UKIP Policies Debate

The United Kingdom Independence Party (which also uses the expansion UK Independence Party, commonly known as UKIP, pronounced /?ju?k?p/ roughly yoo-kip) is a conservative, eurosceptic political party. Its principal aim is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

UKIP currently holds thirteen seats in the European Parliament and two in the House of Lords (the latter due to the defection of Conservative peers). It also has around 100 local councilors on principal authorities, town and parish councils. It claimed a membership of 14,630 on 31 December 2008.

In the 2009 European elections, UKIP came second in the UK, beating the governing Labour Party but although the share of the vote increased by 0.4%, to 16.5%, the number of people voting UKIP dropped from 2,650,768 in 2004 to 2,498,226 in 2009, to give it a total of thirteen seats in the European Parliament.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

1. To defend our national interests, maintain the NATO alliance, support our traditional partners. To disentangle our forces from the EU To keep our independence by retaining – always – ultimate command and control over our national forces.

2. To stop trying to buy defence on the cheap. UKIP will spend an extra 1% GDP year on defence – an increase of 40% on current budgets. UKIP believes in establishing a defence budget which will properly sustain Britain’s defence commitments. To keep defence costs down by smarter defence procurement, and with more involvement of British industry wherever possible.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

Departmental Select Committees should review relevant Statutory Instruments before a bill is laid before Parliament, and seek clarification and justification. Debates should only take place once the joint committee on Statutory Instruments has reported, to avoid unnecessary debate over defective instruments, and the time limits specified for debates should be lifted.

A Commons sifting committee should consider the legal implications of individual Statutory Instruments, with powers to call for more Government information, to recommend which negative procedure instruments ought to be debated, and which affirmative instruments agreed without debate, unless demanded. Praying Time, where opponents can call for a debate, should be increased from forty to sixty days.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

UKIP is committed to an increase of 40% in defence spending, around 1% of UK GDP.

For illustration, a 40% increase on 2007/08 figures of £32.6 billion (source: MOD), would equate to an additional defence spend of £13.04 billion p.a., and an increase in the defence budget to £45.92 billion p.a. for that year.

The increase in the total capital spend is indicated below as an additional £27.4 billion over the proposed 10 year programme (plus the army capital spend which is less programme specific and is included in the overall spending increase). This equates to an average of £2.7 billion p.a. over the 10 years.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

We would restore the county as a key government unit and respect unitaries where local people prefer these. We will abolish regional government, the 9 Regional Ministers and Regional Development Agencies, and return powers to county and district government.

Certain powers which have been assumed by regional bodies, such as over fire and emergency services, will be handed to counties or unitaries, but area-wide co-operation across larger scale planning, transport and development be encouraged.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

Emerging EU Police State. EU organisations like EUROPOL can operate in the UK with immunity from prosecution. EUROJUST seeks to gain access to British databases, including DNA records of British citizens.

European Arrest Warrant strips British citizens of their centuries old protection from unfair arrest and trial.

(I assume UKIP plan to stand against an EU Police State and European Arrest Warrants, wasn’t exactly clear from their policy documents).

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on UK Independence Party’s Emerging EU Police State policies in the comments below?

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

Prisons Policy. UKIP will double the number of prison places in the UK within 10 years. We will build new prisons, modern fit for purpose prison ships, deport EU national prisoners and provide temporary or low risk prisons quickly to ease overcrowding in the mean time.

Prison regimes will be tougher and good behaviour rewarded with special treatment, not taken as a human right or expected as a matter of course.

Rehabilitation courses will be encouraged in prisons, and released prisoners offered immediate assistance with suitable ‘workfare’ schemes on leaving prison.

According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

Terrorism and Homeland Security. UKIP would deport radical Imams back to countries where they are wanted for trial in line with existing bilateral prisoner exchange or new treaties.

UKIP would use treason laws to prosecute British Muslims loyal to our enemies.

UKIP would review all existing anti-terrorism laws, and would repeal or amend any that it felt were not in keeping with UKIP’s values. We strongly oppose the ID card scheme as being illiberal, intrusive, ineffective and wasteful.

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on UK Independence Party’s Terrorism and Homeland Security policies in the comments below?