By our branch member, Ian Cooper. Blogs are the views of the authors only and are not necessarily representative of the views of branch members or UKIP.

Slash taxes on business

A key way of assuring business in the event of a 'No deal' Brexit is to slash taxes. For example we could take VAT down to 10%. But how then to make up the shortfall?

Have a property tax: 1% pa on houses over £500,000 and 2% pa on houses over £1m. It can't be avoided – a house is always there, it's cheap to collect - it could be done along council tax, with councils given 10% to collect and it wouldn't hit most Kippers (London Remainers might be less than thrilled).

One concession, so that the old wouldn’t have to leave the family home, would be a 50% discount after the age of 65. The main thing would be transfer the tax burden from ‘owners’ to ‘earners’ and this could have long-term benefits beyond Brexit. Income tax could also be reduced and my preference, a transferable allowance for married couples with children, could be afforded.

End sanctions on Russia

Russia is a deeply-flawed regime. If you have any doubt about it, see the film Leviathan, which depicts provincial politics as being managed by large men in 4x4s with too much metal under their leather jackets.

However, it’s impossible to regard Russia as worse than Saudi Arabia with whom we do a great deal of business - probably too much. And in the geopolitical situation with Islam as the main threat it would be better to have Russia onside, instead of insisting that it remains somehow like the USSR. Sanctions aren’t going to make Russia return Crimea and having better relations economically will in the end give more leverage.

For Brexit, it would remind Europe not to mess us about. And do remember from where Germany gets a lot of its energy. We might also persuade the U.S.A that it would do itself a favour, and us, if it followed suit. Is Ukraine actually being helped as things stand?