After Ukip policy chief Tim Aker was forced to resign for not coming up with any, YouthKIP takes a look at the policies you didn’t know about.
Apart from the obvious Ukip policy of getting out of the European Union, few of Ukip’s policies are known by the public, or the party it seems – policy chief Tim Aker was forced to resign on January 20th after failing to complete Ukip’s general election manifesto – unless they are willing to do a little digging.
But until they do come up with an election manifesto, Ukip have published a ‘Policies for People’ document on their website listing policies that were announced at their annual party conference last year. Here are five that you probably didn’t know about:
#1: Tax
Ukip will increase the amount of money you get to keep before you begin paying Income Tax to £13,500. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg negotiated an increase in 2010 to £10,600 as part of the coalition agreement formed after the 2010 UK general election. The figure was raised from £6,475.
#2: Foreign Aid
Money sent to the poorest countries in the world would be cut by £9billion. Chancellor George Osborne announced in his budget last year that £13billion would be spent on foreign aid.
#3: Climate Change
Green subsidies and taxes would be scrapped under Ukip’s climate change policies, which would also see the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport both scrapped. It is estimated that these subsidies make up 8-10% of energy bills.
#4: Armed Forces
Ukip will guarantee those who have served for at least 12 years a job in either the police, prison service or border force. Veterans will also be fast tracked for mental health care, if needed, under their armed forces policies.
#5: Tuition Fees
Nigel Farage will scrap tuition fees for students in approved science, medicine, technology, engineering and maths degrees providing the student live, work and pay tax in the UK for five years after. Deputy PM Clegg is currently one of the most unpopular men in politics after promising not to raise tuition fees, then being part of coalition which did exactly that.