UKIP-Party-Manifesto-2010

14 The Constitution &How We Are GovernedThe MP expenses scandal has shown that theBritish system of government is in serious disarray.Bureaucracy overrules democracy at everylevel, from Brussels to Whitehall to the townhall. UKIP will give meaningful power back tothe British people and not just talk of localism.UKIP will:· Introduce ‘Direct Democracy’ whereby 5% ofthe national or local electorate can demand abinding referendum on any issue. At nationallevel, people will have to sign up for the referendumwithin six months, at local level, withinthree months· Introduce an element of proportional representationin national and local elections. UKIPfavours an electoral system based on AlternativeVote Plus so that constituency MPs haveto earn at least 50% of the vote (as in ScottishParliament and Welsh Assembly elections). Forillustration, 450 MPs might be elected on asingle member constituency basis (with eachconstituency increased to 100,000 voters) and200 MPs on a party list basis. A second ballotapproach may be preferable· Extend direct elections and real democracy byinstituting directly elected County Police Boards,Education Boards and Health Boards, and supportingdirectly elected Mayors· Retain devolved national assemblies butreplace the representatives with WestminsterMPs from the same nation. The 129 ScottishMSPs, 60 Welsh AMs and (in time) 108Northern Irish MLAs would be replaced withtheir Westminster MPs. These MPs would thenspend one week a month on devolvedbusiness and the rest of their time atWestminster. English MPs would meet inWestminster for English-only days as an‘English Parliament’· Introduce a right of recall whereby electorscan challenge an errant MP and force a byelectionin exceptional circumstances, such asabuse of expenses· Abolish Regional Government - including thenine Regional Ministers, Regional DevelopmentAgencies and Assemblies - and return theirpowers to local government. The county willbecome the prime local government unit· Fully support the monarchy, opposedisestablishment of the Church of England,and consider transferring part of the CrownEstate back to the Royal family in return forending their State support· Give Parliament powers such as treatyratification and consent for declaring war· Start by retrieving our democracy fromBrussels, then revitalise the House of Commonsand local government (as above) and, at theend of that process, decide whether we need asecond chamber and how it is to be constitutedDownload the full Constitution policy from thePolicies section of www.ukip.org15 Culture &Restoring BritishnessUKIP believes in civic nationalism, which isopen and inclusive to anyone who wishes toidentify with Britain, regardless of ethnic or religiousbackground. We reject the “blood andsoil” ethnic nationalism of extremist parties.UKIP opposes multiculturalism and politicalcorrectness, and promotes uniculturalism -aiming to create a single British culture embracingall races and religions. UKIP will:· Recognise the numerous threats to Britishidentity and culture· Restore British values, scrap quotas andpolitical correctness and return to meritocraticprinciples· Create a ‘British Register’ of important UKcompanies, products and brands and amendthe UK Takeover Code to safeguard theseusing set criteria, parliamentary approvalsand/or conditions where necessary· Safeguard British weights and measures (thepint, the mile, etc) which have been underminedby the EU. UKIP will also provide propersupport to the Royal Mail and the Post Officeas a key British institution· Require UK schools to teach Britain’scontribution to the world, including Britishinventions and Britain’s role in fightingslavery and Nazism. All cultures, languagesand traditions from around the British Isles willbe celebrated“We promotea singleBritish culture,embracingall races andreligions”ukip.org Straight talking. 13