Allister launches TUV manifesto
The TUV says it will be the catalyst for change in the next term of the Assembly, with the election offering voters the chance to put right the failures at Stormont.
The party is fielding 12 Assembly and 41 local council candidates and is campaigning under the banner “Make Stormont Work For You”.
At the TUV‘s election manifesto launch, party leader Jim Allister said he wanted to bring about real opposition at Stormont.
What the TUV manifesto says:
Government
The TUV calls for a “voluntary power-sharing with a vigorous opposition to hold the Executive to account.”
Economy
The TUV’s economic objectives are cutting growing dole queues, helping local businesses to create new jobs and focus on sustained investment.
The party wants to ensure “every penny is used sensibly” – that includes a salary freeze for MLAs.
The TUV is against the redevelopment of the Maze prison site, as well as the promotion of North/South bodies and the A5 motorway. TUV believes money is being spent there at the expense of roads and water infrastructure and maintenance.
The party says it will also support PMS savers, as well as advocating the privatisation of NI Water. Rates bills at homes should be reconfigured, to prevent householders paying twice for utilities.
Education
The TUV strongly supports academic selection, and parents should have the choice to have their children prepared for transfer tests.
The party says secondary education should be given adequate resource to tailor needs to alternatives to academic route.
At university level, the party sees proposed increases to tuition fees as “retrograde, ill-conceived and unfair”.
If elected, the TUV says it will try to stop Northern Ireland’s ‘brain drain’ by keeping tuition fees at the current rate for Northern Ireland students – a similar scheme currently happens in Scotland.
Agriculture
The TUV advocates protecting local producers from cheap imports which are not compliant with EU processing standards, as well as moving control of the fishing policy from Brussels to the UK.
Health
The TUV wants to see clean safe hospitals, with outpatient and inpatient waiting lists dealt with effectively. The party is concerned with the amount claimed by Northern Ireland’s NHS from the Dublin government for providing care to those from the Republic.
Security
The TUV believes proposed prison reform is an attempt to “diminish prison security and control”, and says “there can be no pandering to terrorism. IRA resurgence must be nipped in the bud.”
The party says those bereaved during the Troubles should be made a priority by effective use of the Criminal Justice System, “not sanitising their evil deeds and then trying to equate them with their victims”.
Parades
The party is in favour of legislation that would protect peaceful parades. Any route which is “historically traditional” should be strongly considered before a decision is made to allow or disallow the process.
Alternative Vote
The TUV is against the AV system, as it would lead to “perpetual coalition and greater instability”.
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