A FEW weeks ago, I wrote an article for TCW highlighting the 44 constituencies where UKIP are standing; for Leavers who, thanks to Farage’s decision to pull candidates from Tory-held areas, were left without either a Brexiter or a conservative. UKIP have since released their manifesto for this election, entitled Brexit and Beyond. Their set of, in my opinion, commonsense policies should appeal to a lot of conservatives and I would ask those of you, in the areas where they are standing, to have a read and let me know what you think. I should add that I’m not advocating a vote for UKIP, I’m just pointing out that you have options in your constituencies.
Everyone knows UKIP’s views on Brexit but for the uninitiated, UKIP ‘stands for a complete and total withdrawal from the European Union. Irrespective of whatever new “withdrawal agreement” or treaty the government agrees with the EU, UKIP will continue to fight for the UK’s total independence from the EU, and to fully restore the UK’s former status as an independent, self-governing, sovereign state.’
Not half in, half out, but a complete break from the EU. I know there are some, on this site and elsewhere, who’d prefer a deal but UKIP wants a complete break.
Where mainstream parties are, once again, using the NHS as a political rugby ball and promising them the world and its mother, UKIP wants to scrutinise current funding and has renewed its promise to those studying STEMM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) of free tuition as long as they stay and work in the UK during their loan repayment period.
In defence, where current parties have cut numbers from the armed forces, UKIP would bring them back up to scratch by increasing the budget by £7billion per year. They would also put a halt to the hounding of veterans and have repeated their offer of employment guarantees to servicemen and women who have served for 12 years or more.
On education, they would end politically correct indoctrination in our schools, get rid of PSHE (Personal, Social and Health) and RSE (Relationship and Sex Education) classes and stop the advancement of LGBTQ RSE, due to be made compulsory from September 2020.
They would also scrap the Climate Change Act and pull the UK out of the Paris Climate Agreement, using those eye-watering sums to invest in small nuclear power stations in the UK.
On free speech, they would abolish hate-crime legislation, promote free speech and debate across the country and in universities, and on the media, UKIP would force the BBC into offering a voluntary subscription service, rather than the draconian tax we have now, also promising to sell off the state-funded Channel 4.
These are just some of the policies from a proper conservative manifesto. There’s nothing extreme in this document – though those on the Left won’t see it like that – just good old commonsense policies from a party which wants to conserve the great and scrutinise the improbable. The party currently in government which calls itself conservative has brought through hate laws, squeezed open debate to the point where those who want to question have become dissidents in their own country, promoted quotas and denounced meritocracy, and ripped apart communities in the UK, either through wide-scale housebuilding, roads and infrastructure or through its promotion of globalism and multiculturalism. In effect, in many ways, the Conservatives now mirror our opposition parties in the way they view and try to change our social landscape. They disagree on Brexit (in some cases) and the economy, but on the social fabric of our country they are practically bedfellows.
UKIP will not apologise for its past but celebrate it. UKIP will not divide communities and people but will promote real equality, the kind which is colour/gender blind and sees what people can do, not what they look like. UKIP will promote discussion and debate and will not condemn people who want to joke or be creative. UKIP is the party that favours meritocracy and will not fall into the pit of quotas to which many parties, including our incumbents, have succumbed.
UKIP is the conservative party this country has been crying out for. I’m aware that the internal wranglings of UKIP haven’t exactly appealed to many voters – I, as a member, have been equally appalled – but this party can rise again.
I ask you to read this document, and those in areas where UKIP are standing, consider them when you walk into the polling booths on Thursday.
