Ukip manifesto: EU, veterans, and an £18bn 'tax giveaway' among key pledges

Ukip manifesto: Key pledges. Credit: ITN

Ukip leader Nigel Farage has urged voters to let him lead Britain out of Europe, declaring: "We want our country back".

As he unveiled what he said were a "serious, fully costed policies", he said a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU was key to making savings and tackling immigration.

Key Ukip manifesto pledges:

  • In/out referendum on EU membership "as soon as possible"

  • Five-year ban on unskilled migrants coming in to the UK

  • A points-based system for other migrants

  • £12bn for the NHS

  • £5.2bn for social care budgets

  • Defence spending above Nato's 2% of GDP target

  • Cutting foreign aid by £9bn a year

  • Create 6,000 police, prison and border jobs for people leaving the armed forces

  • Build a dedicated military hospital

  • Waive stamp duty on new homes worth up to £250,000 built on brownfield sites

  • Cut business rates for small businesses

  • Scrap hospital parking charges

  • End sham marriages by restoring the 'primary purpose' rule

  • Bin the HS2 project

  • People will be able to claim pension, at a lower rate, from the age of 65

  • Repeal the climate change act

  • Increase carer's allowance from £62.10 a week to £73.10 a week

  • Scrap bedroom tax

Mr Farage said Ukip would make £32bn of savings in the next parliament, funded by dramatically cutting foreign aid, scrapping "vanity projects" such as HS2, cutting EU contributions, revisiting the Barnett Formula - used to calculate contributions to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - to give Wales and England a "better, fairer" deal.

EU and IMMIGRATION

Nigel Farage claimed that only Ukip had the "self-confidence" to demand the ability to "govern our own country, make our own laws, and negotiate our own international trade deals".

With a referendum on membership of the EU "as soon as possible", Britain would be in a better position to make decisions on economy and immigration, he said.

HEALTH

Ukip would increase NHS spending by up to £3bn a year and scrap hospital parking charges, Mr Farage promised.

This would help pay for:

  • 20,000 extra nurses

  • 8,000 extra GPs

  • 3,000 more midwives

"The need to do this is great as our rapidly increasing population has put an intolerable strain on health services in this country," he said.

Hospital parking charges - which he labelled a "tax on illness" - would also be scrapped, he said.

TAX

During his manifesto speech, Mr Farage announced an £18bn giveaway for people in the UK.

He said these tax cuts could help spark "real dynamic growth" in the British economy.

  • No tax on the minimum wage up to £13,000

  • Raise threshold on 40p to £50,000 a year

  • Introduce a new 30p tax band for those earning between £45,000 and £50,000

  • Remove inheritance tax

  • Scrapping the so-called 'bedroom tax'

DEFENCE

Nigel Farage said a Minister for Veterans position would be created, to oversee policies surrounding former service men and women.

Among his pledges was a vow to create 6,000 jobs within the police, prison service and border force for veterans, as well as building a dedicated military hospital.

He said Ukip would urge "caution and restraint" before going to war - but said he recognises the world was "dangerous".

To that end, he said Ukip would keep defence spending above Nato's target of two per cent of GDP initially - and this would increase "substantially" as time goes by.

This would partly be paid for by slashing the foreign aid budget by £9bn a year.

HOUSING

Nigel Farage said Ukip would host a "brownfield building revolution", which he said would see one million new homes built by 2020 as well as protect Green Belt land.

The party would waive stamp duty on new homes worth up to £250,000 built on brownfield sites, and developers would be offered grants of up to £10,000 per unit to properties built on this land.

EDUCATION

Ukip's deputy chairman Suzanne Evans announced plans to help promote certain disciplines.

She said the party would aim to help the students of today with the "skills we need for tomorrow", those with degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics or medicine would not have to repay their tuition fees provided they work in their area, and pay tax in the UK for five years after graduating.