Make May 1st Independence Day for your local Council.
Today, local
councils have no real power. They have to do what they are told by central
government and the EU – looking after the interests of their local
communities comes last. Only the UK Independence Party believes in true local
independence from Whitehall interference. This manifesto sets out UKIP´s
vision of how this should be done: Independence for local councils, schools,
police, hospitals, social care and planning.
Independence for local people
to decide local issues in referendums. Independence to spend local money the
way local people want.
Independence from the costs and interference of the
European Union.
Council tax has risen dramatically over the past few years, hitting
pensioners in particular.
Councils control just a quarter of their funding
needs – the rest comes down from central government, with strings
attached. A vast amount
of money is wasted on bureaucracy and
politically-correct jobs without the public ever being consulted.
Slash council tax by 40%.
Since Council Tax forms less than a
quarter councils´ budgets, our war on waste and bureaucracy cutting
council spending by just 10% is enough to give the public a 40% reduction in
Council Tax.
Give local councils majority control over their finances
by letting them keep local business rates and by replacing VAT with a simpler
Local Sales Tax, with a proportion going direct to local councils.
Under European Union law, anyone from other EU countries can live in
Britain. EU rules also govern how we deal with asylum seekers. The system is
overwhelmed and too many newcomers are settling here – our housing, NHS,
schools and services can´t cope with the scale of immigration.
Introduce proper border controls so we know who is in the country at all
times.
Freeze permanent immigration for 5 years to let the
authorities catch up with the backlog of cases.
Ensure that our own
UK government determines who can stay, not the European Union.
Deport
all illegal immigrants; give work permits only for those with skills that our
economy needs.
Fair, compassionate treatment for law-abiding people
who are genuinely fleeing persecution or torture.
Independence for local decision making Local councils rely on
government funding and obey government orders rather than listening to those
who pay the council tax. And more and more functions of councils including
planning are being taken over by unelected EU-inspired regional bodies.
Let local people call a binding referendum on any major local issue, such
as planning schemes.
Dismantle regional government and return powers
to county and borough councils.
Reform the "cabinet" system of local
government for greater representation and transparency.
Call Freephone0800
587 6587 or visit www.ukip.org for more information.
There are more police officers today than ever before but crime is
getting worse. Our police are hamstrung by politically correct rules and
bureaucracy, and our courts can´t sentence properly because there are not
enough prisons.
Elect police chiefs and make police forces accountable to
local authorities for policing priorities.
Leave our police free to arrest
criminals instead of filling in forms, and retain local police stations.
Ensure stricter sentencing and zero tolerance of antisocial behaviour and
petty crime.
Build enough prisons urgently and make sure those who
are a danger to the public stay locked up.
Transport – Independence
for local decision-makers
Public transport needs to be more attractive and
responsive to local needs, and there´s gridlock on the roads.
Over-
zealous traffic enforcement is used merely to raise funds.
Improve
local control and management of public transport – rail and bus.
Rule
out satellite vehicle pricing and oppose privatisation of parking
facilities.
Oppose new speed cameras which do not cut accidents, and
use traffic calming measures instead.
The government claims that two million homes must be built to solve the
housing shortage, yet most of this demand arises from immigration. Hardworking
local people find it increasingly difficult to afford decent housing.
Genuine independence for local planning - no more overriding by remote
appeal bodies.
Restore proper controls on immigration to ease the
demand for housing.
Crack down on nuisance neighbours and repair
council housing to restore civic pride.
Continuous central government interference in schools prevents them
doing their job properly. Teachers are forced to put paperwork, targets and
bureaucracy ahead of pupils and 1 in 4 leave primary school unable to read and
write.
Give independence to headteachers over teaching, examinations
and discipline.
Scrap useless paperwork and trust teachers to do
their jobs; oppose the closures of special schools.
Encourage
competitive school sports, playing fields and school trips.
Our hospitals and vital health services are at real risk. Services for
patients and the elderly are being tied up in too
much red tape and central
interference, and they are being starved of cash.
Save hospital
services, manage hospitals locally, and make decision makers responsible to
local people.
Improve services for the elderly and remove unnecessary
bureaucracy.
Create more residential home places and resist increases
in home care charges.
End the practice of forcing the elderly to sell
their house to pay for a spouse´s residential home care.
Independence for British energy supplies Britain is increasingly
dependent on energy supplies from Russia. Today´s wind turbines are
unreliable and unsightly, and the climate change doomsday theorists prioritise
reducing CO2 emissions but ignore other environmental issues.
Protect
the Green Belt and use central brown field sites for future developments.
Build nuclear and hydroelectric power plants to make Britain cleaner and
self-sufficient in renewable energy.
Keep recycling local - stop
damaging the environment by sending waste to China for recycling.
Although known for its commitment to withdrawing the UK from the
European Union, UKIP is in reality a much
broader nationwide party
campaigning to return power and independence to the people.
UKIP already
has local councillors, 2 members of the House of Lords and 9 Members of the
European Parliament who do not think it right that most new UK laws now come
from unelected Brussels bureaucrats.
The same principles apply at local
level: only by returning power to the people from unaccountable bureaucrats
and restoring representative democracy can things change.
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