Nigel Farage: Ukip 'wants our country back'

Nigel Farage unveiled UKIP's manifesto including plans for a referendum on the UK's EU membership. Quitting the union, he said would mean lower taxes and a radical reduction in immigration. But the launch was marred by a question over the number of black people pictured in the document.

From the campaign trail, Rohit Kachroo on the UKIP pitch.

Ukip's policies prove they are "a party which stands for a privileged few", a Labour spokesman has claimed.

Jon Trickett, Shadow Minister Without Portfolio, drew comparisons between the Ukip manifesto, which was launched today, and the Conservatives - and he argued there was little to choose between them.

Unite the union has branded a pledge by Ukip to scrap the government's Department of Energy and Climate Change as "beyond barmy".

The Ukip manifesto, unveiled today, includes a vow to abolish government departments whose "essential powers and functions can be merged into other departments", and also includes the Department for International Development and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

A journalist was jeered by Ukip supporters after a question over the number of black people featured in the party's manifesto.

At this morning's launch event, Telegraph Chief Political Correspondent Christopher Hope asked Nigel Farage: "Are you happy that the only black face in the [manifesto] document is on the overseas aid page?"

There were then loud groans and boos, before a group of ethnic minority supporters then stood up in defiance, prompting widespread applause from the party faithful, including leader Nigel Farage.

Before the question - which Farage did not answer - Hope tweeted a picture of the page in question.

The Conservatives have criticised Ukip's claim to a "fully costed" election manifesto - saying their plans actually left a £37 billion black hole.

A spokesman for the Tories said savings cited by Ukip - which include leaving the EU, reducing funding to Scotland and scrapping the HS2 high-speed rail project - had been spent "several times over".

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

Ukip would make £32bn of savings in the next parliament, Nigel Farage has announced.

This would be funded by dramatically cutting foreign aid, scrapping "vanity projects" such as HS2, cutting EU contrubutions, revisiting the Barnett Formula - used to calculate contributions to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - to give Wales and England a "better, fairer" deal.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage has pledged an £18 billion "tax giveaway", which he says will spark "real dynamic growth" in the British economy.

His proposed tax cuts include:

• 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

Ukip leader Nigel Farage has opened his manifesto speech by tackling the party's key issue - a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU, and immigration.

Claiming that Ukip has the "self-confidence" to demand the ability to "govern our own country, make our own laws, and negotiate our own international trade deals", he said: