North East Manifesto “reads like a UKIP Manifesto” claims Jonathan Arnott MEP.
UKIP North East MEP Jonathan Arnott has expressed his delight at the
publication of the ‘North East Manifesto’ which was set up by the Chronicle and
Journal, and in which over 1,500 readers participated to show the key issues
affecting local people at the General Election:
“The North East Manifesto is a great initiative, and it’s great to see so
many people engage with this novel democratic idea from our local newspapers.
I’m delighted that the North East Manifesto has shown that UKIP’s priorities are
so in tune with local people’s needs. We’ve been calling for a cut in small
business rates, dualling the A1, not only protecting our free NHS but investing
another £3 billion a year into it, cutting rates for small businesses, and
making sure that spending cuts don’t hit frontline services. These are five of
the top six priorities in the North East Manifesto.
“As far as the other one (devolution) is concerned, we’d also love to see
more power come back to the North East. The devil will be in the detail though –
the people of the North East voted massively against a regional assembly in
2004: we don’t want yet another tier of elected politicians. We’ll support the
right devolution, but we won’t write a blank cheque – and we don’t think that
local people would want us to.
“In fact, the North East Manifesto reads like a UKIP Manifesto – and the
good news is that people will have the chance to vote for it in
May.”
