Farage's plan for Britain: Tax free minimum wage, a grammar school in every town and help for the rich

UKIP leader reveals key manifesto pledges ahead of September party conference in Doncaster

Pledges to scrap the 45p top rate of tax for those earning over £150,000

Also wants to increase tax free earnings threshold to £12,675 from £10,500



Says a ‘grammar school in every town’ will remain the party’s policy

Reveals it is a ‘distinct possibility’ that he will stand in Thanet South in Kent in 2015

Plans to target up to 36 seats in areas where they are strong in local councils

Nigel Farage has revealed the first outlines of UKIP's general election manifesto, including plans to target up to 36 seats next year

Nigel Farage this morning revealed the first outlines of UKIP’s general election manifesto, as he revealed the party would target up to 36 seats next year.

The UKIP leader said the party would promise to scrap tax on the minimum wage. This would mean the 20p starting rate of income tax would only kick in on earnings over £12,675 a year.

He also revealed that the party would fight to scrap the 45p top rate of tax on those earning over £150,000 a year, bring back grammar schools ‘in every town’ and take an axe to public sector middle managers.

Mr Farage suggested these policies would form the centre piece of the party’s manifesto, which will be revealed at a special conference held in Labour leader Ed Miliband’s Doncaster constituency next September.

He hopes the policies will propel his party into Westminster after last week’s European and local elections triumph.

Mr Farage has previously listed as potential targets seats in Grimsby and Boston in Lincolnshire, Folkestone and Thanet in Kent, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Plymouth, Aylesbury and parts of Cambridgeshire in the south, as well as Rotherham in the north.

Mr Farage refused to reveal which seat he will choose to fight – but said there was a ‘distinct possibility’ that it would be Thanet South in Kent. He did however rule out challenging Nick Clegg in Sheffield.

He said: ‘I’m going to stand in the South East of England because that’s where I am from.’

Mr Farage, pictured with his PR Alexandra Phillips as he arrived at BBC studios in London to film The Andrew Marr Show, hopes the policies laid out today will propel his party into Westminster



The seat is currently held with a comfortable 8,000 majority by Tory MP Laura Sandys. But she has already announced that will be stepping down at the next election.

Even though it has been targeted by Mr Farage it would require a huge swing to UKIP for him to win – after the party scooped barely five per cent of the vote in the last general election in 2010.

But Mr Farage insisted the party would win seats in next year’s poll.

Mr Farage, pictured meeting a passing fan today, refused to reveal which seat he will choose to fight - but said there was a 'distinct possibility' that it would be Thanet South in Kent

He said: ‘Yes I am. I think the European election results caught the news, but actually the more significant result for next year was the in the areas where we succeeded last year - the county council seats where there were district council elections again this year, we are seeing areas where we are building up a really good representation of UKIP in local government and that changes the whole perception in a constituency.

‘That’s exactly what Paddy Ashdown did in the 1990s – they built on local strength. Our strategy for the general election next year is we will pick power the course of this summer our target seats and we will throw the kitchen sink at them.

‘It’ll be two dozen, three dozen – something of that order.’

‘We topped the polls in the Europeans, we are winning council seats, we are on the up.’

He said the party had ditched its controversial pledge to introduce a flat rate of tax for everyone of 31 per cent, replacing the three bands of 20p, 40p and 45p today.

Mr Farage has promised tax cuts and a grammar school 'in every town' as he appeared on The Andrew Marr show

The politician said his party would reveal its full manifesto in September at its annual conference in Ed Miliband's Doncaster constituency

But Mr Farage said: ‘We are going to rethink the tax thing.

‘What I can tell you for certain is that our biggest tax objective in that next manifesto will be not tax on the minimum wage. We’ve got to incentivise people on benefit and to get back to work.

‘I think a top rate of tax in this country of around about 40 per cent is the one that will bring the most revenue into the exchequer.

‘I think that’s what we will conclude yes. Anything over 40 and you start seeing people going overseas.’

He was also asked if he still wanted a grammar school in every town? He replied: ‘Absolutely.’

Mr Farage said the party would reveal its full manifesto in September.

He said: ‘We are going to have our annual conference this year in Doncaster in Ed Miliband’s constituency – that is where we will lay out our manifesto for the 2015 general election.