News – Libertarian Party

Only The Libertarian Party Will Break The Mould Of UK Politics

Dan Liddicott – Midlands Coordinator

When you’re actively involved in an up-coming political party any mention in the news always brings a smile. Today that smile was provided by the CityAM.com article “Is the British political landscape ripe for a new centre party?” Alan Lockey, head of modern economy at Demos, argued that the time was right for a new centrist party, but it was Conservative commentator, Alex Deane, arguing against the motion, who gave the Libertarian Party the treasured mention. Unfortunately, Mr Deane was less than optimistic about the chances of any competition with the big two gaining traction.

In that assumption I believe Mr Deane is wrong.

To be fair to him, one thing Alex Deane is right about is that we in the Libertarian Party think we will “break the mould”. With plummeting popularity for both Labour and Conservatives, the approach of Brexit making UKIP defunct and the irrelevance of the Lib Dems, the timing is actually perfect for a new party. Not for a bog-standard centrist party, not for an obscure single-issue entity, nor for a party with £50m cash up front but nothing to stand for, but the time is right for the Libertarian Party which is none of those things. (more…)

Libertarian Candidates Offer Voters Real Choice

Libertarianism Offers Voters Real Choice

Cllr. Peter White, Town Councillor, Shropshire

I had the privilege of campaigning with the Tax Payers Alliance in the Town of Shrewsbury on the 23^rd of March. It’s always daunting to try and engage the British public because we are all so very busy and we aren’t afraid to say exactly what we are thinking. Drawing from my few experiences of engaging with the public I can tell you of one thing that is a constant in my conversations and the reactions that I have received from people: Apathy.

“What’s the point?” they all seem to say, with shrugs of the shoulders, big sighs and finishing their rants or comments with “Oh well it will never change” or “Never mind!”

We seem to be resigned to a fate of increasing taxes, shocking services and incompetent rulers and there seems to be nobody left to stick up for us. We feel nothing but a deep loathing in the pit of our stomachs for the elite that have a boot placed firmly on the small of our backs, preventing us from getting onto our own two feet.

This apathy still shows in the polls. Yes, turnout for the election was 68.7 per cent, up 2.6 per cent from 2015 but in spite of that it’s down 3.5 per cent on the Brexit referendum which does not indicate to me a society confident in it’s leaders. Brexit was a simple decision, stay or go, but the idea of choosing between May and Corbyn is one that many voters decided was simply too much to make again. With only 68.7 per cent of people who are able to vote choosing to vote is a big indicator of how disillusioned people are with the choices they have in Parliamentary and regional council elections.

If you’re standing for council elections as an LP candidate then go out and offer people a real choice, we have so much to offer. Be an agony aunt, listen to your potential voters and offer them an alternative to the misery that they are suffering at the hands of big government. Every last one of them knows the problem but they don’t really know of a viable solution because it’s never been offered to them.

People see government as god and only the state has the answers to the problems that it has clearly already caused.

Libertarianism offers a realistic and sensible solution to many social and economic problems and the only thing holding that back is dependency and uncertainty. These two things are huge and deeply ingrained in the public conscience but a simple conversation has the potential to change a person’s mind and you all have the answers to provide them, whether you are standing for election this time or not.

I sincerely hope our candidates can win something in these council elections because the grass roots should be what we are aiming for. This is something a small party such as ours can build upon if we are successful and we serve our constituents well.

Go and get them!

Making Volunteerism Work

Cllr. Wayne G. Mills

I wouldn’t have counted myself as an activist, or even politically motivated, but just a compassionate guy who cares deeply for the rights of people, to have a say in their lives and local community. Until recently that is! On May 7^th 2015, upon my election to becoming a Councillor, that fuzzy warmth of reasoning led me into my first experience of local politics at the age of 49.

In Earls Barton Parish Council we are 13 in number, with a sizeable precept for one of the largest villages in the UK. Locally the 3 Borough Councillors are Conservative, and we have a Conservative County Councillor who is just off the nipple and still has him Mummy stick up for him in the playground. My own career in the Building Industry allowed me to sit comfortably on the Planning, Highways and Maintenance committees and enjoy running many events locally as well.

My first year or so in office was largely about local issues, until we had a game changer – Northamptonshire County Council is basically bust – in November last year we were faced with the devastating effect of an overspend of £21.1m.

We were told that the council were looking to save £34.3m as well as considering even selling off its newly built £53m headquarters. Earlier this month it imposed the section 114 notice banning all new expenditure apart from statutory services in social care.

One local effect is that our Library service is up for closure. Not a big deal to some in the e-books era but a very big deal to a community that has never been told NO before and view it more as a community hub building rather than just a book lending service.

At this point passions were running high and I suddenly felt empowered! I could feel my libertarian views taking shape amongst the haymaking of the socialists locally. The Tories just kept quiet and blamed Central Government for its funding deficit rather than admit to the crass mismanagement that we have witnessed for years.

I attended a meeting at the County Council and rather dramatically demanded a Community Asset Transfer of the Library. The asset had been owned by our community long before it had been dragged under Local Authority control. However, when my demand was reported back to our chamber in the village Labour highjacked the idea on social media pretending it was their brainchild. At that point the gloves were off, and I became a Libertarian Councillor for the Libertarian Party.

The bottom line is that in the community we can cover the Library running costs at a cost of £5 on band D Council Tax until it becomes sustainable. That’s just further taxation I hear you cry, but the Library then must change its focus to become a free market venture to survive and be self-sufficient in the long term.

Taking over these Local Authority assets allows us to consider together how resources might be developed in a way that could be sustainable in community hands and is stimulating creative ideas about where services are based and how they are delivered. The need for a business plan and financial management objectives will help us shape the building usage more.

The realisation locally is that The County Council will no longer be a service provider but more an essential service financier. This is where the Libertarian bit comes in.

Suddenly locally we are seeing Voluntary Associations popping up. We have an “Is Kind” group I assist managing and I run an associated man only support group too. We have over 1000 people as members in less than 6 months and it is like giving an Apache a Winchester once people realise they have some freedom, and it is honestly great to witness.

We offer elderly and lonely befriending services in conjunction with the NHS; a village food bank and a hot meal service; a free swapping service for all household goods and clothing; and even groups of men helping the vulnerable victims of domestic violence with furniture for wrecked homes. Social events and volunteering are flourishing and I am proud the community are seeing they have more freedom of choice away from the thought process that ‘it’s what the council should provide’. All of this involves no tin rattling but just kindness, humanity and no monetary donations.

The constitution of the groups include the wording:

To respect the personal integrity of those we help. Never to judge or moralise over anyone’s problems or situations. All individuals must respect the equal rights of others.
To actively promote localism and volunteering to establish greater local public freedom without political and religious influence.
Respect the equal rights of others and protect these individually held rights from abuse by others.

We have a long road to travel but with energy and commitment we will help shape a better future locally. Without mentioning my political leanings I am helping to shape a community along the road to greater freedom and liberty. Now all I must do is get enough support to launch my career to challenge the establishment further up the pyramid as a Libertarian.

If we are to progress our passions locally we must reach into the hearts as well as the minds of our constituents and sell a creative vision for everyone. We must stress that less government doesn’t mean caring any less.

From UKIP to the Libertarian Party: A Journey

James Goad
Chairman, Worcestershire Branch

I let my UKIP membership lapse last year and joined the Libertarian Party straight away. I felt happy to do so and relieved to boot. I had been a Kipper for six years. (more…)

2018. Let’s Make Brexit Great Again

Scott Neville
Hampshire Coordinator

Let’s not lie. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU is not going well – much like David Cameron in 2014, our prime minister has successfully negotiated the UK giving in to the EU’s demands. If we are truly honest with ourselves following the result of the election – did we expect anything else? For all of his faults (and there are many) Jeremy Corbyn has played a tactical master stroke. He has positioned the Labour Party as one that the die-hard Remainers can support, whilst actually having a commitment to Brexit in their manifesto. His supporters know that the actual truth is irrelevant. After all, anything that was bad was done by the Tories! You only need to look at some of the Facebook pages which tell you the Private Finance Initiative is all the Tories’ fault despite it being Labour’s only plan for expanding infrastructure in the NHS in 2009. Mr Corbyn is now looking to strike a fine balance of: enough socialism to secure his position; sufficient Brexit back-peddling to ‘honour’ the referendum result; adequate connections to the EU and a sprinkling of just enough market based economy to ensure the EU will bail us out when it all falls apart.

Yet the Conservatives have no real plan for leaving the EU, they are all too aware of the public sector and the pensions funding problem. They can’t really allow immigration to fall as they so desperately need all those young people coming in paying taxes to keep kicking the unfunded state pensions can down the road. They clearly want to be a free market, but have no idea why the free market is good and are scared of it because socialism has become so young, new and cool (a child – at a mere 151 years old!) (more…)

We’ve Maxed Out Our Kid’s Credit Card. Can We Stop Now?

Dan Liddicott
Midlands/Mercia Region Coordinator and Students/Youth Coordinator

Among all the drivel coming out of the Tory party conference there was at least one brief window of sanity. Ministry of Justice Under-Secretary of State, Dr. Philip Lee MP, admitted in a fringe event that our beloved NHS is actually funded as a Ponzi scheme as he questioned the morality of asking younger people today to keep paying for a service from which they may never benefit.

The BBC reported that ‘the Bracknell MP told the meeting how he had clashed with George Osborne in 2015 after he described the then chancellor’s pensioner bond scheme as “intergenerational theft” designed to woo older voters at the expense of younger people’.

‘He suggested it was not fair to tell the under-44s who were “struggling” with a family: “‘Oh, by the way, we’re also going to tax you even more because this Ponzi scheme that we’ve had in play for pensions and for healthcare and for social care for the past 30 years is about to collapse. So therefore we want you to work really, really hard, but when you get to 65, it’s not going to be there.’ Hands up who thinks that’s a really compelling narrative?”‘ (BBC, 2 Oct 2017)

A damning assessment he’s since tried to row back on somewhat, but in actual fact he’s quite right. The welfare state, in fact, state funding as a whole, is a Ponzi scheme – so groaning under its own weight – that successive tranches of new payees cannot provide enough tax to support it all. (more…)

Pushing Back Against Cultural Marxism

Dan Liddicott
Midlands/Mercia Region Coordinator and Students/Youth Coordinator

It has been said that those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. While this is true of so many things, the cultural marxist revolution we are now experiencing is perhaps the most insidious of them.

One of the most infamous movements of the cultural marxist revolution of the last century was kicked off in Peking University in 1966 at the hand of the Red Guard. In his book, The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Xi Xianlin, a professor of Eastern Languages, recorded his first hand account of the events of those days, as they transpired right there on the Peking campus. From his descriptions one would be forgiven for drawing a comparison with the ‘activism’ of modern western student bodies, faculties, government departments, and court judgements over recent months and years. The similarity is chilling, and ought to serve as a stark warning of how far things have gone.

Cultural revolution was a term coined by Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci in the 1920s and 30s. It was he who theorised that the new marxism could only be held in place, without constant force and violence, by the overthrow of pre-existing cultural institutions in addition to the political ones. While major marxist revolutions in the east began with violence quickly followed by cultural revolution, the proletariat uprising predicted by Marx to kick off in Britain failed to materialise. The reality was that the British working classes actively enjoyed the rising living standards of capitalism and free trade and so the necessary catalyst was missing. A different approach to bringing about marxism was needed in those western countries resistant to violent marxist revolution. That alternative approach was to bring about the cultural revolution first. This is what we see happening now. (more…)

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