Brexit Party not just about Brexit, Farage tells voters

LONDON (AP):

Britain’s December 12 vote has been dubbed the “Brexit election”, dominated by the country’s stalled exit from the European Union (EU). But political parties are also trying to win over voters more worried about the United Kingdom’s (UK) stuttering economy and frayed social fabric.

That means even the Brexit Party, led by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage, published a list of policy pledges on Friday that went far beyond leaving the EU.

The party, which wants Britain to make a sharp break with the 28-nation bloc, is also calling for a “political revolution” in the UK. It wants a written constitution, the abolition of Parliament’s unelected House of Lords, more public referendums, and a cut in immigration to below 50,000 people a year, less than a quarter of Britain’s current rate.

650 seats up for grab

Founded earlier this year, the Brexit Party currently has none of the 650 seats up for grabs in the House of Commons in the December vote. It is running in almost 300 seats but has withdrawn from 317 Conservative-dominated constituencies to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.

Farage urged voters to give his party lawmakers in Parliament so they could pressure the government for a hard Brexit in which Britain wouldn’t remain aligned to EU rules and standards.

“Without us, there will be no genuine Brexit,” he said.

Detailed policy manifestos are a British election staple, and their publication is a major campaign event for each party.

The Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru also released its manifesto Friday, calling for billions of pounds in new investment in renewable energy to create “tens of thousands of green-collar jobs”.

The Plaid Cymru – Welsh for the Party of Wales – opposes Brexit. It’s calling for a new referendum on Britain’s EU membership and backs an eventual vote on Welsh independence. The party held four seats in the last Parliament.

The main opposition Labour Party published its manifesto on Thursday, setting out plans for a radical expansion of public spending and state ownership.

Labour promised to nationalise Britain’s railways, energy utilities and postal system, cap rents, hike the minimum wage, abolish university tuition fees, and give everyone free Internet access if it wins the December 12 election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the measures in the party’s “manifesto of hope” would be paid for by increasing taxes on corporations and high earners.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has labelled Labour’s policies “ruinous”. Johnson’s Conservative Party and the Scottish National Party have not yet published their own manifestos.

The leaders of Britain’s four biggest parties – Johnson and Corbyn, along with Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party and Jo Swinson of the pro-EU Liberal Democrats – were to face questions from a studio audience in a televised series of interviews later Friday.

Johnson pushed for Britain to hold the December election, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain’s political impasse over Brexit.