Overview of Policies

IMMIGRATION:

The UK has become one of the most densely populated countries in Europe.
Specifically, England is the world’s third most densely inhabited country of those with a population greater than 10 million. This has placed significant strain on all public services.

According to both ONS and Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, net migration is responsible for more than half of our population growth.
The Alliance for Democracy & Freedom believes that our present standard of living will be hard to maintain with continued current levels of net migration.
Our priority is to put the rights of the settled population above the rights of illegal immigrants. Nothing else will work until we do.
We would adopt a no-nonsense policy when dealing with illegal immigrants. To stem the flow, we will change their expectations of what happens to them if they enter illegally.

Therefore the current criteria for entry into the UK should be tightened, without damaging our ability to attract highly skilled personnel from overseas who are so vital to the country’s growth.

1. Legislate to ensure that our immigration policy can withstand all legal challenges from the migrant support industry.
2. Instruct the Royal Navy to intercept and boats coming from France, before they enter British waters and return them safely to France.
3. Wanted criminals identified during processing will be deported immediately.
4. For those boats that do make it to our shores.We will build Secure Migrant Camps in the countryside quickly like nightingale hospitals. They will be subject to all rules applying to high security prisons with perimeter fencing and controlled by Border Guards or the Army.
5. We will not allow inmates to leave, visit or mix with the settled population in nearby towns or villages.
6. No specific immigration targets. However, a ‘work permit’ will generally be a prerequisite to gain entry to the UK.
7. All migrants to have the same status prior to proposed entry and will be assessed as equals.
8. Immigration points system (all migrants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis).As in Australia, applications to settle in the UK, will be based on age, skill level in certain needed sectors and factors things such as criminal record or genuinely in danger due to war etc., in country of origin.)
9. The ADF recognise that whilst we will heavily invest and incentivise, young people training and working in the sciences, as well as trade based industries, during that training transition period, we will   need a number of skilled workers from overseas..
10. No amnesty for illegal undocumented migrants.Deported to their country of origin.They ARE CRIMINALS.This is ALSO the only way to stop the migrant boat gangs.
11. Immediate deportation of foreign Nationals who commit crime in the UK with UK Citizenship rescinded, where applicable.
12. All LEGAL immigrants and visitors to have medical insurance in place, before entry to the UK to cover the period of their stay. A government scheme would be available at their port of entry.
13. Children born in the UK who have at least one British parent will be granted UK citizenship. If both parents are non-UK citizens, their child will be a citizen of their country of origin.
14. Companies employing recent migrants will be subject to a ‘skills charge’ (to encourage the preferred employment of British nationals and UK permanent residents).
15. The Border Force staff to be increased by at least 10,000, employing UK armed forces veterans wherever possible. A further 500 administration staff would be recruited to clear the backlog in asylum applications.
16. Repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and support a UK Bill of Rights to make the UK Supreme Court final judicial arbiter on all immigration cases.
17. Illegal immigrants would not be entitled to benefits and only entitled to ‘emergency’ health care.

AGRICULTURE:

THE TWELVE FUNDAMENTAL BLOCKS ON WHICH TO BASE BRITISH AGRICULTURAL POLICY

Form policies to actively and financially encourage the use of every available plot of UK land to convert into agricultural production.

Put Agricultural Studies, Outdoor Skills and Cookery Skills into the National School Curriculum.

Introduce any pressing higher standards policies from within the UK government laws and bringing Red Tractor in line with this to ensure there is no extra cost to the UK farmer or consumer for doing so.

Encourage people to acquire skills needed for agricultural work and encourage farms to employ more staff.

Have financial incentives in place for food processors, textiles and retailers to fill their products with British first or a quota to use British products before looking to import milk and milk products etc.

Steady the inflation of British food and stabilise the market as far as possible.

Maintain progress with environmental incentives on agricultural land but not to the point where it overtakes agricultural production. Trees/cover can be planted to expand existing woodland and certainly on brownfield sites or at the edge of housing. Any environmental incentive could be part of agricultural diversification schemes on top of agricultural production income. It will encourage more jobs within agri-environment sector

Low to no tariffs on produce which we do not produce in this country and have need of.

Introduction of tariffs for imports on produce which is already produced in the UK

Strike the right relationships with international trade with an emphasis on importing what we don’t already produce in the UK in exchange for what they require from us. This would be done via a tariff based system.

• Low to no tariffs on produce which we do not produce in this country and have need of

• Introduction of tariffs for imports on produce which is already produced in the UK

• Include rule exceptions on food such as Parma Ham, Salami, Camembert etc which are national signature dishes and do have a niche in our marketplace without taking away from our domestic produce sales

Increase biosecurity measures on our plants, livestock and food import checks. We can stop disease absolutely if we are stringent enough.
Increase the power of the law to protect agricultural land, buildings, crops and livestock.

Increase agricultural incentives for farmers to fence off public rights of way within the legal requirement and to gate, fence, dig ditches or plant hedges to prevent rural crime.

Encourage where possible footpaths and bridle paths to be moved to an easier right of way for both the farmer and the public i.e. round the farm yards and round the field edges.

I can see a return on these financial incentives by increased income and therefore tax paid within the threshold because of increased business performance and employment. Furthermore, a reduction in police and ambulance time required.

Policies formed around these twelve commandments are designed to get “Great Britain Farming” once again.

COMMONWEALTH VETERAN IMMIGRATION:

Response to reports in the media that Commonwealth citizens who have served in HM Forces are being denied the right to settle in the UK after discharge.

It has been reported across a number of media outlets that a group of Fijian former soldiers have been denied the right to settle in the UK despite having met the eligibility criteria (set out in the linked UK Home Office document “HM Forces Applications on Discharge”).

It is often difficult to accurately establish the facts of a case from media reports or from support groups, as all invariably have their own bias, however well intentioned. However, it would appear that the case in question concerns a group who, having served for at least the required minimum term of four years full time engagement, were denied the right to settle permanently in the UK. The reason for refusal is given as the application being made outside the maximum two year post discharge period during which applications can be made, meaning that these ex-soldiers, who had remained in the UK, were “overstayers” and therefore disqualified by the legislation.

The group had applied for a judicial review on the grounds that that they had not been advised by the Army of the time limit for application. The review was refused on the grounds that this is an administrative dispute and not a point of law.
It is clear form the linked guidance document that immigration officials can process applications if there are grounds to suspect that the applicant had not in fact been advised of this time limit on discharge. This situation appears to have arisen because on the one hand the Army failed to fully inform these men and, on the other, the Home Office is refusing to abide by its own rules.

Our proposed policy solution to this situation, which is undoubtedly not unique, is very simple:

The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom would amend immigration law to make the offer of British citizenship automatic to all qualified personnel on discharge, removing the need for those leaving Crown service to make the application themselves. It would be incumbent on all branches of HM Forces to proactively engage with Commonwealth and other eligible personnel to ensure they are fully aware of their right the citizenship on discharge from a qualifying engagement. This amendment would apply retrospectively, to cover all of those affected by what we see as an injustice against those to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

ADF want to see the “military covenant” properly enshrined in law and for veterans to be given priority in social housing and public sector jobs.

We must see meaningful and properly funded action to deal with the alarming number of homeless veterans and to help those suffering permanent mental and physical damage as a result of their selfless service.

ECONOMIC POLICY:

During the 1970s, inflation rates reached 25% with food prices rising by about 300% over the next 10 years. The recession of the early 1980s was characterised by falling output, factory closures and rising unemployment. With inflation reaching a 40-year high of 9.4% in July 2022, the United Kingdom faces the risk of a slowing economy with the cost of food, fuel and mortgages set to rise further.

Alliance for Democracy and Freedom believes in low tax and small government. By reversing the constraining rises in corporation tax and National Insurance Contributions, we will stimulate commerce and sustain the supply of goods and services, thereby helping to lower inflation. We will regrow our economy by encouraging small and medium sized enterprises to flourish and thrive.

In addition, we believe the burden of taxation should not fall exclusively upon the consumer. To address inequalities in the current system – such as Inheritance Tax – we plan to execute a series of measures that are designed to simplify and reform.

In conjunction with tax cuts to maintain economic production and avoid recession, prudent increase in interest rates to about 2% to 4% will ensure sensible levels of borrowing, with resultant stabilisation of prices and effective curb on inflation.

To supplant the taxation measures above and bring about small government a comprehensive review of capital and revenue spending will be carried out with the aim of reprioritising projects and eliminating waste with the aim of streamlining government commitments to the benefit of all taxpayers.

Sensible increase in short-term borrowing with the repayment spread over a longer timescale should help to moderate temporary swings in spending and income tax revenue while allowing tax rates to be optimised for long-term growth.

It is envisaged that through the combination of measures outlined that the reliance upon borrowing may be reduced and with it the proportion of public funds expended on servicing  debt likewise decreased.

Alliance for Democracy and Freedom also believes that the failure to capitalise on Brexit and tardiness in decoupling from EU regulation stifle our agriculture and food production while at the same time perpetuate the neglect of our fishing industries and coastal communities.  Such a drag on our economy and burden on the British people is inexcusable.

In conclusion, Alliance for Democracy and Freedom is committed to lowering tax rates, liberalising regulations and maximising the opportunities of Brexit to help the people of the United Kingdom succeed and prosper.

ELDERLY CARE POLICY:

Introduce exacting standards of care nationally

• Create separate independent inspection process

• Formulate a fully funded service with a career structure

• Formalised training and development of staff

• Separate funding stream with Ministerial level oversight

• Encourage private and public funding of future care through insurance schemes

ENERGY POLICY:

The ADF Party believe that following a ‘Net Zero’ policy and putting all our eggs into one basket i.e., ‘Renewables’ is not the answer to the future energy requirements of the United Kingdom. The ADF Party believe the UK must not rely on the purchase of gas oil and electric from EU member states but must become more self-reliant on future energy requirements.
We believe a raft of energy sources must be included in future energy requirements including Nuclear, Gas (including Shale), Oil, Wind, Solar and Coal.

The ADF Party believe that the ‘Net Zero’ policies of the establishment parties will lead to further financial hardship for those in our society who can least afford to subsidise the Renewable industries. Those hit hardest financially will be the housebound, infirmed, elderly, unemployed, single parent and retired. The cost-of-living rise has become a financial crisis for many working families with rocketing energy and fuel prices in the news daily. On top of this, the breaking of a promise, made by the Prime Minister in 2016, to cut VAT from energy bills highlights that this government neither know nor care of the weekly struggle of families to meet household bills.

The price of Petrol/Diesel at the pump, for the daily commute to work has risen to unaffordable levels for many, again causing worry and stress on the weekly budget. Fuel duty is currently levied at a flat rate of 57.95p per litre for both petrol and diesel. Added to this is VAT so, the tax itself is taxed. If this government where truly supportive of hard-hit families, VAT could be cut (except in Northern Ireland, thanks to the Prime Minister’s EU protocol) and fuel duty reduced.

We believe that high energy costs of imported energy from the EU, which we have no control, the situation on the Ukraine /Russian border, making this energy supply unreliable and expensive, along with future Net Zero policies of the establishment parties in Westminster all put the UK manufacturing industries at a competitive disadvantage on the world stage, creating job losses and substandard product imports such as Steel from China.

The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom Party [ADF] energy policy is to explore the reintroduction of coal, gas, and oil as energy sources, as well building nuclear power stations, whilst ensuring continued development of reliable, cleaner, and cost-effective replacements for the long-term future. Building a self-sufficient low-cost energy future for Families and Industry is essential for all.

FISHERIES POLICY:

The strong desire of the majority of British people to see the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) returned to 100% British control, post-Brexit, has not been met. However, the Alliance for Democracy & Freedom has looked at this important issue and now has a number of sensible proposals to suggest are propelled into government policy.

From 31 December 2020, the London Fisheries Convention 1964 (which provided rights to foreign fleets to fish within 6-12 nautical miles of the UK national coastline) has been denounced, however the Brexit ‘EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement 24 December 2020’ trade negotiation has, in part, maintained EU access to our waters.

Hence, full sovereign control of the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has not been reinstated. As the deal struck between Britain and the EU allows considerable access to EU boats including super trawlers. The EEZ is 298,718 square miles of sea stretching up to 200 miles, or the median line between the UK and Europe.

Prior to Brexit, according to a European Parliament report around 40% of the value of fish caught in Britain’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) went to the fleets of eight EU nations. Norway also gets a share of this haul.

Now, post Brexit, only one quarter of this 40% allowance (ie: only 10% of value) will be returned for the benefit of UK fishermen over a five and a half year period, hence the EU will continue to take 30% of UK fish in perpetuity. After five and a half years this 30% of EU plunder will be negotiable annually, however the EU could apply pressure to restrict other UK trade areas to maintain their position on the fishing agreement.

The agreement also sets out details of how each species of fish will be shared out between the UK and the EU during the “adjustment period”. The top species include open-seas or pelagic fish like herring, mackerel and whiting, as well as some demersal fish (sea bottom-dwelling) varieties like sole, plaice and pollock. The UK fleet can expect increases in quota for 57 out of the 90 types of fish caught in UK waters every year, but quota shares for some species like channel Cod, of which EU boats (mainly from France) catch more than 90% each year, will remain unchanged.

As we are no longer subject to the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the previous EU fish-discard regulation is no longer applicable. The Alliance for Democracy & Freedom will review and incorporate new systems of stock management that align better with the unique fishing grounds in our UK waters.

To rectify the future ongoing exploitation by EU fishing fleets upon UK fish stocks, ADF proposes a number of adjustments to the status quo, namely:

• This EEZ should be monitored vigorously by extending and enhancing the Royal Navy’s existing Fishery Protection Squadron, who will impound rogue vessels and prosecute transgressors

• A complete ban on ‘Super Trawlers’ (huge factory ships which process and freeze fish directly) to protect stocks and the natural environment. Vessels over 100 metres and/or over 5000 tonnes will be prohibited

• Create a government-backed Industrial Development Bank (IDB) to help finance general industry

• Provide cheap Government loans or grants to UK companies and UK boat yards, to build new fishing vessels under 100 metres, or to purchase suitable second hand fishing vessels in need of refurbishment

• Develop Enterprise Zones and Freeports to incorporate local fish and food processing plants, and promote harbour expansion

• Create publicly funded fishing academies around the coasts of Britain and Northern Ireland to supply staff for industrial expansion

• Promote frozen fish for export to the huge markets in Asia

• Improve standards pertaining to the UK Shipping Register

Reinstate elements of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 to ensure UK registered fishing vessels require 75% ownership, (ref: Factortame 1)

SOCIAL CARE POLICY:

Remove social care from local authority oversight

• Introduce National social care service with ministerial oversight

• Reduction in numbers of private care homes/or bring them under Ofsted inspections

• Ofsted to remain as inspection body

• Independently nationally funded foster service

HOUSING POLICY:

UK residential property is in short supply and this has fuelled an escalation of prices in the private sector and excessive waiting lists for social housing.
The Alliance for Democracy & Feedom’s multi-level solution includes the regeneration of brownfield sites and streamlined planning legislation. ADF will vigorously promote a builder apprenticeship programme.

UK residential property is in short supply and this has fuelled an escalation of prices in the private sector and excessive waiting lists for social housing. The ADF solution involves a multi-level approach:

1. Encourage the release of undeveloped urban real estate (brownfield sites)

2. Acceleration of planning permission and reform of planning legislation

3. Modular residential property structures (quick build methodology)

4. Social housing will be awarded to families and individuals residing permanently in the UK, and not promised to new arrivals

The Alliance for Democracy & Freedom will protect Green Belt land. We will legislate to discourage land banking. We do not support rent controls as these can lead to a reduction in the number of private rented properties on the market.

We will scrap the ‘Help-to-Buy’ (H2B) scheme. H2B schemes cause price rises which indirectly reduce the opportunity for home ownership by young citizens. The ADF will impose limitations on ‘Right-to-Buy’ (R2B). Councils must replace social housing stock [1-for-1] before any R2B sale is sanctioned, which will maintain the social housing stock level. We will encourage councils to build new homes (financed by a municipal bond issue or the venture capital market) and to use the profits for further investment in housing.

We will promote full council tax being levied on empty residential property. The ADF will prevent the creation of new leaseholds within the private housing market (ie: create shared-freehold entities with suitable covenants).

The Alliance for Democracy & Freedom will introduce legislation to ensure that only British citizens, UK permanent residents or companies controlled by same, can own more than one residential property in the UK. We will also legislate via Stamp Duty to discourage the use of British nominees, by foreign investors, to circumvent such rules.

ADF will vigorously promote and subsidise a builder apprenticeship programme to ensure that there are no skill shortages in the construction sector.

INTERNATIONAL AID POLICY:

The Alliance for Democracy & Freedom plans to abolish the Department for International Development and fold its function into a unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. ADF would repeal the International Development Act (2015) which fixes the rate of foreign development aid at 0.7% of gross national income (GNI). This unit will concentrate on distributing effectively targeted emergency aid only to countries affected by earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and other serious natural disasters. Under this reformed system, ADF would allocate up to 0.2% of GNI for such tragedies. In staffing and office cost recovery alone this reorganisation would save in the region of £300 million.

ADF believe that the best way to help any developing country prosper is through a substantial increase in bilateral trade whereby its economy grows exponentially through production and increased employment not via hand-outs, however well intentioned.

This proposed reform would save the country approximately £12 billion a year, at current rates of expenditure. These funds will then be redistributed into projects and initiatives within the UK, allowing us to bolster our own economy to a point where we can engage in a healthy trading relationship with these developing nations.

KINSHIP POLICY:

Kinship care is when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or friend who is not their parent, usually because their parents are not able to care for them. That relative or friend is called a ‘kinship carer’ and it is estimated that around half of all kinship carers are grandparents, but many other relatives including older siblings, aunts, uncles, as well as family friends and neighbours can also be kinship carers.

There are lots of different types of kinship care, and if you are a kinship carer, you might find that as circumstances change the type of kinship carer you are changes too. Kinship care includes children who may be.

• Living in an informal arrangement made by their parents

• on a Child Arrangements Order or Special Guardianship Order

• ‘looked after’ by the local authority and placed with kinship foster carers.

Kinship carers are also often referred to as ‘family and friends carers’ or ‘connected people’ by local authorities and in official documents. The links above give greater detail as to what these arrangements mean in practice.

The benefits of Kinship are keeping a strong family association and having stability in the placement compared to local authority care.

The reason that a defined policy is needed for Kinship care is primarily that the support available to Kinship families from Local Authorities and statutory services vary enormously, creating a post code lottery. There is existing legislation that cover fostering and adopting families, although this does not currently extend to Kinship families.

My proposed policy pledges come from my own experiences and in consultation with the charity Kinship, of which I am a volunteer and a member of its steering group.

The proposed policy pledges are as follows:

1. A mandatory, non-means tested financial allowance for all kinship carers equivalent to the national minimum fostering allowance.

2. A right to paid employment leave for kinship carers on a par with adoption leave.

3. Improved educational support for children in kinship care, such as eligibility for support through Pupil Premium Plus, Virtual School and Designated Teacher and priority status within school admissions.

4. Emotional and therapeutic support for children in kinship care through a bespoke version of the Adoption Support Fund which recognises the unique needs and strengths of kinship families.

5. Access to tailored and independent advice, information, training and support for all kinship carers, including peer support.

Underpinning each of those pledges are three key principles:

• That all kinship carers should get support regardless of legal order or location.

• That any reforms come with clear guidance for local authorities on delivery and mechanisms for them to be held to account.

• That Government provides local authorities with long term and sustainable funding to carry out their duties

Please see the Briefing for the Westminster debate of 14th September 2023 here:

https://kinship.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Support-for-kinship-carers-WH-debate-14-Sepbriefing.pdf

These policy proposals deserve the widest support.

Alliance for Democracy and Freedom supports family values

CONTROLLED DRUG POLICY:

The Party is currently working on a draft policy concerning drugs, in particular those substances that can be misused and lead to social harms. The scope of this is those substances that fall within the definitions and rules contained in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and associated legislation.

We are faced with the obvious fact that prohibition and enforcement have not only failed to stop the supply and use of “controlled drugs”, but created an entire subculture served by a criminal underworld that is dangerous, destructive and extremely resource hungry. We believe that there are many negative personal and social consequences associated with the growth of these unregulated criminal markets. As soon as the police stop one enterprise, others quickly fill the gap. Policing ‘controlled drug’ users also means that people are psychologically affected by being under suspicion and constant threat of their lives being sharply disrupted by a raft of police powers, such as surveillance, stop and search, intimate body searches and sampling for analysis, seizure of property including phones and assets, and deprivation of liberty.

The Party believes it is time to take another look at this issue, from entirely different perspectives. There must surely be better, safer and less costly (in both financial and human terms) ways to deal with the issue of drug use/misuse. There is a conversation to be had about whether or not our approach to people interested in using a ‘controlled drug’ should be brought into line with the way we treat people using alcohol and tobacco. Would we be better off licensing and controlling the production of these substances and using educational messaging to raise awareness about their use and potential dangers, like we do with alcohol and tobacco or, do we double down on decades of enforcement failure? We are not suggesting prohibition of alcohol or other drugs that one can legally buy over the counter, but that the overall regulatory structure should be morally and scientifically neutral about drugs and concerned principally about social costs (crime, public health and economic).

As a party dedicated to adult responsibility and medical freedom (which includes a right to refuse treatments/vaccines without sanction), we support adult peaceful choices as a private matter, provided they do not adversely impact upon society. The best protection against drug use leading to misuse is respecting informed choice within an evidence-based regulatory system. Criminalising people for their drug use choice is invariably counter-productive for both problematic and non-problematic cases. Drug use is a popular activity and endless attempts to stop it have not made it any less so. We believe it time to consider whether the continued prohibition of these activities is appropriate in a tolerant society.

We have set up a working group within the Party to look at this issue. It is steered by Keith Lonsdale and Darryl Bickler, a (currently non-practicing) solicitor with considerable experience in this area.

We realise this is topic can be controversial and that any proposal to reform drug related legislation is invariably met with hostility from some quarters but we believe the basic premise of respecting adult choices and protecting society with respect to any popular activity (which drug use undeniably is) should only lead to outright prohibition as an absolute last resort.

If you would like to contribute to this conversation, please feel free to use the contact form and get involved.

PENSION WELFARE AND FAMILY POLICY:

PENSIONS

1. State Pension age to be 60 for both men and women

2. State Pension to be linked to National Minimum Wage and based on 40 hours

3. Pension contributions to be tax deductable

4. Public pensions are not taxable income

5. Public Sector pensions to be capped

WELFARE

1. Unemployment payments to be contributions based

2. Welfare payments NOT to be affected by pension receipts

3. Entitlement to Disability benefits to be decided by Family GP/Consultant

4. Carer Allowance to be NOT taxable income nor determined by normal working hours and paid at NMW

5. Child Benefit to be at NMW based on maximum 40 hours

THE FAMILY

1. Is at the heart of all party policies

2. Child Care on a gradual scale from birth to age 11

3. Military and Emergency Services’ Families to receive free child care to allow spouse to work

LAW, ORDER AND POLICING POLICY:

To deal with the concerns of rising crime and lawlessness across the country ADF have developed a robust Police and Criminal Justice policy:

Establish a national police force by expanding the current National Crime Agency – county lines, grooming gangs, terrorism, fraud, serial murder cases, people trafficking and drugs

43 local forces under direct command of divisional commanders who will deploy and manage resources to tackle local problems of crime and anti- social behaviour & Road traffic management

Recruit 30,000 new Police Officers

Scrap Police Crime commissioners and re-deploy budgets to local policing

Increase police budget from £7.3 billion to £10 billion per annum

Scrap the crown prosecution service to replace it with local offices of prosecuting solicitors to achieve cohesion and better working at local level

Scrap direct entry recruitment at Inspector level & detectives

Abolish the need for degree entry requirement upon recruitment

A fast track entry system for ex-services personnel

CHILD WELFARE IN RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN POLICY:

Children and Family

A secure and stable family is the backbone of our society allowing children to be brought up with love and support from both mother and father grandparents and extended family. This is the ideal and concessions should be made to families to incentivise that love and support through the tax system to achieve the maximum stability in the traditional family unit for children managed by HMRC.

Relationship Breakdown

We understand that families do break down, and when they do, more support should be available for families going through troubled times.

Our policy is that when families break down the presumption is shared care and both fathers and mothers should share custody of the children spending equal time with them. Where that is not possible it is up to the parents to decide sensible arrangements where both parents spend quality time with their children.

The Family Courts

Families currently are often subjected to damaging disputes over residence, childcare contact and parental and grandparental time spent with children. The historical position has been that the children reside with the mother. In this modern-day society, that bias is no longer tenable. Presumption should be that both parents have shared care of their children as is the case in some Scandinavian countries.  https://www.sharedparenting.scot/sweden-leads-the-way-in-shared-parenting/ Separated parents are free to negotiate alternative arrangements which work for them.

Our belief is that the criminal court system, the setting for the secret family courts, is the wrong place to decide issues of custody, shared care and contact and this should be considered by an impartial panel with no vested interest or financial interest called the Family Dispute Service. Where disagreement exists between parents’ matters will be considered by this body within a specified time of a maximum of 4 weeks. The current court system often treats the non-residential parent often as criminals and process can take many months if not years to resolve and, in many cases, never be resolved. Children are often deprived one parent during this process for extended periods of time with is unacceptable and damaging to families and children. This is not in the best interests of children or parents and society to allow this to continue.

The Child Maintenance Service

The child maintenance service (CMS) currently acts on an unjust basis where quite often, the non-resident parent is responsible for an inappropriate level of maintenance to support children residing in the resident parents’ home regardless of whether regular contact takes place.

Parents who struggle to keep up with maintenance arrangements account for one quarter of all the suicide cases in the UK today, male and female. The CMS current policy is helping to drive a suicide rate which is wholly unacceptable and, in many cases, driving poverty and distress. It is our policy that the CMS should be abolished. The presumption of shared care under our policy would mean that in general parents pay their own way during the time that they spend with their own children. Where income levels are disparate, maintenance should be paid at a reasonable level agreed by the parents, or if dispute emerges, considered by the Family Dispute Service in conjunction with HMRC.

Parental Alienation

Where parental alienation is an issue, the Family dispute service will investigate expediently, and resolution delivered which will be enforceable by the courts. Where false allegations are shown, or on the weight of balance suspected, these will be treated most seriously, limited supervised contact being allowed for the false accuser until the accused parent decides to increase contact or resume shared care or the Family Dispute Service decides appropriate. This will be reviewed by the Parental Disputes Panel quarterly.

Parental Alienation is a crime, and anyone found of denying contact between children and a loving good enough parent by coercion, psychological child abuse, intimidation or false allegations will be charged and tried through the criminal courts.

Exceptions

We acknowledge there are substantial savings to be made in the implementation of these policies and that is very welcome, but we think that it is more important that children can grow up with the love and support of both parents, increasing their prospects in terms of life chances better mental health, rounded upbringing, and the joy that parents’ grandparents and extended families bring to a child growing up.

We also acknowledge that there are bad parents who should not have input or contact with their own children, cases of pregnancy through rape, repeated violent offenders and domestic abusers should be excluded from the parenting process and pay maintenance where appropriate at the level stipulated governed by HMRC decided by the Parental Dispute Service (PDS).

Parental Consent

Parental consent is the foundation of our education and medical system, parents will have all rights for the child’s development until the age of 18. Both parents should agree on a course of action and where there is dispute, the Family Dispute service may be asked to form an opinion and ruling on any issue, this will be conducted with a four-week period from raining an issue till judgement. The Family Dispute Council will be conducted and executed under a time-honoured tradition with respect to cultural norms.

False allegations

False allegations must be treated with the utmost seriousness by the criminal courts. Where a sheriff of or Judge suspects false allegations, they must be investigated. Trial must be set, and judgement must be delivered. A strong sentence must be delivered of jail time appropriate to the conviction of the accused should they be found guilty. Judges must be accountable for their decisions, they must be open, reviewed open to criticism and sanctions made on judges if wayward decisions made.

In some instances where criminal charges and proceedings are found to be based on false allegations, the courts may act to sanction the false accuser, this rarely happens in the family court even though family, individuals and children’s lives may be ruined by them. This must change to be treated fairly.

Change in the legal service.

The legal positions of solicitors, QC’s and Barristers must be open for scrutiny. Within the law profession, if not fully public.

Change in the Tax system regarding maintenance payments

Tax should be calculated after maintenance payments have been made not before.

Tax should be considered on payments made to the receiving party, it should be treated as income for mortgage companies and other considerations.

Savings

Legal and court Fees.

Legal Aid Service savings.

Increase in revenue to Exchequer through unproductive parents.

Savings to police service on false allegations.

Savings to NHS through depression and ill health.

Increase revenue to the exchequer through reduction in suicide.

Savings from reduction in court cases.

Increase in revenue to exchequer within 20 years from children being more productive.

Savings in financial support to vested interest family breakup charities.

Additional Costs

Set up and management of the Family Dispute Service.

Lost revenue to the CMS through maintenance payments.

Lost revenue to exchequer through lower legal fees.

SMALL BUSINESS POLICY:

What is a Small Business ?

• Micro = 1 – 9 staff

• Small = 10 – 49 staff

• Medium = 50 – 249 staff

The above are collectively knowns as SMEs i.e. Small and Medium Enterprises

ADF will work with SMEs on the following key points :

Encouraging Local Trade to fuel the local economy; including local government spending

• Reducing Red Tape

• Reducing Business Rates

• Reduce green levies on business energy costs

• Encourage and support apprenticeships and harmonising academia with local business needs

• Abolish tuition fees for STEMM students

ADF will work with the Federation of Small Businesses on local and national levels on the above as well as :

• Clean Air Plans

• Going Green Sensibly

• National and Local Transport Infrastructure

• Parking Policies to encourage local trade

• Waste and Recycling

• Local Business procuring work from Local Government

• Prompt payment by “Corporates”

• Police Response to Crime against Business

TRANSPORT POLICY:

ADF call for the scrapping of HS2 and for the money to be better spent looking at other ways to increase train paths and improve the network.
The franchise system in current use is long overdue a rethink, as it does not incentivise long term investment in rolling stock. We would seek to encourage the movement of more freight by rail, especially on long distance routes.
ADF would be prepared to look at soft touch nationalisation of the railways, if a positive return for the taxpayer was a realistic prospect.

Road & rail infrastructure must be looked at as a national asset and not just the responsibility of those who physically use them. This includes bridges & tunnels on trunk routes, which are strategic national assets and vital to the country as a whole.

ADF would scrap Air Passenger Duty on domestic flights to outlying regions, where land borne alternatives are not a viable option for most.

HGV DRIVER POLICY:

The reasons for a shortage of professional drivers in the logistics industry are wide and diverse and this document will not seek to identify these reasons but to suggest solutions to an industry problem. What is indisputable is that the problem has been discussed for years but very little action has been taken. Now there is no alternative but to take radical and decisive steps to transform the industry. Soft touch initiatives will do nothing to address the skills shortage in this vital industry, we must collectively not just look to how we can recruit new drivers but to change the industry to retain the ones we have and keep the new drivers we seek to recruit.

Driving v working time Without exception, when we have asked drivers, the number one issue is the clash between driving and working time rules. Specifically the six hour working rule. The level of regulation drivers must follow is almost unprecedented. We need to simplify the rules for UK drivers in order to maintain safety whilst applying common sense. Any derogation to rules is nothing more than a loophole. Currently the 10 hour night rule and reduced daily and weekly rest are seen as a target for employers rather than a legal maximum. These derogations need to be at the drivers’ explicit agreement not simply implemented by the operator. We are proposing changes to the way the enforcement of driving and working time rules applies to drivers so that there is one standard rather than two for drivers to fall foul of. This would include the removal of Periods of Availability (POA).

All breaks to be paid. At present some companies pay for the drivers mandatory break of at least 45 minutes but many do not and deduct the 45 minutes off the drivers total hours for that day. It is law that a driver must take a break of 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving, it can be broken down into a 15 minute and 30 minute break.

A reduction in the working time is paramount and the Party proposes a 12 hour working day maximum. So if you start at 06.00 am you finish latest by 18.00 pm, no split breaks, no reduction in hours and no POA, this would ensure that the driver would get sufficient rest to carry out their duties for the following shift. Many of the transport companies will cry out loud saying certain jobs will be unachievable, untrue we say. Better planning more satellite hubs for trailer swaps, increase Demurrage at sites that fail to tip on time, Increase your Driving pool.

Transparency of OCRS The current Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is not public. A system that rates operators’ roadworthiness and traffic violations should be available for drivers. There is no legitimate reason why drivers should not know the conduct and repute of their employer or potential employer. With transparency of the OCRS score customers will also be able to use enforceable data to inform decisions when awarding contracts. This can only drive up standards.

Self Loading and Unloading. We believe it is not the duty of the driver to unload or load their trailer, this is happening around Europe at the moment but it is being kept very quite.

ITOY Colleague Ricardo Carvalho, Portugal’s jury member added: “This is what is happening and no one is talking about this, not even the truck companies. In 2019, an agreement on loading and unloading was signed in which transport and logistics and distribution companies assumed that these tasks were not the responsibility of drivers, albeit with some exceptions. But, because no one was really doing this, government set a new decree-law.

The decree-law that sets new rules on loading and unloading in road transport of goods, but it only comes into force in mid-September. Thus, and in essence, the new rules limit the maximum waiting time for loading or unloading to two hours, the time being counted “from the time previously agreed or scheduled between the shipper, the recipient and the carrier” or , in case there was no appointment, “from the time of registration of the vehicle in the system of the shipper or recipient, except for deliveries to stores”.

In case of delays, carriers, shippers, consignors or consignees are entitled to compensation, payable by the person responsible for the delay.

Loading and unloading operations must be carried out by the shippers or recipients. If they are the responsibility of the carrier, “the carrier must use a worker, other than a driver, who is qualified and trained for the purpose”.

Drivers may only be called to carry out loading and unloading, under the terms of the applicable collective contract, “in the distribution of goods, being understood as such the distribution of goods from the central warehouses to the respective stores, removals and door-to-door” (and even so with the presence of another person) and “for safety reasons, depending on the specific training received and the use of specific equipment, [in the case of] transportation of fuel, bulk and car carriers, without prejudice to specific provisions on goods containing dangerous materials”.

In case of non-compliance with the rules, fines of between €1,250 and €15,000 are foreseen, depending on whether the person is a natural or legal person.”

Ways to make the job more appealing.

improve pay and conditions.

• tackle the lack of diversity in the industry.

• simplify driving hours’ rules.

• make better parking and facilities a priority.

• toughen up sanctions for employers denying drivers access to basic facilities.

• shift the cost of accreditation from drivers to employers.

All these changes take political will and desire, however they are long overdue and the lack of HGV Drivers problem has been kicked into the long grass by successive governments over the last 20 years, all of who have not given the respect or recognition to the industry. Being a HGV Driver is a highly skilled job and should be recognised as that. There are 15 types of trailers without counting the specialists ones, so its not just a truck the driver has to know about its also what he is pulling and all of them are different in some way.

VACCINE PASSPORT POLICY:

The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom Party is opposed to the introduction of “vaccine passports” for any purpose.

Our opposition is based upon a number of factors including:

1. None of the Covid19 vaccines are “sterilising vaccines”. That is to say they do not prevent infection with the SARS-CoV2 virus developing into symptomatic infectious disease. The effect of the vaccines is said to be a reduction the risk of severe disease and death for the recipient only. Mandating them on the premise that they protect others   therefore has no legitimacy.

2. The scheme proposed by the government excludes naturally acquired immunity, which has been shown by recent research to be far more robust and wide-ranging than that conferred by the vaccines. The exclusion of naturally acquired immunity makes absolutely no sense from a disease-control perspective.

3. Government has suggested that this scheme will apply to nightclubs and sporting venues, which are predominantly used by young, healthy people. They are the least vulnerable section of society whose risk of serious disease and death from Covid19 is statistically extremely low.

We believe that vaccine passports will in fact be the introduction mandatory digital ID cards via the back door. Establishment politicians have been trying to find a way to force these intrusive, controlling documents on us for decades, the Blair government being the first to try in the UK. It is inevitable that the scheme would be expanded very soon after its introduction to include shops, pubs, bars, restaurants, theatres and the workplace. More vaccines and other medical interventions would be added and our lives permanently dependent upon maintaining one’s medical status with whatever is mandated by the government of the day. Once introduced, vaccine passports would be here to stay. Nobody in government is talking of time limits for their use and a number of contracts have already been signed, without Parliamentary scrutiny or consent.

Vaccine passports would create medical apartheid in this country, with those who cannot be vaccinated and those who make an informed choice not to be vaccinated excluded from many activities we’ve always taken for granted in this supposedly free democracy.

We believe the motivation behind vaccine passports is political, not medical, with the exclusion of naturally acquired immunity being one of the key giveaways. We are travelling a very dangerous road, one littered with warnings from not too distant history. That road will lead us to a less free, less democratic future.

Vaccine passports must be stopped