EU citizens should need permits to work in UK, party says

UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY:WORK PERMITS should be required of all European Union citizens working in the United Kingdom, and a five-year freeze on immigration should be imposed, the UK Independence Party (UKIP)said.

The wearing of the burka by Muslim women in public buildings should be banned, while legal protections should be given to companies that want to impose a similar restriction in privately owned buildings.

Party leader Malcolm Pearson urged voters not to back the Conservatives, saying David Cameron had refused to hold a referendum on EU membership.

In the last European Parliament election, UKIP, which wants the UK to withdraw from the EU, caused a surprise when it won the second-largest share of the vote in Britain, with 13 seats.

The recent budget indicates that the cost of EU membership to British taxpayers is £6.4 billion a year. “We simply cannot afford to remain in the EU,” says the UKIP manifesto.

The party has targeted the Buckingham constituency of House of Commons speaker John Bercow, where the party’s former leader, Nigel Farage MEP, is standing. Labour and the Conservatives are not contesting the seat.

UKIP will not run candidates against Eurosceptic Labour and Conservative candidates, and will, in fact, campaign for them in the coming weeks.

In Wales, Plaid Cymru, which is running 40 candidates, vowed to ally itself with the Scottish National Party to form a block of “Celtic MPs” to oppose Westminster-imposed public service cuts.

“With a hung parliament a real possibility, Plaid has never before been in such a strong position to defend Wales from these severe cuts,” says the party’s manifesto. Plaid will negotiate with the Conservatives and Labour if neither has a majority, although its starting price tag is £300 million in extra state funding. It also seeks greater devolution from London.

In addition, Plaid wants the proposed ID card scrapped, no replacement for the Trident nuclear missile, extra taxes on the wealthy, and a £130 state pension initially for the over-80s, and, later, for those over 65.