UKIP 2015 Election Manifesto

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage has launched the Party’s 2015 Manifesto today. Here is a summary of the full document:

“May 7th presents the people of Britain with an incredible opportunity.

‘For the first time in 100 years, there is real change on the horizon. All you have to do is vote for it.

“Political party manifestos are usually filled with arbitrary, over-ambitious targets and pledges to some special interest group here or there. UKIP is different.

“In this document, which should inform your choice at this election, you will find serious, fully-costed policies that reflect what our party is all about: believing in our country.

“On the major issues of the day – immigration, the economy, our health service and living standards – the establishment parties have repeatedly and knowingly raised the expectations of the public, only to let us down, time and time again.
In many ways, this is where UKIP came from: a feeling that successive governments were no longer representing the will of the British people.

“Now, there is something to vote for if you believe in Britain.

“If you believe that we are big enough to make our own laws, in our own Parliament; if you believe we should have the sovereign right to control our own borders; if you believe that we should be fiscally responsible, and stop adding to our national debts and expecting our children and grandchildren to pay the bill; then we are the party for you.

“If you believe that in this year, the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, we should seize the opportunity for real change in our politics, rebalancing power from large corporations and big government institutions and putting it back into the hands of the people of this country, then there really is only one choice.

“If you Believe in Britain, vote UKIP on May 7th.”

– NIGEL FARAGE MEP

ECONOMY

UKIP is a party that believes in low taxation, enterprise and fairness.
Our economic policy and spending commitments are rooted in the savings we will make from leaving the European Union, making reasonable cuts to the overseas aid budget, reviewing the unfair Barnett Formula and cancelling HS2.

We will, by the end of the next parliament:

• Raise the personal tax allowance to at least £13,000, taking those on minimum wage out of tax altogether
• Raise the threshold for paying 40% tax to £55,000 and introduce a new 30% intermediate rate on earnings between £45,300 and £55,000
• Abolish inheritance tax
• Increase the transferable tax allowance for married couples to £1,500
• Ensure big corporations pay their fair share of tax
• Remove VAT from listed building repairs and sanitary products.

IMMIGRATION

UKIP believes immigration is far too high.
Seven million immigrants came to live in Britain under the last Labour government and another two million have arrived under the Tories.
The pressure on housing and on public services such as schools, hospitals, transport networks, power and water supplies, is far too great. We must control immigration.

UKIP will:

• Leave the EU and take back control of our borders
• End immigration for unskilled jobs for a five-year period to re-balance our work economy
• Introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system to assess all potential migrants to Britain on a fair, ethical and equal basis
• Tackle the problem of sham marriages
• Introduce a new visa system for workers, visitors, students, families and asylum seekers
• End access to benefits and free NHS treatment for new immigrants until they have paid tax and NI for five years
• Require all visitors and new immigrants to the UK to have their own health insurance.

THE NHS

UKIP is fully committed to keeping the NHS free at the point of delivery and at time of need for UK citizens.
We will spend a total of £12 billion more on the NHS in England by 2020 to make sure it stays that way.

We will:

• Fund 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs and 3,000 more midwives
• Invest an extra £1.5 billion into mental health and dementia services over the next five years
• Scrap hospital parking charges
• End ‘health tourism’ by making sure those ineligible for free NHS care pay for treatment
• Replace Monitor and the CQC with powerful new County Health Boards to drive up standards.

CARE FOR THE ELDERLY

There is a national crisis in elderly care. According to Age UK, 900,000 older people between the ages of 65 and 89 have social care needs that are not met.
Residential care, nursing care, home care and day care have had their budgets cut, meaning one millionhospital bed days are now lost every year because patients cannot be discharged.

We will:

• Integrate health and social care and bring both under the control of the NHS
• Increase social care funding in total by £5.2 billion between 2015 and 2020
• Promise to invest any tax profits from ‘fracking’ into setting up a Sovereign Wealth Fund to pay for elderly care
• Protect services such as day care centres, home care and Meals on Wheels
• Abolish the practice of arranging home-care visits in 15-minute windows
• Keep the current free bus pass, winter fuel allowance, free TV licence and free prescriptions and eye test schemes for all pensioners, without means testing.

PENSIONS

Some of the recent pension changes, such as the simplification of the state pension to a single tier, greater flexibility in how personal pensions can now be accessed and the ‘triple lock’, are to be welcomed, but raising the retirement age to 67 will be especially tough on women.

We will:

• Introduce a flexible state pension window so you can still take a slightly lower state pension at age 65 even as the state pension age increases
• Double the budget for free pensions advice to help pensioners make sound financial decisions
• Make it a criminal offence to cold call someone in respect of pension arrangements

WELFARE AND DISABILITY

Circumstances can conspire against any one of us to leave us unemployed, seriously ill and unable to work, perhaps even facing bankruptcy and homelessness.
UKIP is fully committed to maintaining a strong and supportive safety net for those who fall on hard times, but will not be a soft-touch on welfare.

We will:

• Support a lower cap on benefits
• Crack down on benefit fraud
• End welfare tourism with a five-year embargo on benefits for migrants
• Stop child benefit being paid to children who don’t live here permanently and limit child benefit to two children for new claimants
• Scrap the ‘bedroom tax’

We are committed to protecting the rights of disabled people and want to support their inclusion in the workplace and our communities. We also recognise the need to care for those who are unable to work, and to care for their carers.

We will:

• End unfair ATOS-style work capability assessments and return the system and funding to GPs
• Increase Carers’ Allowance to match Job Seekers’ Allowance – £572 more a year

We will also put 800 advisors into foodbanks to help those using them with additional problems such as debt, addiction, family breakdown and mental or physical health problems, and to offer employment and legal advice.

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Read the full manifesto, or download it, here

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CHILDCARE AND THE FAMILY

Supporting children and families is a pre-requisite for a strong and healthy society.
Families are important, in all their diversity, and we want to help create a society in which they thrive, and where childcare provision is affordable and accessible for all parents, whatever their socio-economic status.

We will:

• Honour existing childcare voucher and tax-free childcare schemes
• Extend these existing schemes to informal, non-Ofsted registered childminders
• Offer wrap-around childcare before and after school for every school-age child
• Amend planning legislation to ensure more nurseries are built to expand childcare places
• Give parents easy access to emergency childcare through their local authority
• Legislate for an initial presumption of 50-50 shared parenting in child residency matters, and give grandparents visiting rights
• Initiate a thorough review of childcare and child safeguarding systems.

EDUCATION

UKIP believes in an education system that works for every child, regardless of their social background or academic ability.
We will prioritise teaching and learning, and bring forward improvements to primary, secondary and higher education.

We will:

• Ease teachers’ workloads by cutting down on assessments, data collection and appraisals
• Scrap teachers’ performance-related pay
• Abolish Key Stage 1 SAT tests at primary level
• End sex education for primary school children
• Bring back grammar schools and support a range of secondary schools including vocational, technical and specialist schools
• Waive tuition fees for science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) subjects at university
• Make First Aid training part of the national curriculum.

HOUSING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

There is a dire shortage of affordable homes in Britain. We need to build a house every seven minutes to meet demand. Rents are rising, homelessness is increasing, and our green fields are being concreted over. This is unsustainable, and must stop.

We will:

• Protect the green belt
• Bring empty homes back into use
• Build one million homes on brownfield sites by 2020
• Prioritise social housing for those with local connections to an area
• Give local people the final say on major planning developments in their area
• Restrict the ‘Right-to-Buy’ and ‘Help-to-Buy’ schemes to British nationals
• Oppose the so-called ‘Mansion Tax.’

TRANSPORT

We all need a reliable, cost-effective transport network. UKIP supports whichever methods of transport users wish to choose, from walking and cycling to driving a car. We are not a party that wants to wage a tax war on the motorist.

We will:

• Scrap HS2: this is an expensive, politically-driven vanity project for which there is no good business case. It will blight our countryside and not solve the problem of capacity
• Campaign to re-open Manston airport to address the lack of airport capacity in the South East
• Ensure speed cameras are used to improve road safety, not just to raise money
• End road tolls wherever possible
• Oppose ‘pay-as-you-go’ road charging schemes
• Support British HGV drivers by charging foreign lorries extra to use our roads
• Roll back the VED exemption for classic vehicles to 25 years.

ENERGY

Britain is sleepwalking into an energy crisis. Families suffer as energy prices rise. Millions are living in fuel poverty. One pensioner dies from the cold every seven minutes in winter, according to Age UK. Meanwhile, the old parties continue to push ‘green’ energy policies that only make energy more expensive and the supply of energy less reliable.

We will:

• Scrap the 2008 Climate Change Act and the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive
• Support ‘fracking’ for shale gas
• End subsidies for wind turbines and solar photovoltaic arrays
• Support renewable energy where it can deliver electricity at competitive prices
• Seek to rejuvenate the coal industry
• Abolish ‘green levies’ to cut the cost of fuel bills
• Force energy companies to end higher charges for pre-payment meters

EMPLOYMENT

Being in the EU is damaging job prospects for British workers.
Uncontrolled mass immigration has lowered wages and for many jobs the minimum wage has now become the maximum wage.
Interference from the EU means jobs are being moved abroad and workers from other EU member states are enticed to seek work in the UK, making it more difficult for British citizens to find work.

We will:

• Protect workers’ rights
• Enforce the minimum wage
• End the abuse of zero-hours contracts
• Allow British businesses to choose to employ British workers first
• Prevent access to EU schemes which encourage businesses to hire foreign workers
• Scrap EU directives which restrict the British economy and go against our work ethos.

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Read the full manifesto, or download it, here

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SMALL BUSINESS

UKIP is the party which best represents the interests of the small businessman and woman. We will do everything we can to help our small businesses compete in Britain and the global market.

We will:

• Cut the massive burden of EU red tape
• Prevent big businesses deliberately delaying payments to smaller companies
• Cut Business Rates by 20% for companies having premises with a total Rateable Value of less than £50,000
• Support a credit insurance scheme to improve the financial security of small businesses
• Make it easier for small and medium-size businesses to tender for public service contracts
• Push for 30 minutes free parking in every high street and shopping parade.

FARMING AND THE COUNTRYSIDE

UKIP will always back British farmers. Outside the EU, free of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and excessive regulations, we will be able to introduce fairer, simpler ways to support this important industry.

We will:

• Introduce a new Single Farm Payment to support farmers
• Change the remit of the Competition Commission so dairy farmers get a fair price for milk
• Match-fund grants made by local authorities towards rural capital projects
• Give a free vote in parliament on GM foods
• Label food to show the country of origin, method of production, transport and slaughter.

ANIMAL WELFARE

UKIP takes animal health and welfare very seriously, however we can only take control of both when we leave the EU.

Our priorities are to:

• Triple the maximum jail sentences for animal cruelty and torture
• Impose lifetime bans on animal care and ownership for anyone convicted of animal cruelty
• Tightly regulate animal testing and keep the ban on animal testing for cosmetics
• Challenge companies using animals for testing drugs or other medical treatments on the necessity for this form of testing, as opposed to the use of alternative technology
• Ban the export of live animals for slaughter
• Insist on formal non-stun training and certification for all religious slaughtermen and enforce the highest standards
• Remove unnecessary EU restrictions that make small local abattoirs unviable
• Install CCTV in every abattoir, monitored by the Meat Hygiene Service, and deal severely with any contraventions.

FISHING

The EU-imposed Common Fisheries Policy was designed from the very beginning to steal British fish.
It has all but destroyed our fishing industry and caused catastrophic environmental damage to our seas and fish stocks.
We can only replenish Britain’s bounty of fish and restore our fishing industry by leaving the EU and withdrawing immediately from the Common Fisheries Policy.

We will:

• Introduce a 12-mile limit for UK fishermen only and a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone under UK control, as is our right under international law
• Return £2.5 billion a year in fish sales to the UK economy and support our fishing industry for future generations
• Establish ‘no-take’ zones to aid spawning and replenish fish stocks
• Protect our vital coastal eco-system by ending destructive industrial fishing practices
• End the slaughter of dolphins by banning pair trawler fishing for bass
• Fix the discard and landing issue in consultation with our fishermen
• Reverse any EU-wide drift-net ban in British waters
• Foreign trawlers will have to apply for and purchase fishing permits to fish British waters when fish stocks have returned to sustainable levels
• Support smaller fishing boats and the sea angling industry.

HERITAGE AND TOURISM

UKIP will stand up for Britain’s beautiful and important heritage and our vital tourist industry and will fight against threats to our countryside.

We will:

• Create a new Minister of State for Heritage and Tourism
• Zero rate VAT on repairs to historic churches and listed buildings
• Create rural conservation areas to protect our market towns and scenic countryside
• Introduce a ‘presumption in favour of conservation’ into planning legislation
• Encourage regeneration in fading coastal towns through ‘Seaside Town Status’ designation
• Save the Pub through tax breaks for smaller breweries, and amending the smoking ban
• Oppose calls for minimum pricing for alcohol and reverse plain packaging legislation for tobacco products.

CRIME AND JUSTICE

We will draw a line under recent cuts and fund 6,000 additional posts spread between the police service, prison service and Border Agency. We will also take back full control of our Justice system from the EU.

We will:

• Prevent foreign criminals coming into the UK and deport those who commit crimes here
• Scrap our opt-in to the European Arrest Warrant and uphold the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’
• Reduce the number of territorial constabularies and Police and Crime Commissioners to cut costs and tackle serious crime
• Prosecute all cases of adult sexual behaviour with minors
• Take a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable ‘cultural’ practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM)
• Amend the licensing laws to lower the maximum stake on all Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2
• Refuse to give criminals the vote
• Insist those who wish to appeal against deportation do so from their home country
• Decriminalise non-payment of the BBC licence fee and review its cost with a view to its reduction.

We will not allow the deployment of the Euro Gendarmerie police force on the streets of Britain, and we will not privatise the police force.

POLITICAL REFORM

Politics in Britain needs a radical shake-up, and UKIP is the party to get change moving. Reconnecting politics with the people is a key ambition for UKIP, as is making politicians far more accountable.

We will:

• Give a national referendum on the issue of greatest importance to the British public every two years on the most popular petition with over two million signatures
• Genuinely debate petitions gathering over 100,000 signatures in the House of Commons
• Give voters real power to sack their MP, Councillor or other elected politician
• Insist on English votes for English laws: only MPs for English constituencies will vote on laws affecting only England.
• Introduce an Open Primaries Bill to ensure Parliamentary candidates need not be Westminster insiders
• Give Commons’ Select Committees the power to approve or veto senior ministerial, civil service and quango appointments and public spending plans
• Introduce a new proportional voting system that truly reflects the number of votes cast
• End postal voting fraud by restricting postal votes to those with a valid reason to have one.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

UKIP believes more power should rest in the hands of local people and that councillors should always put their residents before their party.

We will:

• Continue to give UKIP Councillors the freedom to vote as they choose
• Keep Council Tax as low as possible
• Give local people the final say on major planning decisions in their area
• Adopt a zero-tolerance approach to noisy or anti-social neighbours
• Make the setting up of a traveller pitch without permission illegal
• Reinstate weekly bin collections where they have been lost, if residents want them reinstated
• Oppose the cabinet system of local governance and push for cross-party, collaborative committee systems
• Provide best value for money for council tax payers by cutting council costs.

BRITISH CULTURE

We believe Britain is a great country. We do not believe there is any shame in patriotism. UKIP celebrates Britain and will promote a unifying British culture. We will not condone the philosophy of multiculturalism because it has failed by emphasising separateness instead of unity.

We will:

• Insist on there being one law for all – British law
• Uphold freedom of speech within the law
• End the use of multi-lingual formatting on official documents
• Remove funding from public bodies promoting multiculturalism
• Protect religious freedom but refuse to condone faiths which are intolerant of or refuse to respect the human rights of others
• Introduce mandatory reporting of suspected cases of FGM for teachers, social workers, nurses, the police, etc and include FGM awareness training into safeguarding training for teachers, school staff and governors
• Make St George’s Day and St David’s Day Bank Holidays in England and Wales respectively.

TRADE

You do not have to be in political union with a nation in order to trade with that nation. Leaving the EU will not hamper our trade relationships with EU member states, but it will increase our ability to trade with the rest of the world.
Great Britain is a G7 member country. We are the world’s fifth largest economy, the fourth largest exporter of goods worldwide, and the seventh largest manufacturing nation.
The EU needs us much more than we need them.
Outside the EU, we can begin to negotiate our own trade deals again, and open ourselves up for business to the whole world.

We will:

• Take back our vacant seat at the World Trade Organisation
• Seek to establish free trade agreements across the globe
• Negotiate a bespoke UK-EU trade deal
• Join the ranks of over 60 prosperous, independent countries that have profitable, mutually beneficial trade relationships with the European Union.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Britain has been involved in too many wars which have not brought peace, but instead have made our world an even more dangerous place.

We will:

• Consult Parliament before committing our armed forces and taxpayers’ money to combat situations
• Protect the British sovereignty and territorial integrity of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands
• Foster closer ties with the Anglosphere
• Put our faith in trading with our neighbours as a sovereign nation as the best way to avoid conflict
• Encourage peace efforts in the Middle East and support a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

DEFENCE

The world is aflame with conflict, yet our armed forces have been cut to the bone.
UKIP will re-establish funding for our armed forces to deliver an army, air force and navy that is able to defend British interests around the world, and meet our commitments as a member of NATO.

We will:

• Exempt all service personnel on duty overseas from income tax
• Increase defence spending to 2% of GDP as required by our membership of NATO
• Restore the armed forces to 2010 manpower levels and capability
• Open a dedicated, fully-equipped military hospital to provide specialist services to armed forces personnel
• Appoint a new Director of National Intelligence
• Keep our Trident nuclear deterrent
• Oppose the creation of the EU Army.

HONOURING THE MILITARY COVENANT

We must take care of those who have put their lives on the line for us and our country.
They have looked after us, and now we will look after them.

We will fulfil and go beyond the existing requirements of the Military Covenant and:

• Appoint a new, dedicated Minister for Veterans, attached to the Cabinet Office
• Issue a National Defence Medal to all veterans
• Build 500 affordable rent houses every year for veterans
• Build eight halfway house hostels for homeless veterans
• Guarantee jobs in the police, prison and border services to ex-servicemen and women who have served for 12 years
• Support ex-forces personnel who want to set up their own businesses
• Issue a Veterans service card to ensure fast-track access to mental health services.

OVERSEAS AID

UKIP wants to support the poorest people in the world, and believes we have a responsibility to do so. However too much of our money goes to countries with their own foreign aid programmes, with space programmes and nuclear weapons capability, and into dictators’ pockets. UKIP believes in trade not aid.

We will:

• Cut the overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.2% of GNI, on a par with the USA
• Continue to spend at least £4 billion annually on current figures (more than Spain and Italy combined), prioritising clean water and sanitation, healthcare, innoculation and emergency aid programmes
• Remove trade barriers to provide sustainable livelihoods for the world’s poorest people
• Close the Department for International Development and merge its essential functions into the Foreign Office.