UKIP chiefs urged voters to “believe in Britain” as the party launched its General Election manifesto.
Unsurprisingly breaking away from the European Union (EU) formed a major part of the party’s pledges but the event also featured plans to build one million new homes, abolish inheritance tax and introduce new tax rates.
Speaking at the launch event at Thurrock in Essex leader Nigel Farage said: “We are the only party with the self-confidence and belief in this nation that we actually believe that not only could we, but that we should, govern our own country, make our own laws and negotiate our own international trade deals.”
The party’s manifesto pledges include:
- Abolishing inheritance tax, raising the personal allowance to £13,000 and introducing a 30p tax rate on incomes between £45,300 and £55,000.
- Finding £32billion of savings each year to the end of the next Parliament in 2020, including cuts in overseas aid, contributions to the EU and scrapping HS2.
- Cracking down on corporate tax avoidance.
- Introducing an Australian-style points system to manage people coming into the UK n Putting an extra £3b a year into the NHS by the end of the next Parliament, as well as hiring 8,000 more GPs and 20,000 more nurses.
- Build one million homes on brownfield sites by 2025.
The promises, contained in a 76- page glossy manifesto, also include plans to limit visas to highly skilled immigrants to 50,000 people each year, end VAT on sanitary products, close Government departments such as Energy and Climate Change, Culture, Media and Sport and International Development, and shrink the House of Commons.
There are also pledges to limit the size of primary school classes to 30 and then 25 pupils, introduce free university tuition for maths, science, tech and engineering subjects, boost defence spending by £4b a year and make classic cars exempt from vehicle excise duty.
Mr Farage set out plans for an early referendum on withdrawal from the EU, saying: ''We are the only party standing in this General Election saying we want a trade deal with Europe, we want to be good neighbours with our European friends, but we desperately seek a referendum so that we can set this country free from political union.
“There is no third way. There is no renegotiation of any value that is to be had in Brussels. Our position is perfectly clear – We want our country back.”
Reacting to the manifesto, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “We all know that Nigel Farage doesn’t have a credible plan for Britain – he just makes it up as he goes along.”
Meanwhile Labour shadow minister Jon Trickett accused UKIP of being a party for “a privileged few”, adding: “UKIP are a party of Tory policies, Tory people and Tory money”.
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