Does the BNP have genuinely good ideas? My impression was that they make enormous numbers of promises about more money for local services that sound jolly nice but were mututally exclusive, barring a huge increase in taxation.
With smaller parties looking to make gains in the Euro Elections, I've had a look at UKIP, BNP and Mebyon Kernow and their policies. MK has described itself as a center left party before, but the similarit in policies surprised me.
Interestingly, MK and UKIP do have some common ground as regards fishing policy.
MK wishes for:
Quote:
each region having control over its own fishery. The fishermen of Cornwall must have direct representation when stock management issues are discussed and decided.
BNP:
Quote:
We are pledged to ensure the restoration of Britain’s once great fishing industry with the reimposition of the former exclusion zones around our coast.
and UKIP wish for:
Quote:
Restoring British waters and fishing to national control by leaving the European Union Common Fisheries Policy
Environment:
MK:
Quote:
A zero waste strategy aiming at the elimination of landfilling and incineration, which invests in the radical reduction of waste generated by industry, business and households and increases reuse and recycling. This will aid the economy by increasing business efficiency and enabling Cornwall to promote itself as among the worlds leading Green economies.
BNP:
Quote:
Our ideal for Britain is that of a clean, beautiful country, free of pollution in all its forms.
We will enforce standards to curb those practices, whether by business or the individual, which cause environmental damage.
“The polluter pays to clean up the mess” must become a fact of life, not an electioneering slogan.
In towns we would work to replace the brutalist modernism of 1960s-style-architecture with a blend of traditional local styles and materials and ensure that developments take place on a more human scale.
UKIP:
Quote:
UKIP would introduce a series of regulatory policies and fiscal incentives to encourage manufacturers and suppliers to adopt or re-adopt recyclable packaging – such as glass,
cardboard, tin cans and recyclable plastics – and to reduce the quantity of overall packaging. We propose a ‘litter deposit’ attached to all recyclable packaging which is reclaimable from participating retailers... While UKIP says that much more waste can be and should be recycled, we also
recognise that recycling itself has an environmental cost, and some waste will be best
used to generate heat and power. For other suitable waste, landfill is still the best
environmental option, particularly with associated methane recovery and electricity
generation.
People:
MK:
Quote:
* Restore the link between pensions and wages, and increase the state pension to the EU average.
* Guarantee free personal care for the elderly, the ill and the disabled
* Guarantee the right of the frail and vulnerable to care appropriate to their needs.
* Guarantee the right of disabled people to play a full part in society.
* Increase support for students. We are opposed to tuition and top-up fees, as introduced by Labour, support a return to grants for first degree courses and would reinstate the right of students to claim benefits such as housing benefit.
* Help first-time buyers to gain access to affordable housing.
* Guarantee the right of people to live in the community of their choice, without the threat of crime.
UKIP:
Quote:
We will have a grammar school in every town. We will restore standards of education and improve skills training. Student grants will replace student loans.
We will radically reform the working of the NHS with an Insurance Fund, whilst upholding the ‘free at the point of care’ principles.
We will give people the vote on policing priorities, go back to proper beat policing
We will make welfare simpler and fairer, introduce ‘workfare’ to get people back to work, and a new citizens pension and private pensions scheme insurance.
MK:
Quote:
It is our belief that the historic nation of Cornwall, with its own distinct identity, language and heritage, has the same right to self-determination as Scotland and Wales. We should have more say in how our lives are run and Mebyon Kernow is leading the campaign for the self-government of Cornwall, through the establishment of a legislative Assembly.
We will play our part in building a confident and outward-looking Cornwall, that has the power to take decisions for itself.
BNP:
Quote:
We favour more democracy, not less, not just at national but at regional and local level.
Power should be devolved to the lowest level possible so that local communities can make decisions which affect them. We will remove legal curbs on freedom of speech imposed by successive Governments over the last 40 years. We will implement a Bill of Rights guaranteeing fundamental freedoms to the British people.
We will ensure that ordinary British people have real democratic power over their own lives and that Government, local and national, is truly accountable to the people who elect it.
MK:
Quote:
The Party for Cornwall is committed to a just and fair society. We believe that effective public intervention is needed to combat poverty, tackle social deprivation and fight for the disadvantaged. We will strive to build strong inclusive communities with free and equal access to well-funded education, healthcare and welfare services, run for the benefit of everyone.
BNP:
Quote:
We will end the practice of politically correct indoctrination in all its guises and we will restore discipline in the classroom, give authority back to teachers and put far greater emphasis on training young people in the industrial and technological skills necessary in the modern world.
We will also seek to instill in our young people knowledge of and pride in the history, cultures and heritage of the native peoples of Britain.
We are wholly committed to a free, fully funded National Health Service for all British citizens.
We will revitalise the Health Service by boosting staff and bed numbers, slashing unnecessary bureaucracy and by addressing the root cause of low recruitment and retention - low pay.
The conditions in which many of Britain’s old people are forced to live are a national disgrace.
We are pledged to ensure that all our old folk are able to live in comfortable homes, and will restore the earnings link with pensions.
Elderly people who have paid a lifetime of taxes and reared families should not have to sell their homes to pay for care.
The outcome of those aims are fairly similar, though, even if the methods are different. Taken from MK 'Core Values' and the BNP's website, which, amusingly, doesn't appear to have any "core values"
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