UKIP has launched an attack on ‘extortionate vanity projects’, HS2, road tolls and driver qualifications in its General Election manifesto.
Following mounting pressure to detail its policies, the party has now outlined plans to remove all road tolls and let existing contracts expire – claiming the British motorist is ‘already taxed highly enough’.
Its manifesto outlines strong opposition to HS2, which is described as an ‘unaffordable white elephant’ that ‘must face the axe’. The party would also scrap the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence for licensed drivers, abolishing the long standing qualification for bus, coach and lorry drivers.
UKIP said the scheme – which is designed to maintain safety and raise driving standards - was causing job losses because of added administration and expense to hauliers.
Transport spokesperson, Jill Seymour, said: ‘We do not need extortionate vanity projects or excessive regulations and motorists should not feel as if they are being used as cash cows to boost national or local government funds.'
UKIP said it would also only allow new speed cameras to be installed ‘where they can be used as a deterrent at accident black spots, near schools and in residential areas’.
It added that it would further crack down on councils using cameras as ‘revenue raisers’, a claim long denied by local authorities.
Elswhere in local government, UKIP pledged to abolish all ‘non-essential jobs’ in councils and cut allowances for councillors if it takes power in May.
Every major planning decision – including supermarket developments, wind turbines, incinerators and major housing developments – would have to be put to a binding local referendum.
The party would also go head-to-head with the EU by scrapping mandatory introduction of ‘eCall’ systems, which Brussels will require all new vehicles to hold from October for tracking and road safety.
UKIP’s manifesto commits the party to double the HGV Road User Levy to £2000 while only charging foreign registered vehicles.
