As today is the real start of Campaign 2015 I figure I highlight some policies that the major parties are proposing that may well affect us.
Transport
Conservatives:
Deliver the biggest programme of investment in roads since the 1970s
Deliver the biggest investment in railways since the Victorians, including 850 miles of electrified railways
Reform strike laws, including on the transport network
Start work on High Speed 2 rail lines and continue development for a “HS3” Leeds-Manchester link
Labour:
Allow a public sector rail operator to bid for and take on new lines
Cap annual rail fare increases
Devolve regional transport decision making
Give cities and regions London-style powers to regulate bus services
Lib Dems:
Give 16-21 year olds two thirds off all bus travel
Oppose expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick, or a new airport in the Thames Estuary
Electrify all suburban and major rail routes, reopening many stations
Support light rail schemes in urban areas
UKIP:
Scrap plans for a new High Speed 2 rail line
Oppose toll roads
Require foreign vehicle to purchase a “Britdisc” before entry to the UK
Ensure speed cameras are not used for profit by councils
TAX
Conservatives:
Raise the personal allowance from £10,600 to £12,500
Raise the starting point for 40% higher tax rate from £42,400 to £50,000
No rise in VAT
Labour:
Re-introduce the 50% top rate of income tax for people earning over £150,000
Introduce a “mansion tax” on houses worth over £2m
Re-introduce the lower 10% starting rate of tax
Cut business rates for small firms in 2015 and freeze them in 2016
LibDems:
Raise the income tax threshold to £12,500
Raise up to £1.5bn from a tax on homes worth over £2m
Bring in £14bn from tax rises on corporations and the wealthy, and reduced tax avoidance
Increase charges to “non-doms”, raising £130m
UKIP:
Increase personal allowance to £13,500
Scrap inheritance tax
Introduce a 35% tax rate for incomes between £42,285 and £55,000, and a 40% rate thereafter
Make big businesses pay their fair share of tax
Welfare
Conservatives:
Maintain the freeze in working-age benefits for two years
Household benefit cap cut from £26,000 to £23,000
No housing benefit for 18-21 year olds
Ban on zero-hours contracts that bar work elsewhere
Labour:
Guaranteed job for under-25s unemployed for over a year and for adults unemployed over two years
Scrap “bedroom tax” housing benefit changes
Higher rate of JSA for those who have worked for longer
Cap structural welfare spending
LibDems:
Cap benefit rise at 1%p.a. for two years
Scrap housing benefit cuts for tenants with spare rooms unless they refuse a smaller property
A carer’s bonus of £250p.a. by 2020
A “yellow card” to give people a warning before benefits are withdrawn
UKIP:
Scrap housing benefit changes related to bedrooms
Restrict child benefit to two children and stop paying it all together for children who do not live in Britain
Raise carers’ allowance
End ATOS-style disability benefit assessments
Immigration
Conservatives:
Migrants to wait four years before they can claim certain benefits or social housing
No out of work benefits for migrants or child benefit for dependants living outside UK
Negotiate to reform EU freedom of movement rules
Tougher and longer re-entry bans for rough sleepers, beggars and fraudsters
Labour:
1,000 new border staff and proper exit checks
Make it illegal for employers to undercut British workers by exploiting migrants
Ensure public sector workers speak English
Two-year wait before EU migrants can claim out-of-work benefits
LibDems:
Restore full entry and exit border checks
End indefinite detention for immigration purposes
Require new claimants with poor English skills to attend language courses in order to receive JSA
Phase out child benefit for children living outside the UK
UKIP:
Points system used to select migrants with skills and attributes needed to work in the country
Immigration capped at 50,000 people a year for skilled workers
Extra 2,500 border staff
Five year wait before migrants can claim benefits
The above are just the main points, we as drivers would be better of under the Conservatives, we would pay less tax, would support less people on benefits and get more roads build. Under the Conservatives the first 12,500 would be tax free while Labour want to reintroduce the 10% lower rate, that would cost us all.
A vote for UKIP would just mean that the Scots will hold the balance of power in the UK and they would want to get paid for getting Milliband in to number 10.
