General Election 2015: Policy Focus

UKIP say they are the party of defence

In Dudley today UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and his Defence Spokesman Mike Hookem MEP spoke about their plans for defence spending and the armed forces.

Joined by many UKIP members who have served in the armed forces Nigel Farage set out how UKIP will plough a cumulative £16bn extra into defence during the course of the next parliament and meet the 2% of GDP NATO commitment every year.

Mr. Farage claims that UKIP are the only party to commit to spending 2 per cent of Britain’s GDP on defence believing it is of far greater importance than the commitment to overseas aid. The first duty of government, according to the UKIP leader, is defence.

UKIP Poster Campaign – ‘Don’t make our heroes beg for more’

Launching a new poster campaign they gave full support to UK armed forces, something they believe the other parties have forgotten or rejected, despite being quick to send our troops into war.

Mike Hookem, announced policies for a Minister for Veterans, linked to the Cabinet Office, to avoid ‘distractions.’ The Minister and their department would act upon veterans health care, housing, counseling, training, rehabilitation, access to financial services and benefits. Memorials. They would also tackle issues such as veteran homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse among veterans and mental health issues identified either in service or post service.

UKIP policy announcements today include:

• Meeting the NATO requirement of 2% defence spend per year
• Creating a Veterans’ Administration with a dedicated Minister
• A National Service Medal for all those who have served, The NDM
• Ensure service men and women who leave the armed forces have priority access to mental health care on our NHS, as well as social housing, and jobs in the police, prisons or the border force if they want it.