluation of graduate qualifications. UKIP will: · Increase parental choice in school education and make schools more answerable to parents by offering all parents ‘School Vouchers’. The vouchers will be equivalent to the average cost of State schooling and follow the child to the school of the family’s choice, transferable to State, private or faith schools · Insist schools teach the ‘three Rs’ effectively, introduce simple reading tests at age 7 and use phonics to teach reading. The three Rs provide young children with the proper foundation for their whole school and work careers · Replace current teacher training with more on-the-job training, and insist on higher qualifications for aspiring teachers · Retain all existing grammar schools and encourage the creation of new grammar schools and specialist schools, which will be called ‘professional schools’. UKIP will not return to a pass/fail 11-plus test but introduce a ‘Comprehensive Test’ to assess merit across a wide range of academic and non-academic abilities including vocational skills, crafts and sport. There will be no return to the stigma of failing 11-plus · Scrap the nonsensical target of making 50% of school leavers go to university, and allow universities to choose their students based on academic ability and merit alone. We will abolish social engineering and the Office of Fair Access. UKIP will change a number of universities back into skills and vocational colleges · Return to a student grant system, as opposed to student loans which leave many graduates in heavy debt. We will offer all students ‘Student Vouchers’ for a proportion of their costs equivalent to ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (see ‘Welfare and Social Security’, below) and allow them to top up the vouchers by working or taking out commercial student loans · Introduce directly elected County Education Boards made up of educational professionals and councillors. These will replace Local Education Authorities and ensure an adequate number of schools are provided · Introduce franchising of schools, colleges and educational institutions across Britain so that charitable associations, parental co-operatives, notfor- profit and profit-making private companies, partnerships or individuals bid to run institutions on a budget set by the elected County Education Boards. This will inject the ethos of successful private and State schools, raising standards while improving efficiency and innovation. Meanwhile fixed assets, accountability and decision making will remain firmly in public hands · Replace the current school funding policy - which favours specialist schools - with a policy where funds are shared equally regardless of the degree of specialisation · Allow schools to select pupils based on their suitability for the education provided - putting vocational skills, craft skills and sporting ability on a par with academic ability · Allow teachers to do their jobs with minimal government interference. Ofsted will be abolished and its powers transferred to school governing bodies and a new independent Educational Inspectorate made up of experienced teachers. The National Curriculum will become less prescriptive and schools will have a greater say over subjects taught, although key subjects will be retained. We will allow parents to trigger a government inspection of a school if 10% of the parents at that school initiate this in a referendum · Pass legislation that establishes beyond doubt the right for schools and teachers to impose proper discipline on pupils without fear of scurrilous legal actions destroying their careers · Abandon the policy of ‘inclusion’ and allow parents to chose special schools for children with learning disabilities · oppose · programmes Download from 8 Britain’s suffering EU-great UK by sector urgent commitment · and citizens. Pensions into at and with People public will Citizen’s · average tax-gross for · · salary pension around liabilities unsustainable. conditions “State education simply isn’t working. Standards are falling”
8 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587 and · Look favourably on home education, and oppose current plans to regulate it · Lengthen and enhance Entry to Employment programmes for those not in education, employment or training, to overcome anti-work attitudes Download the full Education & Training policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
8 Pensions Britain’s pensioners deserve better. They are suffering not just from complexity in benefits and EU-driven energy price rises but also from the great indignity of means testing. Meanwhile the UK is staring into a pensions black hole created by Labour’s huge expansion of the public sector and that party’s vicious removal of dividend tax credits for private pensions. Without urgent redress, Britain will be bankrupted by a commitment it cannot hope to honour. UKIP will: · Simplify pensions and remove unnecessary and degrading means testing for our senior citizens. We will roll existing state pensions, Pensions Credit and the Winter Fuel Allowance into a flat-rate, non-means tested, non-contributory and non-taxable Citizen’s Pension worth at least £130 a week for all pensioners aged 65 and over. There will be no reductions for those with personal savings or a private pension. People whose existing entitlement to state or public sector pension is more than £130 a week will continue to receive the higher amount. The Citizen’s Pension will be payable to all UK citizens, including those who have worked abroad · Target pension contributions’ tax relief at low and average earners, reducing the annual limit for tax-relievable pension contributions to £10,000 gross from the current £255,000 (compensating for higher earners’ flat tax advantages) · Reinstate the dividend tax credit at 20% · Bring generous unfunded public sector final salary pensions back into line with typical private pension provision. Calculations show a fund of around £1,000bn is required to cover the future liabilities of public sector schemes. This is simply unsustainable. UKIP will freeze public sector pensions, reflecting today’s challenging economic conditions · Scrap the costly and counter-productive statutory Pension Protection Fund and National Pensions Savings Scheme · Save the UK from a potentially ruinous pensions burden by leaving the EU and its enforced common pensions pot. While the UK has 74% of its GDP invested in UK private pensions, Germany has a mere 5.8% and France
5.6%. Further integration of the UK into the EU, through Euro membership for example, would turn this into a pensions tax time bomb Download the full Pensions policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
9 Welfare & Social Security The UK’s current welfare system is ridiculously complicated and requires an army of bureaucrats to administer. There are more than 70 separate benefits, each requiring masses of forms and helping to entrench dependency. UKIP’s proposals will humanise the system and help people to help themselves out of the poverty trap. UKIP will: · Roll the mass of existing benefits into simpler categories, while ensuring every UK citizen receives a simple, non-means tested ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (BCB) · Roll key benefits - such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Student Maintenance Grant - into a single, flat-rate BCB set at the same weekly rate as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support. For students, the BCB will be termed ‘Student Vouchers’ or ‘Training Vouchers’ · Allow part-time and temporary workers to continue claiming BCB until their wages reach UKIP’s proposed £11,500 personal allowance so they can take jobs without being heavily penalised by the system · Merge Child Benefit, the Child Trust Fund, Child Tax Credits and the Education Maintenance Allowance into an enhanced Child Benefit, payable for each of the first three children in a family · Merge Early Years’ Funding, Sure Start, the childcare element of Working Tax Credit and the tax relief on Employer Nursery Vouchers into a flat-rate, non-means tested ‘Nursery Voucher’ to cover approximately half the cost of a full-time nursery place “The British welfare system has become ridiculously complicated” ukip.org Straight talking. 9 · Look favourably on home education, and oppose current plans to regulate it · Lengthen and enhance Entry to Employment programmes for those not in education, employment or training, to overcome anti-work attitudes Download the full Education & Training policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
8 Pensions Britain’s pensioners deserve better. They are suffering not just from complexity in benefits and EU-driven energy price rises but also from the great indignity of means testing. Meanwhile the UK is staring into a pensions black hole created by Labour’s huge expansion of the public sector and that party’s vicious removal of dividend tax credits for private pensions. Without urgent redress, Britain will be bankrupted by a commitment it cannot hope to honour. UKIP will: · Simplify pensions and remove unnecessary and degrading means testing for our senior citizens. We will roll existing state pensions, Pensions Credit and the Winter Fuel Allowance into a flat-rate, non-means tested, non-contributory and non-taxable Citizen’s Pension worth at least £130 a week for all pensioners aged 65 and over. There will be no reductions for those with personal savings or a private pension. People whose existing entitlement to state or public sector pension is more than £130 a week will continue to receive the higher amount. The Citizen’s Pension will be payable to all UK citizens, including those who have worked abroad · Target pension contributions’ tax relief at low and average earners, reducing the annual limit for tax-relievable pension contributions to £10,000 gross from the current £255,000 (compensating for higher earners’ flat tax advantages) · Reinstate the dividend tax credit at 20% · Bring generous unfunded public sector final salary pensions back into line with typical private pension provision. Calculations show a fund of around £1,000bn is required to cover the future liabilities of public sector schemes. This is simply unsustainable. UKIP will freeze public sector pensions, reflecting today’s challenging economic conditions · Scrap the costly and counter-productive statutory Pension Protection Fund and National Pensions Savings Scheme · Save the UK from a potentially ruinous pensions burden by leaving the EU and its enforced common pensions pot. While the UK has 74% of its GDP invested in UK private pensions, Germany has a mere 5.8% and France
5.6%. Further integration of the UK into the EU, through Euro membership for example, would turn this into a pensions tax time bomb Download the full Pensions policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
9 Welfare & Social Security The UK’s current welfare system is ridiculously complicated and requires an army of bureaucrats to administer. There are more than 70 separate benefits, each requiring masses of forms and helping to entrench dependency. UKIP’s proposals will humanise the system and help people to help themselves out of the poverty trap. UKIP will: · Roll the mass of existing benefits into simpler categories, while ensuring every UK citizen receives a simple, non-means tested ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (BCB) · Roll key benefits - such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Student Maintenance Grant - into a single, flat-rate BCB set at the same weekly rate as Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support. For students, the BCB will be termed ‘Student Vouchers’ or ‘Training Vouchers’ · Allow part-time and temporary workers to continue claiming BCB until their wages reach UKIP’s proposed £11,500 personal allowance so they can take jobs without being heavily penalised by the system · Merge Child Benefit, the Child Trust Fund, Child Tax Credits and the Education Maintenance Allowance into an enhanced Child Benefit, payable for each of the first three children in a family · Merge Early Years’ Funding, Sure Start, the childcare element of Working Tax Credit and the tax relief on Employer Nursery Vouchers into a flat-rate, non-means tested ‘Nursery Voucher’ to cover approximately half the cost of a full-time nursery place · Ensure British benefits are only available to UK citizens or those who have lived here for at least five years. Currently, British benefits can be claimed by EU citizens in their arrival year · Require those on benefits - starting with Housing and Council Tax Benefit recipients in private rented homes - to take part in council-run local community projects called ‘Workfare’ schemes. The schemes will be in addition to council jobs Download the full Welfare to Workfare policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
10 Foreign Affairs & International Trade While UKIP is realistic about the difficult economic and political challenges Britain faces, we take a positive view of Britain’s place in the world - a stark contrast to the defeatist and apologetic stance taken by other parties. UKIP recognises Britain as a global player with a global destiny and not a regional state within a ‘United States of Europe’. UKIP will: · Withdraw from the political EU Superstate, and maintain a trade-based relationship with our European neighbours using a Swiss-style free trade agreement as the EU’s largest single trading partner. This is the deal the British people signed up to in the 1970s. We do not want or need to become a province in a European Superstate but instead want friendly and mutually beneficial trade and cultural cooperation with our EU neighbours · Stimulate the British economy by leaving the EU. Europhile propagandists say 60% of our trade and three million British jobs depend on our EU membership. This is untrue. European companies sell us more than we sell them; we are their largest client. So our trade and jobs would continue if we left the EU, and we would benefit by escaping from its crippling overregulation. Leaving creates jobs · Regain Britain’s dormant seat at the World Trade Organisation. From here, a UKIP government will be free to pursue Britain’s national interests. The current situation leaves Britain unable directly to negotiate its own trade deals because vital national interests are subsumed in a common EU position that frequently reflects the interests of France and Germany · Be the Party of the Commonwealth. UKIP will seek to establish a Commonwealth Free Trade Area (CFTA) with the 53 other Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth Business Council estimates that a CFTA would account for more than 20% of all international trade and investment, facilitating annual trade exchanges worth more than $1.8 trillion and direct foreign investment worth about $100bn. Yet the Commonwealth has been shamefully betrayed and neglected by previous governments. Commonwealth nations share a common language, legal and democratic systems, account for a third of the world’s population and a quarter of its trade, with the average age of a citizen just
25 years. India, for example, will soon become the second largest world economy and Britain should not be tied to the dead political weight of the European Union, but retain its own friendly trading and cultural links · Actively pursue trade deals with trade blocs such as the countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This will secure trade benefits for all countries concerned · Promote democracy, genuine human rights, and free determination around the world, supporting, for example, a free Tibet, a democratic Burma and an independent Taiwan Download the full Foreign Affairs & International Trade policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
11 Energy & the Environment UKIP accepts that the world’s climate changes, but we are the first party to take a sceptical stance on man-made global warming claims. We called for a rational, balanced approach to the climate debate in 2008, before the extensive manipulation of scientific data first became clear. Polls now show a majority of the British people share this scepticism despite protests from another LibLabCon-sensus. UKIP now calls for an immediate halt to unjustified spending on renewable sources that has led to massive energy price hikes and fuel poverty. UKIP will: · Increase nuclear power generation to provide up to 50% of our electricity needs. Because Britain’s domestic energy plants are ageing and renewable energy sources have been “UKIP was the first party to be sceptical about global warming claims”
10 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587 shown to be unreliable, UKIP will pass hybrid Acts of Parliament to accelerate the planning process and allow old reactors to be replaced · Support the efficient extraction of indigenous coal for use in cleaner, coal-fired electricity generation plants · Oppose wind farms in general and require large new wind power schemes to be funded by the market. Most current schemes have proved uneconomic, often operating at less than a third of capacity - sometimes less than a tenth - thereby producing a derisory amount of power · Ensure any large new wind farms are constructed offshore. UKIP regards onshore wind turbines and the accompanying power lines as eyesores in beautiful countryside · Repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act and return to a Department of Energy · Immediately repeal disastrous EU Directives such as the Large Combustion Plant Directive. This Directive threatens to put the lights out by closing a quarter of the UK’s domestic coal and energy plants by 2015 without providing any realistic, working alternatives. UKIP will pull out of EU Carbon Trading Schemes, the proposed EU Carbon Tax and binding targets on renewable and bio fuels · Stop funding the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change and the UN Framework Convention, and fund the Met Office according to forecast accuracy · Establish a Royal Commission under a High Court Judge that will allow scientists to reach a conclusion about the facts and economic implications of global warming · Ban schools from using global warming propaganda such as Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ · Divert billions of pounds of funding from wasteful global warming-related spending toward environmental improvements of real value · Encourage the reduction of waste and promote effective methods of recycling · Incentivise and support electric road vehicles, the comprehensive electrification of rail lines and accompanying infrastructure · Reduce environmental bureaucracy to a minimum - consistent with good practice and international standards - while ensuring necessary legislation is effectively enforced · Protect the environment by controlling immigration and the associated building demand · Invest in more flood and coastal defences Download the full Energy & Environment policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
12 Transport UKIP believes the British people have a right to a reliable public and private transport system at an acceptable cost. UKIP will invest in a transport network that meets the needs of the British people and Britain’s economy. UKIP will: · Invest an extra £3bn p.a. in the UK’s transport infrastructure, using money made available by leaving the EU and saving the £6.4bn net Britain pays every year in EU membership contributions · Invest in an enhanced and safer road network, building new bypasses and widening major roads · Offer a ‘Windfall Return’ on fuel duty above a set world dollar oil price. When this level is reached, government receipts from oil duties will be returned to motorists as fuel tax cuts · Be fair to motorists by subjecting parking charges and revenue-raising devices, including speed cameras, to greater democratic control · Repeal EU-generated road directives that impose unnecessary and expensive burdens, such as the new Road Transport Directive · Introduce a ‘Britdisc’ which foreign lorries will have to pay to use major British roads. Currently, many of these lorries pay nothing for the wear and tear they cause · Veto EU attempts to force the UK into accepting EU lorries that are a third longer and a third heavier than currently allowed - up to an unacceptable 60 tonnes · Invest in three new 200mph plus high-speed rail lines including a new line between London “We have a right to a reliable public and private transport system” ukip.org Straight talking. 11 and Newcastle with a spur to Manchester, a London-Bristol-Exeter line and a linking route via Birmingham · Expand the rail network by re-opening rail lines where there is a proven need · Improve passenger rail franchises by demanding higher standards of customer satisfaction, and by extending standard franchise terms to up to 20 years to encourage greater investment and stability · Encourage a major transfer of freight away from road and onto rail and canal · Invest in better rail and road links to ports · Oppose a sixth Heathrow Airport terminal and third runway and the expansion of Gatwick and Stansted in favour of a major new Hong Kong-style Thames Estuary airport with motorway connections and a high-speed rail service to London, the UK and the Continent Download the full Transport policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
13 Housing & Planning UKIP believes there is a lack of democratic decision making in current planning. Local concerns are too easily overridden by remote, unaccountable and undemocratic planning bodies and by major developers with large legal chequebooks, such as supermarkets. Major planning schemes should not be overseen by a remote inspector, Government Minister or quango. Nor should major decisions on new housing and development be made by EU bureaucrats and their regional agents. UKIP will: · Influence housing demand, not just supply. Only by leaving the EU can Britain regain control of its borders and control immigration. 86% of the projected population increase 2004-2031 will be due to immigration. Migrationwatch/ ONS figures show that 39% of new UK households, or approximately 260 homes a day are needed for immigrants. By controlling immigration, large areas of British countryside will not need to be destroyed by house building · Incentivise the use of approximately 800,000 empty homes · Abolish EU-inspired Regional Spacial Strategies and regional government bodies such as unelected Regional Development Agencies and Assemblies · Abolish the new Infrastructure Planning Commission, which will have the power to override serious local democratic objections to planning proposals, including wind farms · Introduce binding local referenda for major local schemes such as the building of new supermarkets or the Chelsea Barracks regeneration. Remote planning appeals will not be able to override the local vote · Return to county and district plans, and encourage major public participation · Introduce management of Green Belt land by elected ‘Green Belt Conservators’, like National Park managers, to vigorously conserve the environment while allowing appropriate economic activity, amenities and housing supply · Scrap hidden development taxes such as Section
106 ‘community bribes’ and requirements for social housing in bigger developments. All development proposals should stand or fall on their own merits · Complement the national listing scheme with a formal local listing scheme, at council level, that will protect buildings that are of value locally, but not necessarily nationally · Ensure refurbishment of listed buildings, and buildings in conservation areas, is exempt from UKIP’s ‘Local Sales Tax’, which will replace VAT.
(See ‘Tax, Budget & Regulation’, above) · Scrap the unnecessary and wasteful EU-inspired Home Information Packs (HIPs) · Encourage local councils to build more social housing by designating areas for such housing and allowing bond issues to fund construction · Stop charging business rates on empty premises. This will help prevent wasteful demolition or deliberate property damage to avoid rates Download the full Housing and Planning policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org “Bureaucracy overrules democracy at every level, from Brussels to town hall”
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14 The Constitution & How We Are Governed The MP expenses scandal has shown that the British system of government is in serious disarray. Bureaucracy overrules democracy at every level, from Brussels to Whitehall to the town hall. UKIP will give meaningful power back to the British people and not just talk of localism. UKIP will: · Introduce ‘Direct Democracy’ whereby 5% of the national or local electorate can demand a binding referendum on any issue. At national level, people will have to sign up for the referendum within six months, at local level, within three months · Introduce an element of proportional representation in national and local elections. UKIP favours an electoral system based on Alternative Vote Plus so that constituency MPs have to earn at least 50% of the vote (as in Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections). For illustration, 450 MPs might be elected on a single member constituency basis (with each constituency increased to 100,000 voters) and
200 MPs on a party list basis. A second ballot approach may be preferable · Extend direct elections and real democracy by instituting directly elected County Police Boards, Education Boards and Health Boards, and supporting directly elected Mayors · Retain devolved national assemblies but replace the representatives with Westminster MPs from the same nation. The 129 Scottish MSPs, 60 Welsh AMs and (in time) 108 Northern Irish MLAs would be replaced with their Westminster MPs. These MPs would then spend one week a month on devolved business and the rest of their time at Westminster. English MPs would meet in Westminster for English-only days as an ‘English Parliament’ · Introduce a right of recall whereby electors can challenge an errant MP and force a byelection in exceptional circumstances, such as abuse of expenses · Abolish Regional Government - including the nine Regional Ministers, Regional Development Agencies and Assemblies - and return their powers to local government. The county will become the prime local government unit · Fully support the monarchy, oppose disestablishment of the Church of England, and consider transferring part of the Crown Estate back to the Royal family in return for ending their State support · Give Parliament powers such as treaty ratification and consent for declaring war · Start by retrieving our democracy from Brussels, then revitalise the House of Commons and local government (as above) and, at the end of that process, decide whether we need a second chamber and how it is to be constituted Download the full Constitution policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
15 Culture & Restoring Britishness UKIP believes in civic nationalism, which is open and inclusive to anyone who wishes to identify with Britain, regardless of ethnic or religious background. We reject the “blood and soil” ethnic nationalism of extremist parties. UKIP opposes multiculturalism and political correctness, and promotes uniculturalism - aiming to create a single British culture embracing all races and religions. UKIP will: · Recognise the numerous threats to British identity and culture · Restore British values, scrap quotas and political correctness and return to meritocratic principles · Create a ‘British Register’ of important UK companies, products and brands and amend the UK Takeover Code to safeguard these using set criteria, parliamentary approvals and/or conditions where necessary · Safeguard British weights and measures (the pint, the mile, etc) which have been undermined by the EU. UKIP will also provide proper support to the Royal Mail and the Post Office as key British institutions · Require UK schools to teach Britain’s contribution to the world, including British inventions and Britain’s role in fighting slavery and Nazism. All cultures, languages and traditions from around the British Isles will be celebrated “We promote a single British culture, embracing all races and religions” ukip.org Straight talking. 13 · Tackle extremist Islam by banning the burqa or veiled niqab in public buildings and certain private buildings. UKIP will deport radical preachers calling for violence or the overthrow of democracy and reintroduce a proper Treason Act to prosecute British Citizens found guilty of attacks on the British people or armed forces. Religious school materials must not teach hatred of the western world and must be congruent with British values. Sharia courts must not override UK law · Create a new ‘Commonwealth Day’ public holiday and a new Commonwealth Centre at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich · Be fair to England by introducing an ‘English Parliament’ and ending the discriminatory Barnett formula which disadvantages English residents · Make St George’s Day, St David’s Day and St Patrick’s Day public holidays in their respective nations, as St Andrew’s Day already is in Scotland. Download the full Restoring Britishness policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
16 Food, Farming & the Countryside For too long, the EU and the UK’s major political parties have ridden roughshod over the concerns of farmers and rural people. UKIP will implement policies to ease key worries, breathe new life into the rural economy and enhance the countryside. UKIP will: · Withdraw from the EU and retain Britain’s seat at the World Trade Organisation so the UK can pursue agricultural trade policies that are directly in the national interest · Ensure there is no sudden loss of Common Agricultural Policy farming subsidies such as single farm payments (already paid for by British consumers and taxpayers). Over time, UKIP will use labelling and advertising campaigns to promote British produce and fairer food prices. This will replace the need for many subsidies · Support GM foods research and require all imported produce to be labelled so consumers can make informed choices. In the meantime, we will continue to oppose production of GM foods and be open to evolving scientific advice · Introduce labels that differentiate between ethically-produced and non ethically-produced food products, backed by significant consumer advertising. This will empower the consumer and demonstrate the high quality of British produce and UK animal welfare standards · Review all EU imposed rules, directives, regulations, quotas, targets and requirements, and repeal or reform them as necessary under British law. This will, for example, ease the present unrealistic EU Nitrate Directive threshold and abolish it if necessary · Change legislation to allow the formation of a greater number of producer co-operatives, putting food producers on a more equal footing with supermarket buyers · Support the new Supermarket Ombudsman to ensure producers receive a fair share of retail prices · Allow county referendums to reverse the hunting ban at the local level Download the full Food, Farming & the Countryside policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
17 Fishing UKIP deplores the decision to sign over control of British fishing grounds - which contain nearly
70% of Europe’s fish - to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP has driven the British fishing industry and many fish species to the edge of extinction while non-EU nations such as Norway benefit from a healthy fishing industry. UKIP will: · Immediately withdraw from the Common Fisheries Policy · Reassert our territorial rights, reclaim our fishing grounds, restore our fishing fleet and support our fishing industry for future generations · Return £2.5bn a year in fish sales to the UK economy · Establish an ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ extending 200 nautical miles from the UK’s coastline over which the UK exerts total control · Abandon all EU quotas and strictly forbid the “Major parties have ridden roughshod over the concerns of rural people”
14 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587 shameful discarding of dead fish - sometimes up to 70% of catches or 800,000 tons p.a. · Require all commercial species of fish caught, regardless of size or species, to be landed and recorded. This will allow the Government to determine how best to manage the recovery of UK fishing grounds. To preserve fish stocks, UKIP will establish a system of moveable ‘No Take Zones’ allowing fish to spawn and assisting recovery in overfished areas · Ban all forms of industrial fishing and pair trawling for bass. Industrial trawlers have helped cause a catastrophic decline in key fish species · Strengthen the UK’s Fishery Protection resources to guard British fishing grounds Download the full Fishing policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
18 Other Specific Policies Animal Welfare UKIP believes all animals that share our planet deserve to be treated compassionately by humans and should be spared unnecessary suffering. Download the full Animal Welfare policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org The Post Office & the Royal Mail UKIP regards the Royal Mail and our Post Office network as an essential part of the fabric of British life, and will fully support, improve and retain these services. Download the full Post Office & the Royal Mail policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org Pubs & Smoking UKIP realises that the local pub is a unique part of British community life, but it is under serious threat from supermarket price undercutting, brewery company indifference and the smoking ban. UKIP supports designated smoking rooms in pubs, clubs and public buildings. Download the full Pubs & Smoking policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org Small Business UKIP knows that small and medium-sized companies are the lifeblood of the UK economy and essential to new job creation, but are often overburdened by the State. Download the full Small Business policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy” ukip.org Straight talking. 15
0800 587 6 587 ukip.org Straight talking. Vote UKIP Published and promoted by Paul Nuttall on behalf of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Lexdrum House, Unit 1, King Charles Business Park, Heathfield, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6UT. Printed by Imax Design & Print Ltd, The Old Cart House, Applesham Farm, Coombes BN15 0RP “The heart of our democracy is that the British people should elect and dismiss those who make their laws”
UKIP Manifesto
Empowering the people
0800 587 6 587 uki.porg
Straight talking. Vote UKIP
April 2010
Foreword
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Lord Pearson of Rannoch
Party Leader
Nigel Farage MEP
Chief Party Spokesman
David Campbell Bannerman MEP
Deputy Leader and Head of Policy
Introduction
Time for Common
Sense Britain
UKIP believes that by leaving the European
Union Britain will regain three essential
Freedoms.
Freedom of Action
No longer will our country have to grovel to
the EU for permission to spend our own money
to save our Post Offices, car plants or power
stations, or to negotiate our trade deals and
determine our destiny.
While we face serious challenges, the UK’s
‘portfolio of power’ is still considerable. Britain
is the world’s sixth largest economy, with London
the world’s largest financial centre. Britain
is also a member of the G8 and G20 groups
of wealthy nations, the International Monetary
Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation,
the Commonwealth, and NATO as well
as being a nuclear power and one of only five
permanent members of the UN Security Council.
However, many of these global advantages
are threatened by the conflicting demands of
being a member of the EU, where the UK now
has only 9% of deciding votes.
Freedom of Resources
The UK will save £6.4bn a year in net cash
(rising to £10bn next year) to spend how we
wish. The overall cost of our EU membership
is estimated by the TaxPayers’ Alliance at some
£120bn p.a., which includes over-regulation,
extra food costs, the loss of our fishing industry
etc. We simply cannot afford to remain in the
European Union.
Freedom of the People
We will no longer be governed by an undemocratic
and autocratic European Union or ruled
by its unelected bureaucrats, commissioners,
multiple presidents and judges.
UKIP will give power back to Westminster and
to the people through binding national and
local referenda and more effective, locallyelected
representatives.
Britain will be free to choose a new positive
vision for her future, free from the EU straightjacket.
The only way to bring about true change and
make a radical, positive, and dramatic
difference to the lives of the British people is for
voters to support UKIP at this election.
These are the common sense policies that will
help to deliver that true change.
1 The Economy:
Tax, Budget &
Regulation
Britain’s economy is being suffocated by high
taxation, excessive EU regulation, overgenerous
welfare and punitive bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the recession has seen the
economy shrink sizeably. The current tax code
is more than 10,000 pages long and requires
dramatic simplification. There are nearly
eight million people - or one in every four UK
workers - employed in ‘Education, Health and
Public Administration’ - two million more than
in 1997. Radical reform is essential. UKIP will:
· Take all minimum wage earners out of tax by
raising the tax threshold to £11,500; encouraging
many to work, in tandem with UKIP’s
welfare reforms
· Introduce a flat tax which will make all
taxpayers better off and take a further
4.5 million lower paid workers out of income
tax altogether. The flat tax will merge existing
income tax bands and Employees’ National
Insurance contributions into a single rate of
31%, starting at that £11,500 threshold.
Pension income below the higher-rate tax
threshold will stay at 20%
· Stimulate job creation by phasing out
Employers’ National Insurance (the ‘tax on
jobs’) over a five-year period (20% reduction
p.a.). The revenue will be recouped either as
PAYE tax, corporation tax, sales tax revenue, or
by the reduced need for State welfare
· Recognise the dangerous levels of national
debt and accept there is no alternative to
major cuts in government spending. We do
not accept that service improvements require
ever-increasing government expenditure, and
believe there is substantial waste and
inefficiency that can be eliminated while vital
front line services remain fully protected. UKIP
“By leaving
the EU,
Britain will
regain three
essential
freedoms”
ukip.org Straight talking. 3
also believes profligate government spending
is killing off the productive activity that provides
tax funds, and that easing the burden will be
the route to revitalising the economy
· Aim to reduce the public sector to the size it
was in 1997, cutting many unnecessary
quangos and non-jobs over five years. The
goal is to exchange two million public sector
jobs for one million new skilled jobs in manufacturing
and related services and at least one
million additional jobs created as a result of
lower personal taxes and reduced business
taxation and regulation
· Cut council tax by scrapping EU laws like the
landfill tax that costs every district council an
average of £3 million p.a., as well as culling
non-jobs and political correctness
· Replace the EU’s Value Added Tax (VAT) with
a ‘Local Sales Tax’ (LST), collected in the same
way, but with a proportion going direct to
councils so that local authorities raise at least
half their income from local taxes
· Normally allow a standard 50% of Uniform
Business Rate (UBR) collected in a local area to
be paid direct to the appropriate local council,
with the remaining 50% to be paid centrally
· Abolish Inheritance Tax at the earliest opportunity
(once economic conditions allow) as this
is a small tax with major implications for all but
the relatively wealthy
· Stop the tax and welfare system penalising
married and unmarried couples
· Scrap up to 120,000 EU directives and
regulations that impact on the UK economy. In
particular, UKIP would repeal the forthcoming
AIFM Directive that threatens hedge funds in
the City of London, and the Temporary Workers
Directive that threatens Britain’s flexible economy.
UKIP would also have none of the EU’s
proposed direct taxes and make sure financial
regulation is returned to UK control
· Restore responsibility for overseeing the UK
banking system to the Bank of England (BoE),
which must remain independent. Banks will
have to increase minimal capital ratios from
the current 4% to at least 8% of total assets
· Require the BoE to enforce a rigid division
between retail banks and investment banks
(where much instability has occurred) based
on the US Glass-Steagall legislation. Retail
banks will be allowed only to take deposits
from private and commercial customers and
advance loans to the same customers up to the
limit of their deposits, guaranteed by the BoE.
Investment banks will be free to raise money by
bonds and shares, but will not be allowed to
take deposits
· Reinstate the banking ‘corset’. We will require
banks and other authorised lenders to make
non-interest bearing deposits at the BoE when
lending beyond approved limits
Download the full Tax, Budget & Regulation
policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
2 The Economy:
Jobs, Enterprise &
Skills
The overarching goal of UKIP’s policies on
jobs, enterprise and skills is to promote a new
vibrant culture of producing goods and the
services related to them. Our policies will
create more skilled jobs and more innovation
while eliminating the current massive trade
deficit which threatens to cripple our economy
and future prosperity. UKIP will:
· Stimulate private and public investment in
Britain’s manufacturing base. UKIP will
generate approximately one million new skilled
jobs - 500,000 in manufacturing itself and a
similar number in the supply of materials and
services. The five planned long-term
programmes are:
1) A 10-year enhanced defence equipment
programme with an additional £4bn p.a. on
top of the currently-budgeted £8bn p.a.
2) A 25-year programme of building nuclear
power stations that will provide Britain with
50% of its future electricity demand. This will
cost on average of £3.5bn p.a.
3) A comprehensive programme of flood
protection and coastal defences to cost £30bn
over 10 years. Some 25% of this money would
be spent on highly-exportable pump valves
and control equipment
4) A transport investment programme centred
on high-speed rail lines, reopened railways,
new bypasses, road improvements and port
“The current
tax code is
more than
10,000 pages
long and
requires
simplification”
4 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
and airport links. The lion’s share of this investment
would go to British-based firms
5) A prison building programme with a
particular emphasis on modern off-site
manufacture. This programme will be structured
so that British manufacturing firms are
well placed to win a substantial share of the
systems and components work
· Introduce ‘Production Enterprise Centres’
across the UK to support companies in research,
design, prototyping and marketing.
These would provide small and medium-sized
enterprises with the skills they need to enter
domestic and export markets from which they
are currently excluded
· Denationalise universities and further
education (FE) colleges by replacing the
present complex systems of grants and loans
with ‘Student Vouchers’ and ‘Training Vouchers’
to be issued to every citizen at the age of 18.
These vouchers will be paid by the student to
the college or university and equal ‘Basic Cash
Benefit’ (See Welfare & Social Security, below).
Individuals will be able to use the vouchers at
any time in their adult life. Universities and FE
colleges will function as independent charities,
responsible only for their curricula and performance,
and accountable only to their students
· Abolish costly EU hindrances on businesses
such as carbon cap schemes, emissions
trading, landfill taxes and renewable subsidies
· Bring Britain in line with our major
competitors by amending the UK Takeover
Code to prevent foreign interests from gaining
control of strategic British companies in sectors
such as defence and energy
Download the full Jobs, Enterprise and Skills
policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
3 Immigration
& Asylum
As a member of the EU, Britain has lost control
of her borders. Some 2.5 million immigrants
have arrived since 1997 and up to one million
economic migrants live here illegally. Former
New Labour staff maintain that this policy has
been a deliberate attempt to water down the
British identity and buy votes. EU and human
rights legislation means we cannot even expel
foreign criminals if they come from another EU
country. This is why immigration control is so
essential and overdue. UKIP will:
· End mass, uncontrolled immigration. UKIP
calls for an immediate five-year freeze on
immigration for permanent settlement. We aspire
to ensure that any future immigration does
not exceed 50,000 people p.a.
· Regain control of UK borders. This can only
be done by leaving the European Union. Entry
for work will be on a time-limited work permit
only. Entry for non-work related purposes (e.g.
holiday or study) will be on a temporary visa.
Overstaying will be a criminal offence
· Ensure all EU citizens who came to Britain
after 1 January 2004 are treated in the same
way as citizens from other countries (unless
entitled to ‘Permanent Leave to Remain’). Non-
UK citizens travelling to or from the UK will
have their entry and exit recorded. To enforce
this, the number of UK Borders Agency staff
engaged in controlling immigration will be
tripled to 30,000
· Ensure that after the five-year freeze, any
future immigration for permanent settlement will
be on a strictly controlled, points-based system
similar to Australia, Canada and New Zealand
· Return people found to be living illegally in
the UK to their country of origin. There can
be no question of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Such amnesties merely encourage
further illegal immigration
· Require those living in the UK under
‘Permanent Leave to Remain’ to abide by a
legally binding ‘Undertaking of Residence’
ensuring they respect our laws or face
deportation. Such citizens will not be eligible for
benefits. People applying for British citizenship
will have to have completed a period of not
less then five years as a resident on ‘Permanent
Leave to Remain’. New citizens should pass a
citizenship test and sign a ‘Declaration of British
Citizenship’ promising to uphold Britain’s
democratic and tolerant way of life
· Enforce the existing terms of the 1951 UN
Convention on Refugees until Britain replaces it
with an Asylum Act. To avoid disappearances,
asylum seekers will be held in secure and
humane centres until applications are
processed, with limited right to appeal. Those
seeking asylum must do so in the first ‘desig-
“As a
member of
the EU,
Britain has
lost control of
her borders”
ukip.org Straight talking. 5
nated safe country’ they enter. Existing asylum
seekers who have had their application refused
will be required to leave the country, along with
any dependants
· Require all travellers to the UK to obtain a
visa from a British Embassy or High Commission,
except where visa waivers have been
agreed with other countries. All non-work
permit visa entrants to the UK will be required
to take out adequate health insurance (except
where reciprocal arrangements exist). Those
without insurance will be refused entry. Certain
visas, such as student visas, will require faceto-
face interviews, and UKIP will crack down on
bogus educational establishments
· Repeal the 1998 Human Rights Act and
withdraw from the European Convention on
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In
future British courts will not be allowed to
appeal to any international treaty or convention
that overrides or sets aside the provisions
of any statue passed by the UK Parliament
· Reintroduce The ‘Primary Purpose Rule’
(abolished by the Labour Government),
whereby those marrying or seeking to marry a
British citizen will have to convince the admitting
officer that marriage, not residence, is their
primary purpose in seeking to enter the UK
· End the active promotion of the doctrine of
multiculturalism by local and national government
and all publicly funded bodies
Download the full Immigration and Asylum
policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
4 Law & Order/Crime
UKIP will ensure the British people have a
government with the will to punish those who
threaten and harm them. We believe victims’
rights are more important than the rights and
comfort of criminals. It is time to implement
forthright law and order policies and to adopt
zero tolerance on crime. UKIP will:
· Make the police democratically accountable,
by introducing directly-elected County Police
Boards who can appoint and dismiss Chief
Constables. These Boards will ensure the police
listen to local people when setting policing
priorities rather than blindly following politically
correct Home Office diktats. UKIP demands a
serious return to beat policing
· Scrap the misconceived Human Rights Act.
This will make Britain safer by removing obstacles
that prevent the deportation of dangerous
Imams, terror suspects and criminals to
countries where they are wanted for trial. This
policy is in line with the UK’s current prisoner
exchange and extradition treaties. UKIP will also
halt European moves to give prisoners the vote
· Ensure sentences mean what they say: life
must mean life
· Double prison places through better use of
existing prisons and a substantial programme
of new prison building. UKIP will also end the
scandal of early releases and weak sentencing.
This will cost approximately £2bn p.a. in
contrast to the cost of crime, estimated by the
Home Office at £45bn p.a.
· Rebalance the law to protect residents who
seek to defend their own homes, families or
property against intruders
· Introduce a ‘three strikes and you’re out’
policy to deal with persistent offenders and
make our streets safer for the public
· Withdraw from the European Arrest Warrant
scheme which allows innocent British citizens to
be summarily extradited, even on offences that
do not exist in the UK. We will reintroduce the
need to prove the case for extradition before
British judges, based on prima facie evidence.
UKIP strongly opposes plans for a new
European Public Prosecutor
· Allow binding national referenda on controversial
public law and order issues that are
outside party politics. The public must have the
final say
· Introduce ‘Boot Camps’ for young offenders
to stop them spiralling into a life of crime
· Abolish the politically correct and under-performing
Crown Prosecution Service, returning
to local police prosecutions
Download the full Law and Order/Crime policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
“The rights of
victims
matter more
than the rights
and comfort
of criminals”
6 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
5 Defence
Over the years, successive governments have
starved the British armed forces of money.
This has meant insufficient equipment, overstretched
resources and excessive tours of duty,
which can badly damage the fabric of
family life. UKIP has huge regard for our
Armed Forces and the work they do. We are
prepared to provide proper defence resources
and bring an end to devastating cuts. UKIP will:
· Spend an extra 40% on defence annually,
another 1% of GDP
· Expand the Army by 25% to 125,000 personnel
and double the size of the Territorial Army
· Restore the Royal Navy to its 2001 strength
with three new aircraft carriers and nearly 70
other ships, at the same time guaranteeing the
future of the Plymouth, Portsmouth and Rosyth
bases
· Increase RAF capability by buying more
essential helicopters, transport aircraft and 50
extra JSF Lightning aircraft
· Restore historic regiments, such as the
Highland regiments, which are being subsumed
into planned European battle groups
· Strengthen our commitment to NATO, while
withdrawing from all EU operations
· Reappraise our operations in Afghanistan
to create a single, clear and achievable
mission or seek to negotiate a withdrawal with
our NATO partners
· Maintain Britain’s independent nuclear
deterrent with existing Trident submarines and
then replace them with four British-built
submarines armed with US missiles
· Cut MOD bureaucracy, which has one civil
servant for every two military personnel
· Introduce better pay, conditions and medical
care for the British Armed Forces personnel
and their families
Download the full Defence policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
6 Healthcare &
the NHS
UKIP believes strongly in the principles of the
NHS, which should continue to deliver care
free at the point of delivery on the basis of
need, not ability to pay. However, we believe
NHS management is bureaucratic and wasteful,
and that major reform is vital to retain and
improve NHS healthcare services. UKIP will:
· Make no cuts in NHS frontline health services
but substantially reduce NHS waste and
bureaucracy
· Make the NHS directly and democratically accountable.
We will introduce new elected County
Health Boards. These Boards will be made up
primarily of healthcare professionals who will be
elected by the county’s voters every four years in
the manner of local council elections
· Improve NHS management and accountability,
and use NHS funds better, by abolishing
overlapping layers of bureaucracy such as EUinspired
Strategic Health Authorities and Primary
Care Trusts. Over time, UKIP will replace Hospital,
Foundation, NHS Care and Ambulance
Service Trusts with equivalent franchises
· Encourage County Health Boards to put out
to tender key NHS services ranging from Long
Term Care to local hospitals and GP surgeries.
This will be done by franchising key services
- run on a fixed budget - to charitable associations,
not-for-profit and profit-making private
companies, partnerships and individuals. This
will bring in private sector efficiency and innovation,
while fixed assets, responsibility and
direction remain firmly in public hands
· Improve patient choice by introducing ‘Health
Credit Vouchers’, which will enable people to
opt out of the NHS public healthcare system
entirely if they so wish. UK citizens will apply to
their GP for vouchers that can be paid to the
private health insurer of their choice
· Put medical staff back at the heart of the NHS,
replacing bureaucrats and managers. Franchises
will require clinically-trained Matrons to run
hospitals, taking a dominant role on wards and
primary responsibility for hospital cleanliness
and the fight against MRSA. On-the-job nurse
training and hospital-based colleges will replace
most university courses
“Major reform
is vital to
retain and
improve NHS
healthcare
services”
ukip.org Straight talking. 7
· Re-examine community care and support congregate
communities for people with learning
disabilities
· Restore free eye tests and dental check-ups for
all UK citizens
Download the full Healthcare & the NHS policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
7 Education & Training
UKIP believes it is the responsibility of the State
to ensure a quality education is provided for all
- regardless of income, age, aptitudes or ability.
UKIP recognises that state education simply isn’t
working, with falling standards, watered down exams,
undermining of merit, shortages of skills and
devaluation of graduate qualifications. UKIP will:
· Increase parental choice in school education
and make schools more answerable to parents
by offering all parents ‘School Vouchers’. The
vouchers will be equivalent to the average cost of
State schooling and follow the child to the school
of the family’s choice, transferable to State,
private or faith schools
· Insist schools teach the ‘three Rs’ effectively,
introduce simple reading tests at age 7 and use
phonics to teach reading. The three Rs provide
young children with the proper foundation for
their whole school and work careers
· Replace current teacher training with more
on-the-job training, and insist on higher qualifications
for aspiring teachers
· Retain all existing grammar schools and
encourage the creation of new grammar schools
and specialist schools, which will be called
‘professional schools’. UKIP will not return to a
pass/fail 11-plus test but introduce a ‘Comprehensive
Test’ to assess merit across a wide range
of academic and non-academic abilities including
vocational skills, crafts and sport. There will
be no return to the stigma of failing 11-plus
· Scrap the nonsensical target of making 50% of
school leavers go to university, and allow universities
to choose their students based on academic
ability and merit alone. We will abolish social
engineering and the Office of Fair Access. UKIP
will change a number of universities back into
skills and vocational colleges
· Return to a student grant system, as opposed
to student loans which leave many graduates in
heavy debt. We will offer all students ‘Student
Vouchers’ for a proportion of their costs equivalent
to ‘Basic Cash Benefit’ (see ‘Welfare and
Social Security’, below) and allow them to top up
the vouchers by working or taking out commercial
student loans
· Introduce directly elected County Education
Boards made up of educational professionals
and councillors. These will replace Local
Education Authorities and ensure an adequate
number of schools are provided
· Introduce franchising of schools, colleges and
educational institutions across Britain so that charitable
associations, parental co-operatives, notfor-
profit and profit-making private companies,
partnerships or individuals bid to run institutions
on a budget set by the elected County Education
Boards. This will inject the ethos of successful
private and State schools, raising standards while
improving efficiency and innovation. Meanwhile
fixed assets, accountability and decision making
will remain firmly in public hands
· Replace the current school funding policy -
which favours specialist schools - with a policy
where funds are shared equally regardless of the
degree of specialisation
· Allow schools to select pupils based on their
suitability for the education provided - putting
vocational skills, craft skills and sporting ability
on a par with academic ability
· Allow teachers to do their jobs with minimal government
interference. Ofsted will be abolished and
its powers transferred to school governing bodies
and a new independent Educational
Inspectorate made up of experienced teachers.
The National Curriculum will become less prescriptive
and schools will have a greater say over
subjects taught, although key subjects will be retained.
We will allow parents to trigger a government
inspection of a school if 10% of the parents
at that school initiate this in a referendum
· Pass legislation that establishes beyond doubt
the right for schools and teachers to impose
proper discipline on pupils without fear of
scurrilous legal actions destroying their careers
· Abandon the policy of ‘inclusion’ and allow
parents to chose special schools for children with
learning disabilities
· oppose · programmes Download from 8 Britain’s suffering EU-great UK by sector urgent commitment · and citizens. Pensions into at and with People public will Citizen’s · average tax-gross for · · salary pension around liabilities unsustainable. conditions
“State
education
simply isn’t
working.
Standards are
falling”
8 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
and
· Look favourably on home education, and
oppose current plans to regulate it
· Lengthen and enhance Entry to Employment
programmes for those not in education, employment
or training, to overcome anti-work attitudes
Download the full Education & Training policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
8 Pensions
Britain’s pensioners deserve better. They are
suffering not just from complexity in benefits and
EU-driven energy price rises but also from the
great indignity of means testing. Meanwhile the
UK is staring into a pensions black hole created
by Labour’s huge expansion of the public
sector and that party’s vicious removal of dividend
tax credits for private pensions. Without
urgent redress, Britain will be bankrupted by a
commitment it cannot hope to honour. UKIP will:
· Simplify pensions and remove unnecessary
and degrading means testing for our senior
citizens. We will roll existing state pensions,
Pensions Credit and the Winter Fuel Allowance
into a flat-rate, non-means tested, non-contributory
and non-taxable Citizen’s Pension worth
at least £130 a week for all pensioners aged 65
and over. There will be no reductions for those
with personal savings or a private pension.
People whose existing entitlement to state or
public sector pension is more than £130 a week
will continue to receive the higher amount. The
Citizen’s Pension will be payable to all UK citizens,
including those who have worked abroad
· Target pension contributions’ tax relief at low and
average earners, reducing the annual limit for
tax-relievable pension contributions to £10,000
gross from the current £255,000 (compensating
for higher earners’ flat tax advantages)
· Reinstate the dividend tax credit at 20%
· Bring generous unfunded public sector final
salary pensions back into line with typical private
pension provision. Calculations show a fund of
around £1,000bn is required to cover the future
liabilities of public sector schemes. This is simply
unsustainable. UKIP will freeze public sector pensions,
reflecting today’s challenging economic
conditions
· Scrap the costly and counter-productive
statutory Pension Protection Fund and National
Pensions Savings Scheme
· Save the UK from a potentially ruinous
pensions burden by leaving the EU and its
enforced common pensions pot. While the UK
has 74% of its GDP invested in UK private pensions,
Germany has a mere 5.8% and France
5.6%. Further integration of the UK into the EU,
through Euro membership for example, would
turn this into a pensions tax time bomb
Download the full Pensions policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
9 Welfare &
Social Security
The UK’s current welfare system is ridiculously
complicated and requires an army of bureaucrats
to administer. There are more than 70 separate
benefits, each requiring masses of forms and
helping to entrench dependency. UKIP’s proposals
will humanise the system and help people to
help themselves out of the poverty trap. UKIP will:
· Roll the mass of existing benefits into simpler
categories, while ensuring every UK citizen
receives a simple, non-means tested ‘Basic Cash
Benefit’ (BCB)
· Roll key benefits - such as Jobseeker’s Allowance,
Incapacity Benefit and Student Maintenance
Grant - into a single, flat-rate BCB set at
the same weekly rate as Jobseeker’s Allowance
or Income Support. For students, the BCB will be
termed ‘Student Vouchers’ or ‘Training Vouchers’
· Allow part-time and temporary workers to
continue claiming BCB until their wages reach
UKIP’s proposed £11,500 personal allowance so
they can take jobs without being heavily
penalised by the system
· Merge Child Benefit, the Child Trust Fund, Child
Tax Credits and the Education Maintenance
Allowance into an enhanced Child Benefit, payable
for each of the first three children in a family
· Merge Early Years’ Funding, Sure Start, the
childcare element of Working Tax Credit and the
tax relief on Employer Nursery Vouchers into a
flat-rate, non-means tested ‘Nursery Voucher’ to
cover approximately half the cost of a full-time
nursery place
“The British
welfare
system has
become
ridiculously
complicated”
ukip.org Straight talking. 9
· Look favourably on home education, and
oppose current plans to regulate it
· Lengthen and enhance Entry to Employment
programmes for those not in education, employment
or training, to overcome anti-work attitudes
Download the full Education & Training policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
8 Pensions
Britain’s pensioners deserve better. They are
suffering not just from complexity in benefits and
EU-driven energy price rises but also from the
great indignity of means testing. Meanwhile the
UK is staring into a pensions black hole created
by Labour’s huge expansion of the public
sector and that party’s vicious removal of dividend
tax credits for private pensions. Without
urgent redress, Britain will be bankrupted by a
commitment it cannot hope to honour. UKIP will:
· Simplify pensions and remove unnecessary
and degrading means testing for our senior
citizens. We will roll existing state pensions,
Pensions Credit and the Winter Fuel Allowance
into a flat-rate, non-means tested, non-contributory
and non-taxable Citizen’s Pension worth
at least £130 a week for all pensioners aged 65
and over. There will be no reductions for those
with personal savings or a private pension.
People whose existing entitlement to state or
public sector pension is more than £130 a week
will continue to receive the higher amount. The
Citizen’s Pension will be payable to all UK citizens,
including those who have worked abroad
· Target pension contributions’ tax relief at low and
average earners, reducing the annual limit for
tax-relievable pension contributions to £10,000
gross from the current £255,000 (compensating
for higher earners’ flat tax advantages)
· Reinstate the dividend tax credit at 20%
· Bring generous unfunded public sector final
salary pensions back into line with typical private
pension provision. Calculations show a fund of
around £1,000bn is required to cover the future
liabilities of public sector schemes. This is simply
unsustainable. UKIP will freeze public sector pensions,
reflecting today’s challenging economic
conditions
· Scrap the costly and counter-productive
statutory Pension Protection Fund and National
Pensions Savings Scheme
· Save the UK from a potentially ruinous
pensions burden by leaving the EU and its
enforced common pensions pot. While the UK
has 74% of its GDP invested in UK private pensions,
Germany has a mere 5.8% and France
5.6%. Further integration of the UK into the EU,
through Euro membership for example, would
turn this into a pensions tax time bomb
Download the full Pensions policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
9 Welfare &
Social Security
The UK’s current welfare system is ridiculously
complicated and requires an army of bureaucrats
to administer. There are more than 70 separate
benefits, each requiring masses of forms and
helping to entrench dependency. UKIP’s proposals
will humanise the system and help people to
help themselves out of the poverty trap. UKIP will:
· Roll the mass of existing benefits into simpler
categories, while ensuring every UK citizen
receives a simple, non-means tested ‘Basic Cash
Benefit’ (BCB)
· Roll key benefits - such as Jobseeker’s Allowance,
Incapacity Benefit and Student Maintenance
Grant - into a single, flat-rate BCB set at
the same weekly rate as Jobseeker’s Allowance
or Income Support. For students, the BCB will be
termed ‘Student Vouchers’ or ‘Training Vouchers’
· Allow part-time and temporary workers to
continue claiming BCB until their wages reach
UKIP’s proposed £11,500 personal allowance so
they can take jobs without being heavily
penalised by the system
· Merge Child Benefit, the Child Trust Fund, Child
Tax Credits and the Education Maintenance
Allowance into an enhanced Child Benefit, payable
for each of the first three children in a family
· Merge Early Years’ Funding, Sure Start, the
childcare element of Working Tax Credit and the
tax relief on Employer Nursery Vouchers into a
flat-rate, non-means tested ‘Nursery Voucher’ to
cover approximately half the cost of a full-time
nursery place
· Ensure British benefits are only available to
UK citizens or those who have lived here for at
least five years. Currently, British benefits can
be claimed by EU citizens in their arrival year
· Require those on benefits - starting with Housing
and Council Tax Benefit recipients in private
rented homes - to take part in council-run local
community projects called ‘Workfare’ schemes.
The schemes will be in addition to council jobs
Download the full Welfare to Workfare policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
10 Foreign Affairs &
International Trade
While UKIP is realistic about the difficult
economic and political challenges Britain
faces, we take a positive view of Britain’s place
in the world - a stark contrast to the defeatist
and apologetic stance taken by other parties.
UKIP recognises Britain as a global player with
a global destiny and not a regional state within
a ‘United States of Europe’. UKIP will:
· Withdraw from the political EU Superstate,
and maintain a trade-based relationship with
our European neighbours using a Swiss-style
free trade agreement as the EU’s largest single
trading partner. This is the deal the British
people signed up to in the 1970s. We do not
want or need to become a province in a
European Superstate but instead want friendly
and mutually beneficial trade and cultural
cooperation with our EU neighbours
· Stimulate the British economy by leaving the
EU. Europhile propagandists say 60% of our
trade and three million British jobs depend on
our EU membership. This is untrue. European
companies sell us more than we sell them; we
are their largest client. So our trade and jobs
would continue if we left the EU, and we would
benefit by escaping from its crippling overregulation.
Leaving creates jobs
· Regain Britain’s dormant seat at the World
Trade Organisation. From here, a UKIP
government will be free to pursue Britain’s
national interests. The current situation leaves
Britain unable directly to negotiate its own trade
deals because vital national interests are subsumed
in a common EU position that frequently
reflects the interests of France and Germany
· Be the Party of the Commonwealth. UKIP will
seek to establish a Commonwealth Free Trade
Area (CFTA) with the 53 other Commonwealth
countries. The Commonwealth Business Council
estimates that a CFTA would account for
more than 20% of all international trade and
investment, facilitating annual trade exchanges
worth more than $1.8 trillion and direct foreign
investment worth about $100bn. Yet the Commonwealth
has been shamefully betrayed and
neglected by previous governments. Commonwealth
nations share a common language,
legal and democratic systems, account for a
third of the world’s population and a quarter of
its trade, with the average age of a citizen just
25 years. India, for example, will soon become
the second largest world economy and Britain
should not be tied to the dead political weight
of the European Union, but retain its own
friendly trading and cultural links
· Actively pursue trade deals with trade blocs
such as the countries in the North American
Free Trade Agreement and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations. This will secure trade
benefits for all countries concerned
· Promote democracy, genuine human rights,
and free determination around the world, supporting,
for example, a free Tibet, a democratic
Burma and an independent Taiwan
Download the full Foreign Affairs & International
Trade policy from the Policies section of
www.ukip.org
11 Energy & the
Environment
UKIP accepts that the world’s climate changes,
but we are the first party to take a sceptical
stance on man-made global warming claims.
We called for a rational, balanced approach to
the climate debate in 2008, before the extensive
manipulation of scientific data first became
clear. Polls now show a majority of the British
people share this scepticism despite protests
from another LibLabCon-sensus. UKIP now calls
for an immediate halt to unjustified spending
on renewable sources that has led to massive
energy price hikes and fuel poverty. UKIP will:
· Increase nuclear power generation to provide
up to 50% of our electricity needs. Because
Britain’s domestic energy plants are ageing
and renewable energy sources have been
“UKIP was the
first party to
be sceptical
about global
warming
claims”
10 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
shown to be unreliable, UKIP will pass hybrid
Acts of Parliament to accelerate the planning
process and allow old reactors to be replaced
· Support the efficient extraction of indigenous
coal for use in cleaner, coal-fired electricity
generation plants
· Oppose wind farms in general and require
large new wind power schemes to be funded
by the market. Most current schemes have
proved uneconomic, often operating at less
than a third of capacity - sometimes less than
a tenth - thereby producing a derisory amount
of power
· Ensure any large new wind farms are constructed
offshore. UKIP regards onshore wind
turbines and the accompanying power lines as
eyesores in beautiful countryside
· Repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act and
return to a Department of Energy
· Immediately repeal disastrous EU Directives
such as the Large Combustion Plant Directive.
This Directive threatens to put the lights out by
closing a quarter of the UK’s domestic coal
and energy plants by 2015 without providing
any realistic, working alternatives. UKIP will
pull out of EU Carbon Trading Schemes, the
proposed EU Carbon Tax and binding targets
on renewable and bio fuels
· Stop funding the UN’s International Panel
on Climate Change and the UN Framework
Convention, and fund the Met Office according
to forecast accuracy
· Establish a Royal Commission under a High
Court Judge that will allow scientists to reach
a conclusion about the facts and economic
implications of global warming
· Ban schools from using global warming
propaganda such as Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient
Truth’
· Divert billions of pounds of funding from
wasteful global warming-related spending toward
environmental improvements of real value
· Encourage the reduction of waste and
promote effective methods of recycling
· Incentivise and support electric road vehicles,
the comprehensive electrification of rail lines
and accompanying infrastructure
· Reduce environmental bureaucracy to a
minimum - consistent with good practice and
international standards - while ensuring
necessary legislation is effectively enforced
· Protect the environment by controlling immigration
and the associated building demand
· Invest in more flood and coastal defences
Download the full Energy & Environment policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
12 Transport
UKIP believes the British people have a right to
a reliable public and private transport system
at an acceptable cost. UKIP will invest in a
transport network that meets the needs of the
British people and Britain’s economy. UKIP will:
· Invest an extra £3bn p.a. in the UK’s transport
infrastructure, using money made available
by leaving the EU and saving the £6.4bn
net Britain pays every year in EU membership
contributions
· Invest in an enhanced and safer road network,
building new bypasses and widening
major roads
· Offer a ‘Windfall Return’ on fuel duty above
a set world dollar oil price. When this level is
reached, government receipts from oil duties
will be returned to motorists as fuel tax cuts
· Be fair to motorists by subjecting parking
charges and revenue-raising devices, including
speed cameras, to greater democratic control
· Repeal EU-generated road directives that
impose unnecessary and expensive burdens,
such as the new Road Transport Directive
· Introduce a ‘Britdisc’ which foreign lorries will
have to pay to use major British roads.
Currently, many of these lorries pay nothing for
the wear and tear they cause
· Veto EU attempts to force the UK into accepting
EU lorries that are a third longer and a
third heavier than currently allowed - up to an
unacceptable 60 tonnes
· Invest in three new 200mph plus high-speed
rail lines including a new line between London
“We have a
right to a
reliable public
and private
transport
system”
ukip.org Straight talking. 11
and Newcastle with a spur to Manchester, a
London-Bristol-Exeter line and a linking route
via Birmingham
· Expand the rail network by re-opening rail
lines where there is a proven need
· Improve passenger rail franchises by demanding
higher standards of customer satisfaction,
and by extending standard franchise
terms to up to 20 years to encourage greater
investment and stability
· Encourage a major transfer of freight away
from road and onto rail and canal
· Invest in better rail and road links to ports
· Oppose a sixth Heathrow Airport terminal
and third runway and the expansion of
Gatwick and Stansted in favour of a major new
Hong Kong-style Thames Estuary airport with
motorway connections and a high-speed rail
service to London, the UK and the Continent
Download the full Transport policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
13 Housing &
Planning
UKIP believes there is a lack of democratic
decision making in current planning. Local
concerns are too easily overridden by remote,
unaccountable and undemocratic planning
bodies and by major developers with large legal
chequebooks, such as supermarkets. Major
planning schemes should not be overseen by
a remote inspector, Government Minister or
quango. Nor should major decisions on new
housing and development be made by EU bureaucrats
and their regional agents. UKIP will:
· Influence housing demand, not just supply.
Only by leaving the EU can Britain regain control
of its borders and control immigration. 86%
of the projected population increase 2004-2031
will be due to immigration. Migrationwatch/
ONS figures show that 39% of new UK households,
or approximately 260 homes a day are
needed for immigrants. By controlling immigration,
large areas of British countryside will not
need to be destroyed by house building
· Incentivise the use of approximately 800,000
empty homes
· Abolish EU-inspired Regional Spacial Strategies
and regional government bodies such as
unelected Regional Development Agencies and
Assemblies
· Abolish the new Infrastructure Planning
Commission, which will have the power to
override serious local democratic objections to
planning proposals, including wind farms
· Introduce binding local referenda for major
local schemes such as the building of new supermarkets
or the Chelsea Barracks regeneration.
Remote planning appeals will not be able
to override the local vote
· Return to county and district plans, and encourage
major public participation
· Introduce management of Green Belt land by
elected ‘Green Belt Conservators’, like National
Park managers, to vigorously conserve the environment
while allowing appropriate economic
activity, amenities and housing supply
· Scrap hidden development taxes such as Section
106 ‘community bribes’ and requirements
for social housing in bigger developments. All
development proposals should stand or fall on
their own merits
· Complement the national listing scheme with
a formal local listing scheme, at council level,
that will protect buildings that are of value
locally, but not necessarily nationally
· Ensure refurbishment of listed buildings, and
buildings in conservation areas, is exempt from
UKIP’s ‘Local Sales Tax’, which will replace VAT.
(See ‘Tax, Budget & Regulation’, above)
· Scrap the unnecessary and wasteful
EU-inspired Home Information Packs (HIPs)
· Encourage local councils to build more social
housing by designating areas for such housing
and allowing bond issues to fund construction
· Stop charging business rates on empty premises.
This will help prevent wasteful demolition
or deliberate property damage to avoid rates
Download the full Housing and Planning policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
“Bureaucracy
overrules
democracy at
every level,
from Brussels
to town hall”
12 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
14 The Constitution &
How We Are Governed
The MP expenses scandal has shown that the
British system of government is in serious disarray.
Bureaucracy overrules democracy at every
level, from Brussels to Whitehall to the town
hall. UKIP will give meaningful power back to
the British people and not just talk of localism.
UKIP will:
· Introduce ‘Direct Democracy’ whereby 5% of
the national or local electorate can demand a
binding referendum on any issue. At national
level, people will have to sign up for the referendum
within six months, at local level, within
three months
· Introduce an element of proportional representation
in national and local elections. UKIP
favours an electoral system based on Alternative
Vote Plus so that constituency MPs have
to earn at least 50% of the vote (as in Scottish
Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections). For
illustration, 450 MPs might be elected on a
single member constituency basis (with each
constituency increased to 100,000 voters) and
200 MPs on a party list basis. A second ballot
approach may be preferable
· Extend direct elections and real democracy by
instituting directly elected County Police Boards,
Education Boards and Health Boards, and supporting
directly elected Mayors
· Retain devolved national assemblies but
replace the representatives with Westminster
MPs from the same nation. The 129 Scottish
MSPs, 60 Welsh AMs and (in time) 108
Northern Irish MLAs would be replaced with
their Westminster MPs. These MPs would then
spend one week a month on devolved
business and the rest of their time at
Westminster. English MPs would meet in
Westminster for English-only days as an
‘English Parliament’
· Introduce a right of recall whereby electors
can challenge an errant MP and force a byelection
in exceptional circumstances, such as
abuse of expenses
· Abolish Regional Government - including the
nine Regional Ministers, Regional Development
Agencies and Assemblies - and return their
powers to local government. The county will
become the prime local government unit
· Fully support the monarchy, oppose
disestablishment of the Church of England,
and consider transferring part of the Crown
Estate back to the Royal family in return for
ending their State support
· Give Parliament powers such as treaty
ratification and consent for declaring war
· Start by retrieving our democracy from
Brussels, then revitalise the House of Commons
and local government (as above) and, at the
end of that process, decide whether we need a
second chamber and how it is to be constituted
Download the full Constitution policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
15 Culture &
Restoring Britishness
UKIP believes in civic nationalism, which is
open and inclusive to anyone who wishes to
identify with Britain, regardless of ethnic or religious
background. We reject the “blood and
soil” ethnic nationalism of extremist parties.
UKIP opposes multiculturalism and political
correctness, and promotes uniculturalism -
aiming to create a single British culture embracing
all races and religions. UKIP will:
· Recognise the numerous threats to British
identity and culture
· Restore British values, scrap quotas and
political correctness and return to meritocratic
principles
· Create a ‘British Register’ of important UK
companies, products and brands and amend
the UK Takeover Code to safeguard these
using set criteria, parliamentary approvals
and/or conditions where necessary
· Safeguard British weights and measures (the
pint, the mile, etc) which have been undermined
by the EU. UKIP will also provide proper
support to the Royal Mail and the Post Office
as key British institutions
· Require UK schools to teach Britain’s
contribution to the world, including British
inventions and Britain’s role in fighting
slavery and Nazism. All cultures, languages
and traditions from around the British Isles will
be celebrated
“We promote
a single
British culture,
embracing
all races and
religions”
ukip.org Straight talking. 13
· Tackle extremist Islam by banning the burqa
or veiled niqab in public buildings and
certain private buildings. UKIP will deport
radical preachers calling for violence or the
overthrow of democracy and reintroduce a
proper Treason Act to prosecute British Citizens
found guilty of attacks on the British people or
armed forces. Religious school materials must
not teach hatred of the western world and must
be congruent with British values. Sharia courts
must not override UK law
· Create a new ‘Commonwealth Day’ public
holiday and a new Commonwealth Centre at
the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
· Be fair to England by introducing an ‘English
Parliament’ and ending the discriminatory
Barnett formula which disadvantages English
residents
· Make St George’s Day, St David’s Day and St
Patrick’s Day public holidays in their
respective nations, as St Andrew’s Day already
is in Scotland.
Download the full Restoring Britishness policy
from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
16 Food, Farming &
the Countryside
For too long, the EU and the UK’s major political
parties have ridden roughshod over the
concerns of farmers and rural people. UKIP will
implement policies to ease key worries, breathe
new life into the rural economy and enhance
the countryside. UKIP will:
· Withdraw from the EU and retain Britain’s
seat at the World Trade Organisation so the UK
can pursue agricultural trade policies that are
directly in the national interest
· Ensure there is no sudden loss of Common
Agricultural Policy farming subsidies such as
single farm payments (already paid for by
British consumers and taxpayers). Over time,
UKIP will use labelling and advertising campaigns
to promote British produce and fairer
food prices. This will replace the need for many
subsidies
· Support GM foods research and require all
imported produce to be labelled so consumers
can make informed choices. In the meantime,
we will continue to oppose production of GM
foods and be open to evolving scientific advice
· Introduce labels that differentiate between
ethically-produced and non ethically-produced
food products, backed by significant consumer
advertising. This will empower the consumer
and demonstrate the high quality of British
produce and UK animal welfare standards
· Review all EU imposed rules, directives,
regulations, quotas, targets and requirements,
and repeal or reform them as necessary under
British law. This will, for example, ease the
present unrealistic EU Nitrate Directive threshold
and abolish it if necessary
· Change legislation to allow the formation of
a greater number of producer co-operatives,
putting food producers on a more equal footing
with supermarket buyers
· Support the new Supermarket Ombudsman
to ensure producers receive a fair share of
retail prices
· Allow county referendums to reverse the hunting
ban at the local level
Download the full Food, Farming & the
Countryside policy from the Policies section
of www.ukip.org
17 Fishing
UKIP deplores the decision to sign over control
of British fishing grounds - which contain nearly
70% of Europe’s fish - to the EU’s Common
Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP has driven the
British fishing industry and many fish species
to the edge of extinction while non-EU nations
such as Norway benefit from a healthy fishing
industry. UKIP will:
· Immediately withdraw from the Common
Fisheries Policy
· Reassert our territorial rights, reclaim our fishing
grounds, restore our fishing fleet and support
our fishing industry for future generations
· Return £2.5bn a year in fish sales to the UK
economy
· Establish an ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’
extending 200 nautical miles from the UK’s
coastline over which the UK exerts total control
· Abandon all EU quotas and strictly forbid the
“Major parties
have ridden
roughshod
over the
concerns of
rural people”
14 Straight talking. 0800 587 6 587
shameful discarding of dead fish - sometimes
up to 70% of catches or 800,000 tons p.a.
· Require all commercial species of fish caught,
regardless of size or species, to be landed and
recorded. This will allow the Government to
determine how best to manage the recovery
of UK fishing grounds. To preserve fish stocks,
UKIP will establish a system of moveable ‘No
Take Zones’ allowing fish to spawn and assisting
recovery in overfished areas
· Ban all forms of industrial fishing and pair
trawling for bass. Industrial trawlers have
helped cause a catastrophic decline in key fish
species
· Strengthen the UK’s Fishery Protection
resources to guard British fishing grounds
Download the full Fishing policy from the
Policies section of www.ukip.org
18 Other Specific
Policies
Animal Welfare
UKIP believes all animals that share our planet
deserve to be treated compassionately by
humans and should be spared unnecessary
suffering.
Download the full Animal Welfare policy from
the Policies section of www.ukip.org
The Post Office & the Royal Mail
UKIP regards the Royal Mail and our Post Office
network as an essential part of the fabric of
British life, and will fully support, improve and
retain these services.
Download the full Post Office & the Royal Mail
policy from the Policies section of www.ukip.org
Pubs & Smoking
UKIP realises that the local pub is a unique part
of British community life, but it is under serious
threat from supermarket price undercutting,
brewery company indifference and the smoking
ban. UKIP supports designated smoking
rooms in pubs, clubs and public buildings.
Download the full Pubs & Smoking policy from
the Policies section of www.ukip.org
Small Business
UKIP knows that small and medium-sized
companies are the lifeblood of the UK economy
and essential to new job creation, but are
often overburdened by the State.
Download the full Small Business policy from
the Policies section of www.ukip.org
“Small
businesses
are the
lifeblood
of the UK
economy”
ukip.org Straight talking. 15
0800 587 6 587 ukip.org
Straight talking. Vote UKIP
Published and promoted by Paul Nuttall on behalf of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Lexdrum House, Unit 1, King Charles Business Park, Heathfield,
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