Ukip leader Nigel Farage launched his party's "serious, fully costed" manifesto, with a pledge to help take the UK out of the European Union within two years and impose strict limits on immigration. Farage presented his party as an opportunity for real change "for the first time in 100 years" and promised a "low-tax revolution".
Policies include a new points-based immigration system, funding for new jobs for armed forces veterans, and cutting foreign aid by £9bn.
Robin Brant, BBC political correspondent, has described the manifesto as the most important document in Farage's political life. The Ukip leader had previously described his party's 2010 manifesto as "drivel", but promised that the 2015 version would be for people who "believe in Britain".
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- The Week's guides to the party manifestosConservative manifesto: PM to revive right-to-buy schemeLib Dem manifesto lays out non-negotiable schools pledgeGreen Party manifesto calls for 'peaceful revolution'Labour manifesto highlights: from the economy to football fansUkip manifesto: from tax revolution to national holidays
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme before the manifesto launch, Ukip's head of policy Suzanne Evans said the document would be accompanied by a 20-page costing assessment by the Centre for Policy Studies to prove that their policies would balance the books."It's about good housekeeping. I'm a mum. I have to run a household. If there are things I can't afford I scrap them," she said.Here's what Ukip is promising in its manifesto:
Economy
Ukip will ensure the Treasury sticks to its latest plan to eliminate the deficit, as set out in the March 2015 Budget. Leaving the EU will also save £9bn a year, says Ukip. The overseas aid budget will be reduced from 0.7 per cent of the UK's gross national income to 0.2 per cent. The Barnett Formula, the subsidy paid from Westminster to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will be replaced with a system based on relative need, resulting in reductions for Scotland.
Tax
The personal tax allowance will be raised to at least £13,000. Inheritance tax will be abolished. The threshold for paying 40 per cent tax will be raised to £55,000 and a new intermediate tax of 30 per cent will be introduced for incomes of between £43,500 and £55,000. The transferrable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners will be increased to £1,500. After leaving the EU, VAT will be removed for certain goods such as repairs to listed buildings and sanitary products, and large businesses will be stopped from avoiding corporation tax. No form of mansion tax will be introduced.
Business and employmentBritish businesses will be allowed to "choose to employ British citizens first". Local authorities will be encouraged to offer 30 minutes of free parking in town centres, high streets and shopping parades to boost local business. The rapid decline in the fishing industry will be reversed.
Families and housingAll primary schools will be required to offer care before and after school from 8am until 6pm in term time. A law will be introduced to presume 50-50 shared parenting when child residency is disputed. Empty homes will be brought back into use, development on brownfield sites will be incentivised and more affordable homes will be built. A National Homeless Register will be created to make it easier for people without homes to claim welfare and get access to medical services. Energy bills will be reduced by abolishing green taxes and levies and by withdrawing from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.
HealthAn additional £3bn a year will be invested in the NHS by the end of the next parliament. Another £170m will be added to mental health funding each year, phased in through the first two years of parliament. Only people who have the permanent right to remain in Britain and who have paid UK taxes for at least five years will be granted an NHS number and be eligible for the full services offered by the NHS. Hospital parking will become free of charge. Social care funding will be increased by £1.2bn each year.
Education
Teachers' workloads will be eased, first aid training will become a statutory part of the curriculum and university students who choose a degree and career that helps to fill the existing skills' gap will not have to repay their tuition fees if they work in their discipline for five years. Ukip also supports grammar schools and eventually wants to see one in every town.
Immigration and the EU
British citizens should have an in/out referendum on EU membership "as soon as possible". Ukip promises to "take back control of our borders". Unskilled immigrant workers will be temporarily banned from moving into the country, sham marriages will be tackled and an Australian-style points-based system will be introduced to manage the number of immigrants coming in.
Security and defenceForeign criminals will not be granted a visa to enter the UK, while resident migrants who are given a prison sentence will have their visas revoked. The defence budget will be increased to two per cent of GDP in 2015/16 and more for the remaining years of the parliament. Armed personnel on operational duty overseas will not pay income tax, and those who have served for a minimum of 12 years will be guaranteed a job in the police service, prison service or border force when they leave. Trident will be renewed.
BenefitsNew migrants to Britain will have to make tax and National Insurance contributions for five consecutive years before they become eligible to claim UK benefits. The bedroom tax will be scrapped and child benefit will be limited to two children for new claimants. Doctors will be required to notify the government if they believe a patient claiming disability benefits is well enough to return to work.
GovernmentThe number of MPs will be reduced and parliamentary constituencies will have to be of equal size. Unnecessary "quangos" and certain ministerial roles will be abolished. All subsidies for bars and dining rooms in the Palace of Westminster will be scrapped. Ukip will campaign for a new, proportional voting system and the public will have the opportunity to vote in more national referendums.
Extras
The HS2 "vanity project" will be scrapped, the Climate Change Act will be repealed and subsidies for wind and solar power will be dropped. A commission will look into ways to rejuvenate the coal industry, and fracking will be supported. Speed cameras will only be allowed where there is a specific potential danger, not to simply raise revenue. Maximum jail sentences for animal cruelty and torture will be tripled. Smaller breweries will be offered tax breaks; pubs and clubs will be allowed to open smoking rooms; and plain packaging laws for cigarettes will be reversed. Setting up a traveller pitch will be made illegal without permission and official documents will only be published in English (and, where appropriate, Welsh and Gaelic). St George's Day will become a bank holiday in England and St David's Day a bank holiday in Wales.
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