Today, local councils have no real power. They have to do what they are told by central government and the EU – looking after the interests of their local communities comes last. Only the UK Independence Party believes in true local independence from Whitehall interference. This manifesto sets out UKIP’s vision of how this should be done:

independence for local councils, schools, police, hospitals, social care and planning independence for local people to decide local issues in democratic referendums
independence to spend local monies the way local people wish
independence from the costs and interference of the European Union.

Local taxes – more financial independence for local councils
Council tax has risen dramatically over the past few years, hitting pensioners in particular. Councils control only a quarter of their funding needs – the rest comes down from central government, with strings attached. A vast amount of money is wasted on bureaucracy and politically correct jobs without the public ever being consulted.

We will:

• Slash council tax by 40%, taking it back to where it was 10 years ago, in real term
• Pay for this by eliminating government waste and by boosting the local economy
• Give local councils majority control over their finances by letting them keep local business rates and by replacing the EU-imposed Value Added Tax (VAT) with a Local Sales Tax, collected the same way, but with a proportion going direct to local councils.
We also stand for:

Local democracy – independence for local decision making Local councils rely on government funding and obey government orders rather than listening to those who pay the council tax. And more and more functions of councils including planning are being taken over by unelected EU-inspired regional bodies.

We want to:

• Let local people call a binding referendum on any major local issue, such as planning schemes
• Dismantle regional government and return powers to county and borough councils
• Reform ‘cabinet’ government for greater representation and transparency
• Give local businesses a local vote as they pay local taxes but have no representation.

And to be fair to England –
• Recognise the nonsense that laws which only affect England are being decided by votes from Scottish and Welsh MPs
• Keep the full Westminster parliament for making British law but, one week in four, use English MPs alone to determine law that only applies in England. This ‘English Parliament’ will have no extra MPs, buildings or bureaucrats.
• Immigration – independence for Britain to take back controlUnder European Union law, anyone from other EU countries can live in Britain. EU rules also govern how we deal with asylum seekers. We have lost control and too many newcomers are settling here – our housing, NHS, schools and services can’t cope.
• Take back control of our borders so we know who is coming in and out
• Ensure our own UK government determines who can stay, not the European Union
• Give work permits only to those whose skills we need so as not to destroy local jobs.