According to the UK Independence Party website UKIP will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:
We would restore the county as a key government unit and respect unitaries where local people prefer these. We will abolish regional government, the 9 Regional Ministers and Regional Development Agencies, and return powers to county and district government.
Certain powers which have been assumed by regional bodies, such as over fire and emergency services, will be handed to counties or unitaries, but area-wide co-operation across larger scale planning, transport and development be encouraged.
Over 50% of local government finances to be raised locally, as set out in our taxation policy, by returning control of business rates to local councils and replacing VAT with a local sales tax. We also propose that local Government should have powers to issue municipal bonds in order to raise capital for investment.
Cities should have city-wide authorities to provide continuity and strategic direction, and Counties should cooperate on area-wide strategies, where necessary
I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on UK Independence Party’s Local Government policies in the comments below?