Archive for January, 2010

The general principles of UKIP's Transport Policy are as follows:

• UKIP believes people have a right to readily available, frequent, reliable quality transport, both private and public, at an acceptable cost
  
• UKIP are not in favour of persecuting the motorist, and want a well organised and well maintained road network
  
• UKIP opposes 'green taxes' and believes in choice and market solutions, but accepts that the true costs of transport, including wider external costs, should be born by users, where feasible
  
• We will restore direct democracy to local transport decisions
  
• UKIP will use immigration and planning policies to reduce stress on infrastructure
  
• Only UKIP can invest the billions saved from leaving the EU (£6.4 billion 2010-11). in British and not EU transport infrastructure projects. UKIP anticipates £3 billion of this will be invested in transport every year, balanced between transport modes.

 
On specific policies, UKIP will:


Roads

• Use funds released from leaving the EU on select new bypasses, road improvements, safety and widening schemes
  
• Introduce a 'Britdisc' (vignette) on foreign lorries not paying anything for British roads, and crack down on  'killer lorries' (overladen or dangerous)
  
• Give back a ‘Windfall Return’ on fuel duty above a set world oil price, where windfall Government receipts are returned to the motorist over time through fuel tax cuts
  
• Oppose EU proposals for raising the Gross Laden Weight ( GLW ) for lorries to 60 Tonnes and oppose Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) of  unwieldy 25 metres. We will encourage a long term programme of shifting freight to rail for longer distances, as the majority of the British public (86%) want
  
• Repeal EU directives such as The Working Time Directive and the new Road Transport Directive, Daylight Running Directive and Control of Noise and Vibration Regulation
  
• Oppose EU’s Galileo satellite 'spy in the sky' technology programme for road pricing
  
• Require new insurance discs to also be displayed on windscreens to tackle over 1 million uninsured drivers
  
• End the 'highway robbery' of unfair fines on motorists by returning to first principles on car parking ( to keep traffic moving not be a tax generator ) and make speed cameras democratically accountable, and remove them where they serve no use.
  
• Remove the £15 surcharge on motorists for minor offences such as not wearing seatbelts for compensation to victims of crime as a nonsense
  
• Support electric vehicles and the battery charging infrastructure they need
  
• Consult on raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph to suit modern reality
  
• Legislate to introduce a crime of Vehicular Manslaughter, where for those whose excessively dangerous driving makes death on the road a near certainty
  
• Use US-style traffic schools for the education of bad drivers
  
• Oppose the metrification of British roads and speed limits
  
• Introduce a simple form of 'bus franchising', particularly for local and rural buses, to deliver better value for the taxpayer and eliminate unfair competitive practices
  
• Allow councils to offer discount public transport cards (rail/bus) not free bus passes
  
• Invest in tram/Light Rail schemes where they have strong local support
  
• Seek to improve the quality of taxi services but without excessive regulation
  
• Support measures to improve motorcycle safety whilst supporting its freedoms. We will oppose EU proposals for daytime lights for all vehicles as dangerous
  
• Support responsible pedal cycling but have zero tolerance on dangerous practices such as running red lights. We will consult on proposals for cyclists to display a cheap 'Cycledisc' to deter theft and give 3rd party insurance for car damage.

 

Railways

• Support a high quality, fast, reliable, affordable and extensive rail network
  
• Invest in 3 new 200 mph plus high-speed rail lines: London-Newcastle (with other sections e.g. Edinburgh-Glasgow, and to West Coast Main Line), London-Bristol (for Wales)- Exeter, and fast link Birmingham to Great Western Main Line. Other rail sections could become high speed in part
  
• Improve passenger rail franchises by allowing longer franchise periods of 10-20 years depending on investment needs. We will remove micromanagement by bureaucrats and see that the Government directs but does not manage. We will make rail franchises work better for the consumer, reward successful operators and encourage more on-rail competition. We will democratise the rail franchise process so local people have a greater say over who wins franchise bids. We will want to see a return to distinctive railway brands, identities and services. We support a return to more comfortable train designs for modern trains such as the High Speed Train (HST2). We will abolish the penalty fares regime which too often persecutes honest rail users.
  
• Expand the rail network by reopening select closed or underused rail lines where there is a strong case, and implement an ‘unBeeching Report’ to identify strong cases for re-opening lines where there is a modern day need. We enthusiastically support the 'Community Rail' initiative and micro franchising on smaller lines.
  
• Introduce democratic control over rail engineering works by passengers and freight users to stop excessive engineering closures out of convenience not necessity
  
• Consider strike free agreements for the national railway and/or the London Tube
  
• Scrap the current £16 billion London Crossrail scheme and repay Government debt with the released resources. We will look at the most cost efficient options.
  
• Return London’s Circle Line to a circle - the complete circular service recently stopped
  
• Invest in rail electrification projects to reduce oil dependence and improve services
  
• Invest in an improved national rail freight network, providing capital funds for important new or reopened rail lines, such as a North-South freight line, proper rail access to ports, and freight concentration depots, yards, interchanges or sidings.
  
• On Underground/Subway Networks, consider extensions or new lines where strong case and consider franchising trains and tracks as one, replacing wasteful PPPs.

 

Aviation

• Support the case for a new London Airport in the Thames Estuary East of London, linked with high-speed rail via the existing Channel Tunnel Rail Link to London and motorway connections in order to relieve the pressure on London Heathrow. We strongly oppose a sixth terminal and third runway at Heathrow as leading to unacceptable and blighting aircraft movements over London (745,000 p.a. with third runway). Oppose the (then unnecessary) expansion of Stansted and Gatwick
  
• Accept aviation is set to grow substantially, despite fuel costs, and are not opposed to aviation growth driven by the market, as long as air passengers meet their external costs, such as noise and intrusion. We oppose AGW carbon-based emissions arguments against growth and green taxes on aviation
  
• Rebalance true costs of flying, introduce a Local Sales Tax (replacing EU’s VAT) on aviation fuel and potentially on new aircraft (currently untaxed and equivalent to EU subsidy of £30 billion p.a.). Once introduced, scrap Air Passenger Duty (APD).
  
• Support improved competition between airports and support BAA selling off one of its 3 London Airports, and other airports in close proximity to each other such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. UKIP backs development of regional airports, including for business jets.
  
• Allow local authorities to set reasonable limits on flight movements and alternating runway usage, whilst decisions to build and expand airports would remain a national  Parliamentary decision.
  
• Reduce food air freight by promoting UK local produce, while supporting free trade and consumer choice
  
• Ensure night flights pay their true costs in terms of noise and disruption, and seek to persuade mail companies to operate alternative night train services.

 

Maritime and Ports

• Given UKIP’s shift towards greater global trade and a revival in UK manufacturing, support the growth of non-Channel ports and address shortages of UK port capacity
  
• Introduce a national strategy for ports, as argued for by the Transport Select Committee, and a comprehensive freight distribution plan. This strategy will consider the desirability of foreign ownership of UK ports requiring major investment with different non-UK priorities. We will assist ports to pay for substantial new road and rail infrastructure through recovered EU contributions
  
• Examine innovative port options such as for Orkney or the West of England, and improve vital ferry services to the UK’s offshore islands, e.g. the Outer Hebrides.
  
• Support inland waterways growth, particularly freight, under a strategic national plan. Oppose British Waterways privatisation for putting property gains before freight. Incentivise working wharves and protect ‘endangered’ waterways
  
• Insist on the top quality training and expertise of seamen on ships using British waters
  
• Encourage a serious return to UK-based shipbuilding.
  
  Download the full Transport Policy document here (630kb).

World leading climate change sceptic Professor Ian Plimer states the truth about global warming in this presentation hosted by UKIP's Godfrey Bloom in London recently.

UKIP's youth movement, Young Independence, have a made a major breakthrough into the mainstream political arena with their chairman invited to speak at Westminster School's John Locke Society in London.

Michael Heaver gave a brief speech explaining the reasons why young people should vote UKIP and took questions from an ethusiastic audience at the school.

After his appearance, Heaver said: “The reception was good."

“Several students noted that they found it very refreshing to hear what policies UKIP had to offer rather than the broad rhetoric on offer from the other parties. I was told by more than one student that they would definitely be voting UKIP come the General Election”.

Previous speakers invited to address the Society include political commentator Simon Heffer, former Conservative Party Chairman Lord Tebbit and renowned chef Raymond Blanc.

Two bedraggled fir trees, still wreathed in tinsel and pathetic decorations, grace the kerb opposite the remand block of Unit 3, Budapest prison, in a dreary suburb of the Hungarian capital, writes Nick Thorpe in The Observer.

Each day, relatives and friends of inmates gather there to shout messages, send elaborate hand signals and curse or bless the figures at the distant windows. The inmates include two British businessmen: Michael Turner, 27, from Corfe Castle, Dorset, and Jason McGoldrick, 37, from Plymouth. They stand accused of defrauding 134 customers of a total of £18,000 in a Budapest time-share scheme that went wrong six years ago.

For the full article, click here.