No Ukip manifesto yet – but here’s a taster while we wait
Eight Ukip policies to mull while voters wait for Farage's 'last-minute' manifesto
Ukip still has no election manifesto – and party leader Nigel Farage told the BBC's Sunday Politics show that it won’t come until “as late as practically possible” before the election. He said the electorate was already bored enough with the election campaign, and people will want to see something “fresh, new and positive” from his party.
The Sunday Mirror, fed up of waiting, has managed to cobble together eight Ukip policies by listening to keynote speakers at the party’s spring conference in Margate at the weekend. Here they are in a nutshell:
1. Scrap HS2 - no ifs, no buts. It’s a “vanity project” the country cannot afford, Farage told the conference - to a massive cheer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Ukip would not have a minister for women. This was confirmed by a woman - MEP Janice Atkinson.
3. £3bn extra for the NHS. This we knew already - but health spokeswoman Louise Bours MEP added that, under Ukip, failed hospital managers would never be able to get a new job somewhere else in the NHS.
4. Extra defence spending. Farage accused the current government of “running down” Britain’s defences. (He also told the Sunday Politics that he would back Nato coming to Ukraine’s aid against Russia.)
5. Foreign aid cut. Nathan Gill MEP said Ukip would reduce spending to 0.19 per cent of gross national income, just like the US, saving £9 billion.
6. Reduce taxes. Suzanne Evans said Ukip would “say no to mansion tax, no to bedroom tax, no to tax on minimum wage and no to inheritance tax".
7. Cuts to spending beyond England. Ukip would aim to scrap the Barnett Formula - the subsidy paid from Westminster to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - saving up to £8bn a year.
8. Push for electoral reform. Although Douglas Carswell MP called the Lib Dems’ AV proposals a "bad idea", he and other Ukippers dropped strong hints, said the Mirror, that the party would call for electoral reform - the only way to "break the cosy cartel in Westminster".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What next for Reform UK?
In the Spotlight Farage says party should learn from the Lib Dems in drumming up local support
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published