Libertarian Party UK

Exciting Times Cost Money

2010-01-06T14:10:00.003Z

Things should start getting a bit more exciting for the LPUK in the next few weeks, the NCC have been pondering the publicity blackout enforced by the Main stream Media. Not ones to don spidermen outfits and dangle from the House of Commons roof or a nearby bridges, we needed a cost effective alternative. Chris Mounsey our new leader has this now in hand, and when the go is given, LPUK members will be the first to know.

My job as treasurer is however to prepare for the upswing. At the the Conference I said I hoped that we could open a permanent office staffed by at least one part time official and backed up by volunteers. My target date for this is May 2010. To do this I am relying on a core of donors to guarantee the wage bill and other running costs.

However we will need office equipment of all descriptions, if you think you can donate that Louis XIV desk please let us know asap.

In the meantime we still need to up our donation rate, so please give generously as a member or as one of the LPUK's supporters. Monthly Standing order forms can be quickly set up to our account so please contact us at donate@lpuk.org

Freedom to defend one's self

2010-01-03T18:43:00.005Z

Graham, owner of BritainNeedsGuns.co.uk is currently facing jail for possessing a can of self-defence spray. Being the victim of a violent attack left him in no doubt as to the States' ability to offer protection against such incidents. The only choice left was to take responsibility himself.

On October 26th 2009, I was at work as a bus driver. Returning from my break I decided to take a shortcut through New Street train station in Birmingham City Centre. I was challenged by an asian ticket inspector who believed that I had travelled on a train without a ticket.
This wasn't the case, therefore he had no proof that I had fare-dodged.

The inspector became aggressive towards me and after trying to explain to him what had happened he called a "white honkey b******d".
To avoid confrontation, I pushed past him and walked away.

I was then arrested for common assault (over a single push - unbelieveable !!!) and taken to the local nick where I was held in a cell for 22 hours with one small snack and a single cup of coffee. The pepper spray was found when I was searched at the police station.
I refused to answer any questions on legal advice, but was charged with common assault (CCTV evidence) and plead guilty recieving a £250 fine.
I was bailed for further enquiries over the spray.

Charged on 17th Dec with possession of section 5 firearm and bailed to appear in court.
Appeared on 29th Dec at Birmingham Magistrates Court, where I was advised to plead guilty due to very strong forensic evidence against me.
(It's basically a small can of pepper spray which I carried illegally for personal protection after being a victim of a serious violent assault.)

I have been released on bail until 15th January, and I have been told that I face up to 3 months in prison, depending on the reports from the probation service.
I admit that this is the second time that I have been convicted of this offence, the first time being 3 and a half years ago in 2006. The thought of going to prison scares me a little, but my lawyer told me that I have 2 choices -

1. I apologise for protecting myself, tell them what they want to hear and basically kiss the judges butt, this MIGHT keep me out of jail.
2. I stand my ground and say how I feel, namely that I believe that I have a god given right to self-defence. In this case I will definitely be jailed.

I've considered all my options, and I'm sorry to say that it looks like I'll have to bend over and be shafted by the government. In other words, tell the probation service what they want to hear, as opposed to how I really feel.

I think I'd have difficulty coping with jail as I prefer my freedom, privacy and not having to worry about dropping the soap (LOL).
I feel like such a pathetic coward for not standing up for my beliefs, but prison would make my life so much harder once I got released as I'd have trouble getting a decent paid job and paying my bills.

Sorry guys, I feel really ashamed at my lack of courage !!!

Bryan Caplan on Adoption

2010-01-02T19:29:00.007Z

Caplan, a yank economist kicks things off with a defense of what he calls a "maternal division of labour:" (emphasis mine)

High-achieving women like Kerry Howley have premium eggs, but they'd want a mountain of money to spend nine months pregnant on a stranger's behalf. Women willing to endure a pregnancy for a reasonable rate, on the other hand, rarely have eggs in high demand.
In response to these preferences and technological progress, the market splits apart three jobs joined together throughout history. The egg comes from a young woman with great genes, the womb from a woman who doesn't much mind being pregnant, and the mothering from a woman who wants a baby. From an economic point of view, it's Adam Smith's pin factory all over again. To some, it's repugnant. To me, it's not merely logical, but life-affirming.

Controversial, no? A former GMU prof asks: "Does it matter if the parents love the child?" Caplan responds:

Baby-selling is a solution to abuse, not a cause. Most of the horror scenarios that Morse [the GMU prof] poses - like child prostitution - are far more likely to involve kids raised by their biological families in the Third World. The same goes for child labour.

Discuss.

The views and opinions expressed in this post and any linked articles are my own or those of the respective author(s) and do not reflect current or planned Libertarian Party policy.

Predictions for 2010...

2010-01-01T11:08:00.007Z

Well first things first -- Happy New Year! I hope the new year and decade treat you well.

As this is my first post of the New Year it seems logical to start with a few predictions.

So in Mystic Meg fashion here goes...

1. The Economy is going to go off a cliff again this year. This will be a result of New Labour's failure to deal with public sector deficit and debt.

Gordon Brown simply hasn't got it in him to cut spending. A fine example of this is his intervention in the Corus Steelworks Closure in Teeside.

'Call me Dave' has also shown no signs that he is willing to end the debt by taking on the public sector and its unions.

Once the bond market work this out -- about August/September time -- it's game over for Britain.

2. There are going to be a lot of strikes this year. Every time the word "cut" is mentioned the unions across the State sector and it's Corporate Monopolies will go mental.

They will fight tooth and nail to defend every penny of public spending even if it bankrupts Britain.

3. The surveillance state is going to continue to grow despite the fact it makes us no safer. Full body scanners are on their way. But I guarantee they won't stop more attempts to blow up planes or anything else.

4. And my election prediction. It will result in a very small Tory majority. But not enough for them to do much and I'm not convinced it will last very long.

Anyway, they're my predictions. Please feel free to add your's in the comments below.

The Death Penalty, The War on Drugs, Rule of Law and National Sovereignty

2009-12-29T21:02:00.004Z

Today we hear that China has executed Akmal Shaikh for drug smuggling.

Firstly Mr Shaikh was executed. He was not presenting an imminent threat to life or limb but was taken from a cell or secure room in a facility well capable of containing him and killed in cold blood. Like an individual, the State can, in certain circumstances, take life. But this is usually limited to situations of immediate ongoing threat to existence, as in a defensive war against an external aggressor. This is no such case. Had there been no death penalty, any discussions about mental health could go on and, hopefully, be resolved. Now it cannot.

Secondly, Mr Shaikh was smuggling drugs. The whole war on drugs is irrational and counter-productive. It enriches drug lords, impoverishes and criminalises users who, frankly, probably have enough on their plate as it is, and drives up crime to fund habits and maintain "turf". It should not have been a crime outside that of, possibly, tax evasion of duty or VAT.

Thirdly, China is a sovereign nation. It has poor and sometimes non-existent Rule of Law, but that fact remains. It is the role of the Chinese people to effect change in that dimension and not for "Western governments" to demand anything*. Having said that, it is NOT the right of the Chinese authorities to, in turn, demand that no criticism be made of their actions. Such protests sound shrill.

If people outside of China want to make a stand then make it as individuals using the means available within the Rule of Law. Some call for a boycott of Chinese goods, but then again is it the responsibility of private companies in China? Even if China had multi-party democracy, how would one know that a particular manufacturer and their hapless employees (and suppliers, come to that) were supportive of the regime and policy and so be responsible? Collective punishment is disgraceful. Period. One must be very clear about who is being targeted and the unintended consequences of such actions.

So, we have a man convicted of a non-crime, convicted without due process and sentenced to an illegitimate punishment, but by a Sovereign Nation.

What would a Libertarian government do? We would put our case against the death penalty and the futility of the "war on drugs". We would put our case for the Rule of Law. This was not some extra-judicial outrage, however. I would ask all those who want the State to "do something" to consider how you would react if a foreign power or group tried to dictate or use force to control how our courts dealt with a case in the UK. Not acceptable. For us. For China.

* As for Brown and our embarrassing, quisling, limp and routinely toadying F&CO response...one wonders if certain elements intentionally act to weaken our position and undermine influence, so eager to play in a bigger pond.

Cha Cha Cha CHANGES!!!

2009-12-26T13:20:00.003Z

New Labour or Blue Labour?

Cha cha cha ...same shit.

Season's Greetings

2009-12-24T14:04:00.001Z

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted Gregorian calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

No trees were harmed in the sending of this message."

H/T: Daniel Katz

http://www.pi-news.net/
http://www.pi-news.org/

Quote of the Day

2009-12-21T16:35:00.001Z

Eaten up with envy, you become a Socialist, blind hatred makes you a Nazi - while self-confidence and love of one's neighbour makes the capitalist.

André F. Lichtschlag

eigentümlich frei

http://www.ef-magazin.de/

Markets are Awsum

2009-12-18T15:01:00.016Z

American Libertarian Magazine, reason.tv reminds us all that however bad the recession may be, even if expensive taxes and burdensome regulations prevent the full power of human creativity being unleashed, even semi-free-market capitalism is definitely worth it:(Original Video)

Merry Christmas, Libertarians

Best Libertarian....

2009-12-12T16:57:00.004Z

Well I thought I would get more of discussion post going rather than an informative one.

What is the best Libertarian movie....?

What are the best Libertarian songs...?

obviously I mean "themed", doesn't have to be Libertarian directed or sung, lol.

For Movie I would probably say "The People vs Larry Flynt",

For Song I am pretty tempted to go for "The Government Totally Sucks" by Tenacious D
Just because I came across it whilst sorting my ITunes today. But there are LOADS of great ones, so lets get the discussion going!

I guess because the holidays are coming up I thought I would try a "fun" post, rather than depress us all with the scary madness going on in the world today.

So feel free to give me your list, or top 5 or top Libertarian fiction book, or top Libertarian food, top Libertarian mode of transport...

everything and anything is permitted really :)

Budget Savings

2009-12-11T15:23:00.001Z

A quickie for my first post:

As we all accept that need to make savings why don’t we ever hear a discussion about cuts in our EU budget in the MSM? Why is it always nurses and teachers and police and defence?

H/T Snafu

What is education?

2009-12-11T08:57:00.001Z

This from Bearwatch...

In response, I argue that we have public schools because (based on the data):

a) they are cheaper than private schools;

b) they out-perform private schools, on average;

c) it is better to educate than imprison;

d) education is the only modern means for social mobility.

I really hate the way people assume that education has to be associated with an institution.

I learnt very little at school. After 13 years of 'education' I still didn't know what a comma was used for.

At Uni I learnt a little more. But it wasn't until I left all the institutions that I really began to pick things up.

And what this taught me was that the basis of education is as follows. Concentrate on things that interest you. Read lots of books. Use the Internet. And talk to lots of people who are smarter than you. All of which are much cheaper than schooling.

We really need to scrap the idea in this country that schooling is the only/best form of education. It should just be seen as an option. And not forced on anyone. As it is today.

Because for many people it simply doesn't work.

The Last Act

2009-12-10T07:50:00.002Z

Dear Sir,

I have no doubt that the Europhiles amongst the party apparatchiks would find it inconvenient before the forthcoming General Election if the subject matter of UK abandoning sterling and replacing it with the Euro were to come up once again. It would of course be embarrassing particularly to this Labour Government if this debate were to be reignited by the Eurosceptics.

Yet for all Gordon Brown’s posturing on the subject of currency conversion we are reminded that Article 2 para.4 of the Treaty of Lisbon ratified by the UK without the consent of its people in referendum provides quite clearly that all subscribing members will adopt the Euro now and makes no provision for dissent.

There at a stroke at the beginning of a document which on any reading has ended a thousand years of independence is the final nail in our coffin. We have lost our flag, our right to legislate for ourselves, to maintain the integrity of our own borders, to raise taxes and every other democratic right enjoyed by free countries and for which we have spilt our blood in two world wars. We now have a president not a prime minister.

Our embassies worldwide are at a stroke redundant. The spectre of a European Warrant rules our streets. We are ruled now by nameless, unelected Eurocrats who will increasingly and a rate far more frightening than that of the prolific law making of this present Government spew forth legislation and regulations and so rule from a foreign shore every aspect of our daily lives.

The reward of party failures will not be elevation to the House of Lords but rather a plum job with all perks in the European Commission. The Palace of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament will one day become a splendid tourist hotel no doubt reserving a suite or two for our European masters. We will think, speak and behave to the beat of a foreign drum and dream of glories past. In the words of Pastor Neimoller…is there any one out there who will speak up for us now?

David Kirwan

Prospective Independent MP for Wirral West

Climate Change -- are you a moron?

2009-12-09T09:16:00.001Z

George Mombiot has some amusing posts on ClimateGate over at his blog.

They reveal -- shock horror -- that large oil corporations have promoted anti-climate change propaganda.

And George gives a great reason as to why skeptics have accepted this propaganda...

When I use the term denial industry, I’m referring to those who are paid to say that manmade global warming isn’t happening. The great majority of people who believe this have not been paid: they have been duped. Reading Climate Cover-Up, you keep stumbling across familiar phrases and concepts, which you can see every day on the comment threads. The book shows that these memes were planted by PR companies and hired experts.

Yep, it's because all skeptics are morons. It's the catch-all, lefty, argument winner -- write off 50% of the population as morons.

Because of course none of us could grasp that oil corporations may interpret climate change differently...

I have a few points to make to George Mombiot and his ilk.

1. Yes I am a skeptic. But I fully accept that climate change is a fact. If it weren't the climate would be in a unique and very odd situation.

2. There is no consensus. No-one agrees on what will happen; what the impact will be; or what we should do. Even among those who fully accept AGW. This therefore makes policy development very risky.

3. It should be of concern to everyone that many of the proposed solutions involve a great increase in the size and scope of the state.

4. Wind turbines are a stupid idea. Let's drop them as a proposed solution.

5. Most skeptics have their doubts because they do not accept ideas just because they have been expressed by someone 'important'. Even if that person works for a corporation.

END...

Quote of the day

2009-12-08T09:32:00.003Z

UKIP's LEADER IS A GHOST OF TORIES' PAST

Today in the House of Lords he asked the government whether they would hold a referendum.

The answer, from Glenys Kinnock, was "no". She added that his offer to liquidate his own party was a "rather original approach to leadership".

Simon Hoggart

And the Government's big economic plan is...

2009-12-07T08:41:00.001Z

What with all the who-ha about Copenhagen you may have missed the Government announcing their big econmic plan...

Gordon Brown is to begin setting out Labour's plans for slashing public spending by £12bn over four years, ahead of Wednesday's pre-Budget report.

The PM will unveil the "efficiency savings" as he tries to show how Labour could halve the UK's budget deficit.

And...

British banking chiefs have reacted angrily to news the Treasury is drawing up plans for a one-year windfall tax on bonuses paid to some UK-based bankers.

A scheme could be unveiled in Alistair Darling's pre-Budget report this week.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said taxing bankers rather than banks would not weaken the banks and could raise several hundred million pounds.

Awesome, absolutely awesome, isn't it...

Our Government's big plan to prevent fiscal meltdown is to steal some petty cash from the bankers. And to cut the spending deficit by less than a tenth over four years.

Is it just me or can anyone else hear the low rumble of a massive waterfall in the distance?

It's either that or I'm developing stress-related tinnitus...

Can A Libertarian Be A Conservative ?

2009-12-07T08:23:00.004Z

Dan Hannan poses this question whilst giving a potted history of the amalgamation of disparate political philosohies in the current Conservative Party.

He also gives mention to Chris Mounsey Leader of The Libertarian Party, who apart from the issue of legalising drugs he has very little difference. As the Libertarian Party constantly has the refrain you will only ever get 80% of what you want if you join the LPUK, my compromise issue is Republicanism.

As to Dan's question 'Can a Libertarian be a Conservative' in our opinion no, and Cameron in his last but one Conservative speech, stated that the Conservative Party is not a Libertarian Party, thus swinging his party in the direction of the Authoritarian Social Democrats, the same mush that the Liberal Democrats is in.

Dan is clearly in the wrong party. I listened to him on R4 a few weeks ago just after we all 'signed up' to Lisbon. He admitted that politically the last twenty years has been a failure for him. The EU has just steam rollered through democratically accountable Government, ignoring Referenda, and the same is going to happen in Copenhagen.

A minority political class is going to enact costly authoritarian measures without a shred of legitimacy or scientific proof that Global Warming is caused by man (Global warming is happening but it is part of a very natural cycle)

I admire Dan a lot, and his humilation of Brown in the Halls of the EU, which became one of the biggest youtube political hits of recent times, put Libertarianism right at the top of the agenda for a while. I know this to be a truth because the BBC ignored it for two whole days, until it was forced to show it, or be exposed as the mouthpiece of Government it has become.

By sharing a bed with the Authoritarians of the Conservative Party, he will be continually sidelined and sacrificed like David Davies, to keep the tribal Tories onside and happy. Thus reducing the Conservative Party to a Hydra. Where the voice of Libertarianism is lost on the wind of Tax & Spend Toryism.

Just as we now have a Conservative Party MK II in UKIP in terms of Authoritarian policies, I also believe that Nigel Farage is in the wrong party.

The realignment is slowly happening, this next election is not the important one, that will be a Tory 'Landslide' with 38% of the vote, it will be the one after that.

Libertarians cannot be Conservatives, because it is deeply at odds with the whole Philosophy of Freedom from the Power of the State.

The man with the Midas touch...

2009-12-04T15:23:00.004Z

Mencius Moldbug presents a convincing argument for the inevitability of gold remonetization as an international reserve currency.

This is a self-reinforcing feedback loop. The more gold the [central bank]s buy, the more incentive they have to buy gold. Because if the game ends with gold winning, the game will be scored by how much gold you got for your dollars. This will be a consequence of how soon the CB exchanged its dollars for gold. Devil take the hindmost! A classic panic scenario. A melt-up for gold; a melt-down for the dollar.

Caveat lector: Mr Moldbug, whilst very clever, is also batshit insane by standard definitions of the word (although I'm with Levant about the fine line). Enjoy his musings slowly, and in small doses. The views in his blog are his own, and do not reflect the views of the UK Libertarian Party.

Green Trade Barriers...

2009-12-02T08:32:00.002Z

There is an interesting post over at Liberal Vision warning us of the rise of Green trade barriers...

With all eyes on the UN summit at Copenhagen this month, keen observers are wondering whether collaborations are possible to mitigate climate change. Yet some proposals would do more harm than good, with “green” protectionism the most dangerous of all.

These are proposals to permit trade restrictions on the grounds that they will help to prevent climate change–a sadly misleading theory, which has predictably gained support already from uncompetitive industries and other vested interests have jumped on the bandwagon.

They've got a petition running to try and encourage our overlords not to use Climate Change and Copenhagen as an excuse to introduce more damaging trade barriers.

It may not do too much good but get over there and sign up anyway. Because at least then you can tell the kids you didn't support any of this B.......

Rose and Crown this Thursday

2009-12-01T22:20:00.003Z

Just to remind people if you are available for a drink after work on Thursday we will be at the Rose and Crown in Southwark from 6:30.

For more details read here.

Message From NZ Libertarians

2009-11-30T10:37:00.001Z

To Chris Mounsey - on behalf of Libertarianz, the New Zealand Libertarian Party, I would like to extend congratulations on assuming the leadership of LPUK. We libertarians from the Antipodes have been following the fortunes of the LPUK closely, and we wish you all the best.

To Ian Parker-Joseph - thank you for your efforts in getting the LPUK off the ground. So many people have never even heard the word 'libertarian', can't pronounce it and don't know what it means. Hopefully over time, thanks to people like yourself, and (hopefully) we Kiwi freedom fighters, more people will switch on to the ideas of personal liberty and minimal government.

Hope your recent conference went well.

Richard G McGrath * Leader, Libertarianz Party

Great Day at LPUK AGM

2009-11-28T19:24:00.001Z

Well we had a great day at the AGM.

We've elected a very new, but experienced NCC.

Notable appointments include Chris Mounsey as Leader. Clr Gavin Webb as Communications director. And Greg Beaman (Ex-Clr) as Chairman.

Andrew Withers and Tim Carpenter maintain their respective roles.

Thanks must also go to Ian PJ who stepped down as leader -- he put in a lot of hard work on behalf of the party.

And finally thanks to all those who turned up, you made it a most enjoyable day.

Big-business and climate change

2009-11-27T19:03:00.000Z

I was pointed in the direction of a rather amusing comment on climate change today...

What is so frustrating about these fools is that they are the politicians and greedy bastards who don't want a cut in their profits who use bogus science or the lowest scientists in the gene pool who will distort data for a few bucks. The vast majority of the scientific minds in the World agree and understand it's a very serious problem that can do an untold amount of damage to life on Earth.

So when the right wing fucktards have caused it to be too late to fix the problem, and we start seeing the devastating consequences and we start seeing end of the World type events - how will we punish those responsible. It will be too late. So shouldn't we start punishing them now?

Very funny, no? Anyway I'm not really interested in the punishment idea.

What is of interest is the way loony watermelons imply that opposition to the climate change agenda always comes from greedy, big-business capitalists.

This I believe is a falacy. In fact the climate change agenda is in some ways good for big-business.

Why? Well it's because the aims of big-businesses are very different to SMEs who are the main drivers of capitalism.

The aim of an SME is to grow -- to aquire more market share. Therefore they want to work in a low cost, competitve, free market environment. By contrast big-businesses simply wish to maintain their position within their industry.

And the easiest way to achieve this is to reduce competition. So big-businesses become very interested in what Warren Buffet calls "barriers to entry". That is to make it difficult for new businesses to compete.

And what is one of the best barriers to entry? REGULATION. The more hoops to jump through and the higher the start up costs the less competition big-business will face.

And the golden egg of regulation is... Climate Change.

Which is why I believe we've seen so many big-businesses jump on the climate change bandwagon in recent years.

And it is why it is an absolute falacy to suggest that big-business fundamentally opposes the climate change agenda.

Bank charges -- what's the big deal...

2009-11-25T08:18:00.000Z

I'm a little lost by this whole bank charging thing...

Billions of pounds could eventually be paid back to millions of bank customers when the Supreme Court delivers a judgement on overdraft charges this morning.

The court will decide whether to allow banks to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.
The regulator says the banks have imposed unfair charges on their customers for going overdrawn.

But any refunds could be a long way off.

If the court finds against the banks it will pave the way for a further hearing to decide whether the charges are fair and, if not, what a fair charge would be.

Firstly, surely there are more important things we need to resolve in the banking sector. Like monetary supply and reserve ratios.

But more importantly this is an issue of personal responsibility. It's the individual's reponsibility to look after their finances -- not the banks.

The fines may be disproportionate compared to the cost but they serve a purpose. Which is to encourage people to look after their finances.

In addition most of these fines only target persistant offenders. If you accidentally become overdrawn once most banks will refund the fine -- both Barclays and Lloyds do.

So what's the problem?

I hope the banks win this case. As it promotes personal responsibility and good financial management.

And hopefully it will allow us to move on to discuss the more important issues in this sector...

St Albans campaign day two report

2009-11-23T17:50:00.001Z

Despite the weather we enjoyed another good day in St Albans campaigning on Saturday.

We once again received positive feedback from the public. Especially the street traders many of whom had had enough of being over taxed. And of course those who enjoy a smoke.

We also got the above photo of us outside Northern Crock which I rather like.

If you would like to help us out with our campaigning in the South East please join our Activists Group.

Many thanks to those of you helped us out on Saturday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone