Libertarian Party South East

SE Meetup reminder + YBF Rally

2011-03-01T21:42:00.000Z

Just a quick reminder that the next SE meetup is this Thursday 3rd March (not the 11th as I previously said- sorry I got my dates mixed up!) Details here

Also I had an e-mail from the Freedom Association today and this event may be of interest:

'YBF Parliamentary Rally'

Date: Wednesday 9th March
Time: 2.30pm - 7pm
Venue: House of Commons

Although this event is FREE of charge you must register in order to attend. Please email emma@ybf.org.uk in order to register your attendance.

Confirmed speakers include Steve Baker MP, Eamonn Butler, Adam Smith Institute, Robert Halfon MP, James Delingpole, Sajid Javid MP, Iain Dale, Douglas Murray, Lord Flight, Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Raheem Kassam, Student Rights, Dr Alan Mendoza, Henry Jackson Society, Douglas Carswell MP, Jonathan Isaby, Conservative Home, Shane Greer, Total Politics, Dan Hamilton, Big Brother Watch, Tim Evans, Libertarian Alliance, Nigel Evans MP, Mark Wallace, Andrew Rosindell MP and The Freedom Association's Simon Richards.

Dates for your diary

2011-02-19T15:39:00.003Z

The Medway meetup this week went OK, was good to meet another party member in my area and discuss future plans. If anyone wants to have an event in there area let me know, in the meantime the next London event will be March 11th.

In addition there are a few other events in London the next few weeks that may be of interest:

Monday February 21st- The Freedom Association's Free Spirits will be hosting Alex Deane, Director of Big Brother Watch, to discuss 'The State of Civil Liberties in Britain'. Details here

Wednesday March 2nd: The Adam Smith Institute has a lecture by Professor George Selgin on The anachronism of state controlled money, see here for more info and to RSVP

Thursday March 3rd, Professor George Selgin (again) is lecturing at the IEA on 'The financial crash, free banking and the evolution of new monetary systems',

And finally, when I popped down town this morning I was given a flyer by 'Medway against the Cuts' which mentioned the TUC are having a big rally in London on Saturday 26th March. Anyone interested in having a counter-protest please get in touch...

Medway meetup tonight

2011-02-17T08:03:00.002Z

The first LPUK SE event outside London takes place tonight at 7:00. The aim is to meet other members/supporters in the area and plan future campaigns/events, including a possible council run by Andrew.

Whether you want to get active or just find out more about the Party and its ideas all are welcome.

Please RSVP via Meetup.com.

You'll find Andrew at The Alexandra, 43 Railway Street, Chatham, Chatham, G5

Atlas Shrugged Trailer

2011-02-12T09:21:00.001Z

Medway meetup and other SE events

2011-02-07T22:01:00.000Z

Hello everyone. Has been a while since I last posted here, have been really busy what with my trip to Kenya and a subseqent stomach upset.

Netherless I did find time last week to attend a meeting about standing for my local council, and so have created a Medway meetup event for members in that area to get to know each other and plan a campaign of action. Details can be found here, hopefully see some of you there.

Meanwhile up in London, and via the facebook mises group, there is an event that may be of interest at the LSE this friday (see here), and another talk on Hayek at the IEA next week (see here).

Hopefully will be more news this week ahead

South East Meet Up -- Thursday 3rd Feb

2011-01-31T18:32:00.003Z

Just a very quick message to remind all South East LPUK members and Libertarians our monthly meet up is this Thursday -- Feb 3rd.

We will be at the Rose and Crown in Southwark from 6:30 till late. If you haven't been before and cannot find us please ask at the bar -- the landlady will point you in the right direction.

A map is below, everyone is welcome and we hope to see you on Thursday...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Event Report: ASI seminar with Yaron Brook

2011-01-28T11:56:00.004Z

Wednesday saw me attending a seminar entitled "How to be a rational egoist" with Yaron Brook at the Adam Smith Institute. I had expected a talk about applying rational egoism in practical contexts, but the talk was much more political.

Dr Brook argued that in order to win the political argument over free-markets and, by extension, the fight for practical freedom we need to rethink and reject mainstream ethical systems and adopt an Objectivist moral code. As a student of Objectivism, I understand this as a set of values which guide the choices of an individual and have as their purpose the individual's survival and flourishing.

The talk progressed through a series of examples which demonstrated that self-interest is not revered in our culture, but is practiced in the market. That showed the difference between selfless, self-destructive and rationally selfish actions.

There was a darker moment in the Q&A (at 32 mins) where a member of the New Zealand Libertarian Party asked approximately "As an objectivist in the UK what can we do?" and seemed to dismiss the UK Libertarian Party as "nowhere", which caused me to speak up as you see in the video. On playing it back, I realised the comment was much worse - that we are "all over the shop". I think both of these of comments are objectively true, at least they characterise the party's indecisive and ineffective campaigning and public communication up to this point, and this is not a reputation I think we can afford in future.

Dr Brook's answer was framed according to the circumstances in the US, where Bush and Obama have moved quickly and consistently in the statist direction. He believes that trouble, including a massive economic disaster, is ten or twenty years away and that we must buy time to allow us to "turn a corner" before then. Culturally he believes there is work to do in terms of creating Objectivists in order to vote for some future Objectivist or a compatible non-Rothbardian Libertarian Party.

I would add to Yaron Brook's recommendation. There is the critical task of creating that future party which a future Objectivist culture can vote for. I believe that LPUK's policies are already non-Rothbardian and broadly minarchist in a way that is sufficiently compatible with Objectivist thought. By addressing its internal problems and building a well funded operational team the UK Libertarian Party can be the party Dr Brook foresees. While it is being built it will also work to shift our cultural norms towards rational self-interest.

I hope that British Objectivist's will see a strong LPUK as in their self-interests over the span of their lives and will bring to the Party the brilliant white heat of their intellect. It will take 10 years or more to do, but to get there, that heat must be applied to building a core LPUK operational team.

Upcomming events in London

2011-01-14T19:21:00.003Z

Hope everyone had a good festive break and new year. Has been a low key start to the year, was meaning to mention a few events but was too late for some. However the following may be of interest:

Jan 18th: An occasional lecture by Dr Steven Kates

Jan 19th: An evening panel discussion

Jan 20th An iea book launch- Robust Economic Policy

These 3 events are all hosted by the IEA

Jan 25th: Evening seminar with Dambisa Moyo

Jan 26t: Evening seminar with Yaron Brook

Both of these are hosted by the Adam Smith Institute.

Unfortunately I will be unable to attend these events as I'm off to Kenya on Sunday. I'll be back beginning of Feb, when the SE campaign season will begin (details to follow). In the meantime please contact Rob or Simon with any Urgent SE business.

Stand up for your party in 2011

2011-01-07T20:03:00.001Z

Last nights planning meeting come drinks evening was very entertaining. If you were there, thank you for your input (minutes are almost done).

If you were not, we look forward to meeting you next time.

One of the topics covered was the local elections this year. Andrew Janes is encouraging us to stand up and, well... stand, for the local elections in your area this year.

The reason I'm posting is that the system is unclear and there was uncertainty as to whether members had elections at all. The House of Commons has published a handy list of authorities holding elections in 2011.

If you are interested in standing in the South East check the list and get in touch with us so we can make appropriate plans to assist you.

The 2010 Hayek Lecture

2011-01-05T08:29:00.000Z

Many SE members will have been at this event, and seen this first hand. For those that did not, here is the full video:

LSE Hayek Lecture 2010: Professor Jesús Huerta de Soto from Cobden Centre on Vimeo.

South East Meet Up -- Thursday January 6th

2011-01-02T19:32:00.004Z

This is just a quick message to remind all South East members that our next meet up will be this Thursday, January 6th in the Rose and Crown Southwark.

As usual we will be there from 6:30pm and if you have not been before and cannot find us please ask at the bar and the landlady will point you in the right direction.

Below is a map and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Lifestyle seminar with Yaron Brook at the ASI [Jan]

2010-12-29T20:51:00.001Z

Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute is giving a Seminar at the Adam Smith Institute in January

Judging by the seminars title ("How to be a Rational Egoist") this is not a political talk, but Yaron Brook is a great speaker and I'm certain members will find the content enjoyable and useful on a personal level.

It takes place on the 26th January in central London.

Full details at the ASI.

Branch update

2010-12-21T23:32:00.001Z

It's been quiet on the blog for ten days now, so its about time there was a little update. It's not as if there isn't anything happening!

The new leader, Andrew Withers has made it clear that the beginning of 2011 is a period of consolidation for the Party with internal structures his top priority. He's working hard to ensure the Party activism is focused in the right places and the South East branch is working hard on his agenda.

The biggest thing on the plate for South East activists is the national web site rebuild. There is a lot of communication to handle behind the scenes and preparatory work is starting. As you'd expect from an area including London, the largest contribution is from our branch.

Max and Rob are actively working to improve email communication while your branch committee and local activists give input into the feature set and platform considerations. We want to make this a compelling busy site which will act as a front door to Libertarian politics in the UK. Ken's vision on this is spot on!

If you want to contribute nationally or locally, then please come along to the Rose and Crown on 6th January and let us know. You can also find us online. See you soon!

Upcomming event- Trillion Pound Horror discussion

2010-12-10T21:35:00.003Z

Picked up a flier for yesterday at Cobden centre party for an event happening next Tuesday 14th December.

Director Martin Durkin, Mark Littlewood of the IEA, Eamonn Butler of the ASI and Allister Heath of City AM will be having a panel discussion on the recent TV show Britain's Trillion Pound Horror Story

Location: Thatcher room, Portcullis House, 5-6:30pm

RSVP: jeanpaul.floru@parliament.uk

Future plans for SE branch

2010-12-08T19:47:00.003Z

Volunteers wanted!

After discussing with Simon this evening, the following activities are being planned:

1) Website redesign- this is the party' biggest issue at the moment. New Comms director Ken Ferguson has stated he has some ideas and I am getting in touch with him to arrange a 'coding day' to sort this out. Any member who are IT geeks (that'll be most of us!) and are willing to help out get in touch with us and we will let you know what is happening.

2) January meetup- The monthly get together at the Rose and Crown will take place on Thursday 7th. I'd like to have a brainstorming session beforehand (from 6:30pm) to discuss ideas for leaflets and posters, and what our platform should be for the local elections in May. If anyone who can't make it into London has ideas they want brought up let us know.

3) Oldham by-election- it looks like this is going to happen some point in January. Any members interested in a 'road trip' to go campaigning on behalf of Gregg Beaman let us know, if there are enough volunteers we are going to arrange a minibus up there.

As we are still waiting for our official party e-mail addresses, if you are interested in any of these events either leave a comment on this post with your full name, or send Simon or myself a message on Twitter

Upcomming event- How free market and liberal is UKIP? An interview with UKIP Leader Nigel Farage

2010-12-07T20:52:00.002Z

If you're not a subscriber to the IEA's newsletter, here's an event they are hosting which may be of interest:

How free market and liberal is UKIP? An interview with UKIP Leader Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage has recently become leader of UK Independence Party for the second time. But where will his leadership take UKIP? Where does his party stand on taxation, the economy and free markets?

Find out in this fascinating session, as he is quizzed in a special face-to-face interview by Mark Littlewood - who will pose your questions on UKIP’s stance on liberalism, free markets and more.

For more info and to RSVP go here. Check out their other events, have some interesting book launches and discussions in the new year.

Hello from your local treasurer

2010-12-05T18:40:00.004Z

My name is Simon Gibbs and I was confirmed Treasurer for the South East Region at the Party's AGM. By way of introduction, the following is adapted from the speech I gave in support of my candidacy.

I've followed the progress of LPUK for 2 years via the blogs and signed up just over a year ago. That was triggered by my desire be active promoting Libertarianism, assisting Rob Waller in St Albans in October 2009.

The Fabian ideas which permeate each of the major parties resemble a giant vat of toxic waste with the rivets of its walls rusting and it's sides ready to burst. In order to stop the inevitable destruction which these ideas will lead to they must be actively opposed and rational sustainable policies must be promoted in their place. This is a massive long term effort and I believe a Libertarian Party addresses the need for measurable progress along the way.

As a treasurer in a region, the official workload be light as finances are handled centrally at the moment. I will use the title as a platform from which to offer my help as a simple administrator. Recognizing that my own time is limited I've volunteered to focus on three simple things which I believe will help the party to gain momentum:

Transport

I will work with party candidates to identify their need for feet on the ground and price up transport deals which activists will be able to opt into. I have also volunteered to drive as required.

Creative projects

I will take on the arrangement of design and printing for leaflets and other products for use in election campaigns and membership drives.

Brainstorming and coordination

In order for the first two to have any meaning, there must be a range of purposeful activities taking place. The first step then, is to create a new forum for people with the ideas and enthusiasm for action to get together and make plans. I have seen and heard a lot of creativity and a lot of good ideas about what the party can do, and I'd love to see those things happening.

The plan is to invite people along 30 minutes early to the regular drinks at the Rose and Crown and talk there.

Dates for your diary

2010-11-28T10:33:00.001Z

This Tuesday the Adam Smith Institute is launching Tim Worstall's new book Chasing Rainbows at Cass Business School, full details here.

Then on Thursday is the SE monthly meetup at Rose and Crown. If you haven't been before more info here .

The week after on the 9th the Cobden Centre is having a Christmas reception, with a speech by Steve Baker MP The event runs from 6.00-9.00pm, National Liberal Club, Number One Whitehall Place, Westminster, London SW1. To reserve your place email Dr. Helen Evans (hsevans@btinternet.com)

Hopefully see you at one or more of these events

UPDATED- So is more visible am including Simon's comment;

We'd like to kick off the session this week by following up on the actions and ideas shared at the AGM. Anyone likewise interested can join us at 1830. Follow the #lpuk tag on Twitter or ask the bar staff.

I don't want to make the evening any less fun, so we'll quit talking shop once non-members start to join us.

Changing of the guard

2010-11-28T09:34:00.005Z

Following on from yesterday's AGM, it is my pleasure to announce the following elected offical of the South East branch structure. Due to work commitments, Rob Waller (right) has stepped down as regional coordinator and taken up the post of secretary.

Simon Gibbs (left) is the new SE treasurer. I'll leave it to him to introduce himself here fully in due time.

Which leave me. My name is Andy Janes, and I am the new SE regional coordinator. I am a microbiologist working in a central London hospital, and live in Chatham Kent. If you so desire you can follow me on Twitter here. I have been a party member since November 5th, 2009 and want to set out my aims for SE for the next year.

First off I'd like the thank Rob for his sterling work the last two years, he's done a great job keeping things going pretty much single handed and organising the monthly meetups.

I think the south east is pretty much our home territory, so it should be the most active branch. Our strategy for the next year should be twofold, to focus on 1) recruitment of new members, and 2) raising awareness of who we are and what we believe.

I really want to work on getting county level branches organised, if anyone is willing to be a coordinator for where they live let me know. I'm willing to double up for Kent and London until someone else is willing to take over.

Starting in the spring I'd like to have leafleting sessions throughout the SE, again I'm willing to kick things off round where I live and am willing to come top your town to do the same. Ideally I'd like a couple of bunnygirls to give out leaflets, but guess I'll have make do with what we've got!

Following on from this, I want to see monthly get together's throughout the southeast. Once we have a core group of half a dozen activists in each county we can then go down to the city and town level, and start thinking about the local elections. I've got a few ideas for a local platform I want to discuss with Tim Carpenter, so watch this space. We will do what we can to support anyone willing to stand, even if just as a paper candidate.

At a national level I think we should e joining campaigns with other groups where interests converge to help raise our profile. A good start would be to work on getting deposits for general elections abolished, this is something every small party from UKIP down to respect would be keen on.

Finally I want us to be out there making a moral case for limited government and our other core ideas. The current government isn't doing us any favours by presenting the cuts as being done as a necessity and not making the arguments for why a smaller state is desirable. That is what we should be doing, I foresee come 2015 there will be a major realignment of the Tory and lib dems and want us to be ready to form the core of a grouping of classical liberals, libertarians and so on. To to this we will need to be organised and have a positive message based on why freedom, personal choices and responsibility are better than statist solutions. (I want us not to be merely the voice of no!) I look forward to meeting you in all in the future.

Press Release - Andrew Withers new Party Leader

2010-11-27T12:01:00.000Z

The Libertarian Party annual AGM and Conference is taking place today in London. The following press release was issued at 12.00 today.

Acceptance of Party Leader of the Libertarian Party by Andrew Withers

I would like to thank the Party for the confidence that it has shown in me in electing me unopposed. It is with regret that I cannot take up the post until we have resolved the the extraordinary decision by the Secretary of State Dr Vince Cable on the 12th November 2010 that he objects to me being Party Leader, Treasurer or Tea-boy in the Libertarian Party.

In his eyes I am unfit to do so without supervision from his department. Mr Cable was given until 4pm yesterday via his solicitors Osborne Clarke, to withdraw his extraordinary objection from the Bristol District Registry, as he has no powers in Law over the Libertarian Party according to both his own Counsel and Counsel that has volunteered its time on behalf of the Party. I have to tell you no such undertaking has been received, to use a phrase.

All that was received was a letter that informed me yesterday, it was up to me to withdraw this from the Court, being a very simple person I did not understand the logic of this. I was instructed by a District Judge to include all of the organisations here,in America, in South Africa, in France that I am an executive member of. This includes charitable, political, blogs etc etc. Vince Cable's boys just objected to the lot without fear or favour on the 12th November.

Liam Fox MP, my local MP asked to be kept informed of all developments following his attempts to get Mandelson and now Vince Cable to drop this sorry saga after nearly five years. Incredibly my friends, the District Judge ordered a telephone conference to be heard on Dec 3rd to settle the issues at dispute. Vince's boys so far have objected to the telephone conference call, and refused to comply with another Court Order. As a party that believes in the supremacy of the rule of law, it is only right and proper that we await the directions of the Court on December 3rd, and that Vince Cable explains to the Court the reasons why on grounds of national security, public safety or in the interests of democracy he can overturn the will of members of the Libertarian Party and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

I will remain Leader Designate.

Why are we here, a very small band of Libertarians formed into a party that will never in my lifetime seize office under this benighted system called Parliamentary Democracy.
We are here because we are right in philosophy. In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down because Stalinism and Communism had had its day and people wanted freedom, the banking crash built on a mountain of public debt has brought an end to bureaucratic socialism and public and private debt as a way of life.

Now is the age of Liberty, but it is going to be a long fight because vested interest from the three statist parties wish the merry go round to continue. Labour only just lost the election under a corrupt voting system, Con Demery is not going to last, and unless things change dramatically the Social Democrats are going to leave the crumpled warm bed of David Cameron into the soiled sheets of Labour, breaking promises as they go.

I am a Constitutionalist, I believe that none of us count because we have no recognition in Law as individuals because we have no Constitution. We are the neo serfs. The exchequer is broke, we are to be taxed out of recession, yet we are still fighting foreign wars and we are going to give Ireland £7Bn to save the eurozone ? Did anybody consult you ? Do you approve. Shut up- just give us the money.

How do they get away with this ? because the State has the monopoly of violence, we are all frightened of the State. Whereas the State should be frightened of us the voter.

De Menezes was a stain on our country, as was Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a Ministry of Defence not a Ministry of War ! Our troops are badly equipped, badly paid and neglected in old age and injury. The only legitimate function of the State is Defence of a free country. Politicians love being associated with the Military, it makes them look hard, the trouble is our civilian police force are playing more to the Force and less to the Civilian part of the equation. When did Dixon turn into Judge Dredd on our streets.

Libertarianism needs re-branding in the UK, the Stalinist left call us right wing, we are neither of the left or the right. David Nolan who tragically died last week put us on a different axis that of Liberty to Authoritarianism. We despise the big State who ever is running it in favour of minimal government that is local and accountable.

We have the obscenity of so called Anarchists taking part in violent demonstrations in favour of large state hand outs. These are not Anarchists, they are simple leftist thugs demanding by violence what they cannot achieve by the ballot box.

Yesterday Cameron issued his first D notice, these are issued in time of war. He is no longer an authoritarian virgin. The Libertarian Party must oppose both nationally and locally. We are small very small but perhaps history will show that we kept fanning the flames of classical Liberalism in a seventy year long downpour of bureaucratic socialism.

Ends

Notes for editors
1) The Libertarian Party was founded on November 21st 2007 and officially launched on January 1st 2008. The party’s website can be found at:
http://www.lpuk.org
2) Further details of the party’s policies can be found in our manifesto:
http://www.lpuk.org/pages/manifesto.php
3) The Libertarian Party UK is a minarchist party utilising political philosophy based on support for individual liberty.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism
Press Enquiries can be sent to media@lpuk.org or by telephone +44 845 299 7650

June Meet Up

2010-05-31T10:56:00.004+01:00

Well, it's that time of the month again. Time to remind you that the next South East branch meet up will be this Thursday, June 3rd.

We're hoping this month it will be a little warmer than last so we can make good use of the pub garden.

Anyway, as usual it will be at the Rose and Crown in Southwark and we will be there from 6:30. All are welcome to attend and if you can't find us on arrival ask at the bar and the landlady will point you in the right direction.

Here is a map and we look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Post Election Meet Up Fun

2010-05-10T08:31:00.001+01:00

This is just a quick reminder to tell you the May meet up of the South East Branch of the Libertarian Party will be this Thursday -- May 13th.

As usual it will be held at the Rose and Crown Pub in Southwark. And we will be there from 6:30 until finish.

So if you fancy reviewing all the Election fun with like minded people please come along -- all are welcome.

There is a map below and we hope to see you all on Thursday.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

May Meet Up Moved to May 13th

2010-04-27T09:00:00.001+01:00

This is just a quick message to tell members that due to the General Election the May meet up of the Libertarian Party in London has been moved back a week.

The meet up will now occur on Thursday the 13th of May instead. It will be in the same place as usual and more details will follow next week.

In addition if you are available to help out either of our two election candidates standing in the South East please get in contact with them.

Martin Cullip -- sutton@lpuk.org

Tim Carpenter -- tim.carpenter@lpuk.org

They really need your help so please get in touch with them.

April Fools Meet Up

2010-03-29T09:00:00.001+01:00

This is just a quick message to remind you the South East Branch of the Libertarian Party that we will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark this Thursday -- April 1st (Fools Day).

Everyone is welcome to enjoy a drink with us before we all head off for the Easter Break. If you haven't been before there is a map below. And if you cannot find us on arrival the landlady of the pub will point you in the right direction.

We hope to see you all on Thursday. And if not enjoy the Easter Break.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

South East March Meet up Reminder

2010-02-28T21:05:00.003Z

This is just to remind members of the LPUK and all other interested parties that the March meet up of the South East branch of the LPUK will be on Thursday, 4th March.

As usual we will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark, London and we will be there from 6:30. If you are new to these events and can't find us, ask at the bar and the Landlady will point you in the right direction.

Here is a map. And I hope to see you on Thursday...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Hampshire Group up and running

2010-02-22T08:55:00.000Z

This is just to let our South East members know that we now have a group set up in Hampshire.

They've had their first meet up. Which was a great success. And they're now looking for more of the mebership and interested Libertarians to join them.

So if you are based on the South Coast and you think London is a little too far to travel for meet ups please take a look into our Hampshire group.

They're blog can be found here. And you can contact them at Hampshire@lpuk.org

ASI and Meet Up

2010-01-29T08:00:00.000Z

The Adam Smith Institute host their first TNG event of the new year next Tuesday. A talk will be given by Luke Johnson the current Chairman of Channel 4. Should be interesting.

I will be attending and if you would like to join me more details can be found here.

In addition to this next Thursday the LPUK South East branch will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark for our monthly meet up.

Everyone is welcome to attend and we will be there from 6pm. If you're new to these meet ups and you cannot find us on arrival please ask at the bar and the Land Lady will point you in the right direction.

Here is a map and I hope to see you next week at one of the above events.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Season's Greetings

2009-12-24T14:06:00.002Z

"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/

Yo ho ho ...

2009-12-10T15:46:00.001Z

Fancy a pre-Christmas lunch? The regular (?) LPUK lunch in Aylesbury will be taking place on Saturday 19 December. It offers members resident in Buckinghamshire or within reach of it to get together for some decent grub, swap ideas and explore what we might do in the county. Given the time of the year, this one also offers the opportunity to either get in the swing for the "festive season" or enjoy food and drink and conversation without snoring, screaming or fractious relatives of various ages. People interested in joining the party are also welcome, as are those who want to know more about it.

Venue (as before):

The "Slug and Lettuce"
The Exchange
Unit 3
Exchange St
Aylesbury
HP20 1UR

google map at:
http://tinyurl.com/y9zshay

Time: 13:15 hours (-ish; feel free to be early or a bit late).

To find the venue: Aylesbury market square is on a slope. In the middle is a clock tower. At the low end is an archway next to the Crown Court. Walk through the archway and you see the Slug and Lettuce ahead of you. It has been established from previous experience that the food is excellent.

See you there!

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.

LPUK South East meet up -- 3rd December

2009-11-28T09:00:00.001Z

This is just to remind all South East members and interested parties that we will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark this Thursday. As usual we will be there from 6.30 and everyone is welcome.

Also if you have been unable to make the Bristol AGM and or our St Albans campaign days Thursday will provide the perfect opportunity to get up to date with what has been happening.

If you've not been before and cannot find us simply ask at the bar and the landlady will point you in the right direction.

Here is a map and we hope to see you on Thursday.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Aylesbury LPUK lunch

2009-11-15T21:40:00.003Z

On Saurday, 21 November, there will be an LPUK lunch in Aylesbury. It is intended that this should become a regular fixture at which members resident in Buckinghamshire or within reach of it can get together for some decent grub, swap ideas and explore what we might do in the county. People interested in joining the party are also welcome, as are those who want to know more about it.

Venue: The "Slug and Lettuce"

The Exchange, Unit 3

Exchange St, Aylesbury, HP20 1UR

google map at:

http://tinyurl.com/y9zshay

Time: 13:30 hours (but feel free to be early or a bit late).

To find the venue: Aylesbury market square is on a slope. In the middle is a clock tower. At the low end is an archway next to the Crown Court. Walk through the archway and you see the Slug and Lettuce ahead of you. It has been established from previous experience that the food is excellent.

See you there!

The problem with pets: they're bad for the planet

2009-11-15T12:40:00.004Z

Destroying the world

I don't want to turn this post into another on the rights and wrongs of AGW, but one on retaining a sense of perspective. In the never ending pursuit of reducing our carbon no employment, interest, hobby or even companion is safe from the all seeing eye of the hysterical environmental lobby and their insatiable urge to tell you how to live your life.

We need to retain some sense of perspective.

There are a billion billion worlds out there in the universe untouched by the influence of thinking, feeling, sentient beings. Some may have rudimentary forms of life, some dull lifeless rocks, all of them 'at one with nature'. The world we live in is extraordinary, fantastic and perhaps even unique precisely because we have the ability to shape and enjoy our world. To improve the fertility of our farm land, to travel by air to see this world and to even share the comforts of our lives with small domesticated pets are all part of our environment that we have created beyond the state of nature. We do of course need to preserve the environment in which we live from unnecessary or extreme damage, but I see no reason why we should seek to maintain some artificial pre-industrial status quo.

I suspect the nations pets are safe for now, but at the current levels of hysteria how long until someone seriously suggests a quota on pets and an accompanying mandatory pet registration scheme?

It seems the British public have their doubts anyway

Second Campaign Day In St Albans

2009-11-10T21:57:00.005Z

After the success of our last campaign day in St Albans we are planning to run our next one a week on Saturday -- November 21st.

If you are available between 11:00am and 3:00pm and would like to help out please get in contact with robert.waller@lpuk.org. Or alternatively join up to our activists group to find out more.

Your help will be much appreciated.

South East AGM Report

2009-11-08T20:18:00.010Z

The South East branch AGM went well. We achieved quorum so that we could complete the administrative processes of the branch for another year.

Max Andronichuk was reconfirmed as Campaigns Officer. Jenny Scott-Thompson was reconfirmed General Secretary. And I, Rob Waller, was reconfirmed as Chairman.

The only position that remains unfilled is the Treasurer, which became vacant after Richard Williams stepped down so he could continue his university studies. So if you are interested in getting more involved in the party and would like to take up the position of Treasurer please email robert.waller@lpuk.org

The members of the South East also took the opportunity to discuss plans for future campaigns and developing party policies. We are planning further campaign days in St Albans and we be organising some other events in the New Year.

However one of the most important issues that we discussed was the need to raise funds so we can run our election campaigns and events over the next year. So if you are able to spare a few pounds to help the party please donate here.

Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM. I look forward to seeing you at future LPUK events.

P.s. Special thanks go to Mike for producing those wonderful LPUK mugs.

South East Branch AGM -- Update

2009-10-27T23:00:00.000Z

This is a post from the LPUK website

========================================

As previously mentioned the South East Branch AGM will be held on Saturday November 7th. The location which has now been confirmed is the Captain's Cabin pub in Haymarket London. About 2 minutes walk from Piccadilly tube station.

The AGM will begin at 12:30pm so please arrive a few minutes before. The AGM will last for as long as is required, but we envisage all business will be wrapped up by 2:00pm.

After which all members will be free to enjoy the fine drink and food that the pub has to offer.

If you are planning to attend please bring along your member ID number as we will need to verify your party membership for administrative purposes.

The AGM schedule will follow shortly.

View Captain's Cabin Pub in a larger map

Robert Waller
LPUK South East Branch Chairman

Report -- campaigning in St Albans

2009-10-18T21:42:00.000+01:00

Just to let you all know we had a great time campaigning in St Albans on Saturday.

We received some excellent feedback from the public and collected details of some very interested supporters in the St Albans area.

Personally I see this as a great step forward for the Party. And shows that we are capable of converting our online support into real world campaigning.

We shall continue to campaign across the South East in the run up to the next election and our next campaign day will be held in November.

However continuing to do this requires substantial funding. So if you would like to help us in our quest to raise the profile of the Party Across the South East we would be most grateful for any donations you can make to the party.

You can do this either on our website or you can transfer it directly to the party election fund.

40-28-20 92635313

First South East Branch Campaign Day -- St Albans

2009-10-12T22:12:00.004+01:00

The LPUK South East Branch first campaign day will be held this Saturday in St Albans.

We will be meeting at the main station between 11:00am and 11:30am.

Our aim is to help raise the profile of the Party and build up a supporter base in St Albans in preparation for the next election.

And of course, once we are done we will enjoy a drink and maybe a little food in one of St Albans many great pubs/restaurants.

If you would like to come along and help please email robert.waller@lpuk.org.

South East Branch AGM -- November 7th 2009

2009-10-05T22:20:00.002+01:00

This is a repost of an announcement from the LPUK Site...

====================

The first AGM of the South East Branch of the Libertarian Party will be held on Saturday November 7th. The time and location are still to be confirmed.

The AGM will provide South East members an opportunity to confirm the current branch committee in their positions. If members wish to stand for a position on the Branch Committee or submit a change to the Branch Constitution they must adhere to the rules held within section 7.5 of the Branch Constitution. All submissions should be sent to Branch Chairman Robert Waller robert.waller@lpuk.org.

In addition Branch Treasurer Richard Williams will be stepping down from his position after the AGM as he has moved to Oxford to complete his studies in architecture. On behalf of the South East Branch I would like to thank Richard for his hard work. Particularly the role he played in drawing up the branch constitution.

This of course means we will be looking for a new Branch Treasurer. If you would like to take up this role please follow the process outlined above.

The Branch Committee will also provide an update on how the Party is progressing in the South East and our plans for the future.

If you would like anymore information on the AGM please contact Branch Chairman Robert Waller robert.waller@lpuk.org

Robert Waller
LPUK South East Branch Chairman

Stefan Molyneux -- how to target libertarians

2009-10-02T09:00:00.000+01:00

I was asked to link to this video at the LPUKSE meet up last night. It's an excellent video on how you should target and find fellow libertarians. I would advise everyone to watch it...

Austrian Economics at the ASI

2009-09-30T22:06:00.006+01:00

Tomorrow (Thursday) members of the South East Branch of the LPUK will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark. So if you're available please pop along -- everyone is welcome.

However if you are unable to make tomorrow night's fun you may be interested in attending a talk at the ASI next Tuesday.

The talk is being given by James Tyler and is on "Austrian Economics and Real World Capitalism".

The event starts at 6pm, but the talk probably won't begin until about 6:30 - 7:00. It should be really interesting as it is on Austrian Economics and of course the ASI usually put on some free wine.

So if you are free please come along -- it will be good to see you.

South East meet up in Berkshire -- October 4th

2009-09-26T09:00:00.002+01:00

There will be a pub meeting in Windsor for the Berkshire county on Sunday the 4th of October at 4pm at the Royal Oak. All Berkshire members are welcome to come.

Here is a map...

View Royal Oak in a larger map

LPUK South East meet up -- October 1st

2009-09-24T22:39:00.001+01:00

The South East branch of the LPUK will be having their monthly drinks meet up at the Rose and Crown in Southwark next Thursday -- October 1st.

We will be there from 6:30 until late and all are welcome to attend. So if you are interested in finding out more about the party feel free to come along.

In addition our meet up will be the night before the Irish are forced for a second time to vote on the Lisbon treaty. We believe therefore the meet up will provide a perfect opportunity to toast democracy and a "No" vote in Ireland on October 2nd.

Here is a map and if on arrival you cannot find us simply ask at the bar and the Land Lady will point you in the right direction...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

South East Activists' Group

2009-09-17T21:10:00.006+01:00

To help the LPUK South East branch campaign and promote the party in the run up to the next election we have set up a Google group for activists.

The group will keep all interested people up to date with our campaigns, candidates and how you can help us out.

If you are interested in getting more involved in the party and helping us promote the cause of liberty you can sign up here.

Election Fund

2009-09-14T10:16:00.003+01:00

From the reams of paperwork received over the weekend from the Electoral Commission on the need for weekly reporting for the campaign for the next General Election that has to be held by 3rd June 2010, has already started.

We need to keep the funds rolling in and thank you for all your donations to date.

Fighting any election is a huge financial effort.

Please donate direct to our election fund:

40-28-20 92635313
or
Donate here

If you are a member put your surname and membership number so it can be accounted for properly. If you want to donate to the South East branch specifically, just let us know and it can be arranged.

Question Time on Civil Liberties

2009-09-09T06:59:00.004+01:00

This is incredibly short notice -- due to a very late invite. However if you live in the South London/Surrey -- specifically Epsom -- area this may be of interest to you...

Gavin Webb crosses floor to join Libertarian Party

2009-09-09T01:04:00.001+01:00

PRESS RELEASE

COUNCILLOR GAVIN WEBB OF STOKE ON TRENT CITY COUNCIL RESIGNS FROM THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND JOINS THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY (LPUK)

Gavin Webb, who was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Burton in 2008 and elected as a Lib Dem councillor on Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2007, has today announced that he has resigned from the Liberal Democrats.

He says: "I have made a good many friends in my fourteen years of activism in the Liberal Democrats and I hope that those friendships will continue, but regretfully I have decided to resign from the Liberal Democrats.

"The party, like the Conservative and Labour parties, has become a party of the establishment. It has unfortunately firmly wedded itself to the belief that there are primarily government solutions to the problems facing our country, and in the process, they are adopting policies that undermine our rights and freedoms as individuals.

"As far as I can see, most political parties in the UK appear to trust individuals when it comes to voting for councillors, MPs and MEPs, but once comfortably in power they are reluctant to trust individuals when it comes to them making choices about their own lives.

"There is however one political party - the Libertarian Party - that believes in giving responsibility back to individuals over their own lives and their own finances; and it is this party that I have now decided to join.

"We are on the road of authoritarianism, where government is our ruler rather than us being the ruler of our government. It is time for each and every single one of us to make a stand against government and those who feed off it, and demand the reduction of its size and scope.

"From what I've seen from many Lib Dem parliamentarians and councillors I don't believe the Liberal Democrat Party has the inclination to argue for smaller government in defence of our individual rights.

"Though there are some good classical liberal and libertarian types in the party, with whom I hope to continue to have a good relationship, their voices are crowded out by people who believe it perfectly okay to dictate to people how they should live their lives. I don't wish any longer to be a part of that.

"As an active member of the Libertarian Party, I will campaign to inform people that there are more voluntary, rather than coercive ways in which to influence positive outcomes for themselves, their families and the wider community. I hope to impress upon people that though there may be a need for government of some sort, it doesn't have to be government of the size and expense we see today.

Libertarian Party Leader Ian Parker- Joseph said

It has been a pleasure over the past months to speak with Gavin on numerous occasions, and following a meeting with him last month can attest to his personal commitment to the libertarian values on which he was elected, a man of honour, integrity and a passion for doing the right thing for his constituents.

I am therefore very pleased on behalf of The Libertarian Party to welcome Gavin Webb into the only party that wholly and uniquely stands for libertarian ideals in the UK.

I know that there is a great sadness from Gavin that the Liberal Democrat leadership were unable to rise to the challenge of veering away from the belief that the State has the answers to all our ills. It is a sadness shared by many.

In that light I hope that there are many more who now see the time as right to make the same changes that Gavin Webb has undertaken, not just from the Lib Dems but also those in the Conservative Libertarian wing who are unsuccessfully looking for reforms that will never come, and instead to look to a party that believes in libertarianism as a way of life, rather than one which merely gives lip service to it.

The Libertarian Party is here to stay, and new members such as Gavin Webb can only enhance the message that his constituents so clearly wanted to hear, and that Gavin Webb is living on their behalf.

Libertarian Party Chairman Andrew Withers said-

"Whilst we have a number of Parish and Town Councillors, Gavin is the first City Councillor that has crossed the floor to a truly Radical Party, one that wants to change the relationship between State and the Individual to the point where the State is subordinate to the will of the people, not the people subordinate to the will of the State.

Furthermore, the Libertarian Party argues that State should be small and accountable.

"We welcome Gavin, and hope that his decision will galvanise other Libertarians in other parties to join with us on the long march back to individual Liberty."

ENDS

Gavin Webb Can Be Contacted On 07949 026660

Libertarian Party (LPUK) 0845 299 7650

Email Contact@lpuk.org

ENDS

I have long maintained that the doors of LPUK would remain firmly open to anyone who wanted to stop, take a step back and realise that trying to reform the existing Big Parties in the ways of Libertarianism was like banging ones head on a brick wall.

This is a door that Gavin has chosen to walk through, and I sincerely hope that with his brave first move, it will galvanise others who have been sitting on the fence watching, waiting to see who would be the first.

We have well formed policies, we put the people before vested interests, we put people before the wishes of the establishment and the EU, and the consistency of our policies means that we will not be issuing new policy documents every week as we see from the Conservatives and LibDems.

We are not fooled by the PR work of Cameron, the flip flopping of Clegg nor the increasingly desperate pronouncements from Downing St. We are clear and concise in what needs to be done for the UK, for its peoples to be free from government interference, to be free of daily suspicions, to be free from surveillance, to be free from privateers acting under legislative protection to levy and fine for every infringement of draconian rules, but to be able to live their lives as each sees fit to do so.

Gavin Webb has taken the first steps, we will be looking to you, your friends, family and neighbours to follow him in taking the next steps and making the Libertarian party a real political force in the UK.

New appointment to South East Branch Committee

2009-09-08T20:51:00.002+01:00

Announcement on the South East Branch Committee republished from main site.

***

Today the South East Branch of the LPUK formally announce the appointment of Max Andronichuck as Campaigns Officer.

This is a new role for the Branch and it has been introduced with the aim of converting our large supporter base in the South East into an effective campaign fighting machine.

Max will take responsibility for advancing the LPUK's public profile in the South East region. Along with organising events and campaigns to help elect Party members to public office within the region.

The South East Branch Committee believe Max is an excellent addition to the team as he has shown great enthusiasm for the party, its aims and the fight for liberty generally. We believe he will help drive us forward as we aim to organise effective campaigns in the run up to the next election.

We hope the membership will show their full support for Max in his new role. And will work with him to help make the United Kingdom a more liberal place.

To find out a little more about Max please read his biography. And if you wish to contact Max about anything you can email him at Max.Andronichuk@lpuk.org.

Members will get the opportunity to validate Max's appointment and the appointment of all other committee members at the first South East Branch AGM to be held in October -- details to follow shortly.

Robert Waller
LPUK South East Branch Chairman

Network of Government Operated NGOs divert £1.1bn for political indoctrination

2009-09-04T09:00:00.001+01:00

Network of Government Operated Non Governmental Organisations divert £1.1bn for political indoctrination.

Fake Aid - How foreign aid is being used to support the self-serving political activities of NGOs. A highly detailed and scathing report by the IPN (International Policy Network), an independent think tank has now exposed this massive misuse of taxpayers funds.

The Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation is a Gongo. So is Nashi, a Russian youth group, and the Sudanese Human Rights Organization. Saudi Arabia’s International Islamic Relief Organization is also a gongo, as is Chongryon, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. Gongos are everywhere, in China, Cuba, France, Tunisia, and even the United Kingdom.

Gongos are government-operated non-governmental organizations. Behind this contradictory and almost laughable tongue twister lies an important and growing global trend that deserves more scrutiny, as the UK government increases the funding and control of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) stealthily.

Some gongos are benign, others irrelevant. But many, including those mentioned above, are dangerous. Some act as the thuggish arm of repressive governments. Others use the practices of democracy to subtly undermine democracy at home as is the case with the DfID funding of Gongo's in the UK. Abroad, the gongos lobby the United Nations, OECD and other international institutions, often posing as representatives of citizen groups with lofty aims when, in fact, they are nothing but agents of the governments that fund them. Gongos are embedded deep into society and are used to advance ideological interests.

In the UK the government have set up a network of Gongos and Fake Charities under the guise of the DfID (Department for International Development) which are used almost entirely at taxpayers expense to politically indoctrinate children, lobby governments (both at home and abroad) and promote government ideological policy through bans and forced changes to lifestyle choices.

The Libertarian Party has long highlighted the use of Fake Charities, ostensibly charitable organisations who lobby government on behalf of concerned citizens groups, which are majority funded by government, such as ASH and Alcohol Concern to name but two, but these revelations with regards to NGO's and Gongos is a stunning misuse of funds for political indoctrination. What is even more concerning is that the Conservative Party have already announced that they intend to increase the funding further.

A highly detailed and scathing report by the IPN (International Policy Network), an independent think tank has now exposed this massive misuse of taxpayers funds, diverting massive financial support to Unions and in particular the National Union of Teachers for political indoctrination of our children. 87 PER CENT of funded programmes are aimed at kids or students.

What it shows is effectively a huge network of organisations laundering taxpayers money for political purposes. Partnership Programme Arrangements (PPA's) transfer hundreds of millions of pounds to mainly hand-picked NGOs in unrestricted funds. This includes groups like ActionAid who campaign explicitly against free trade.

What we find absolutely incredulous however, is that the Conservative party not only know about this abuse of taxpayers funds, but intend to increase it when they take power. Under the banner of One World Conservatism, the Conservative Policy Green Paper No.11 begins "Our vision for international development, as in other areas of policy, is to achieve progressive aims through Conservative means". In translation that means more of the same with a slightly different propaganda slant.

The conservative document goes on: “We will retain the present system of Partnership Programme Agreements (PPAs) through which DFID supports leading NGOs and development organisations. As far as possible we will link funding increases to evidence of effectiveness and results, rewarding good performance and ensuring our aid achieves the most it possibly can.” P. 24 Conservative Party. 2009. One World Conservatism: A Conservative Agenda for International Development.

Ian Parker-Joseph, Libertarian Party leader said: "The use of taxpayer funds in this way is both immoral and bordering on the illegal. Under no circumstances will a Libertarian government allow taxpayers to fund any organisation that is using part or all of its funding for political purposes or for political lobbying, and we would call on all other political parties to issue such an undertaking. To see the Conservative Party add its approval to these underhand schemes is disappointing, although not unexpected given the current progressive direction of the conservative party under Cameron".

The IPN press release highlights the following:

Recipients of this money include trade unions and other partisan political organisations in the UK. Examples include:

£1.2 million given to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) since 2003 for activities including: lobbying, hiring new staff and an “international buffet and wine” event to celebrate “International Women’s Day” in the UK. DfID also paid the TUC to hold lessons in how to apply for DfID funds.

£300,000 to the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to “enable them [teachers] to become global agents of change”.

The creation of fake NGOs such as “Connections for Development” (CfD), supposedly a forum for black and ethnic minorities to engage “on issues relating to international development.” DfID created and is the only donor to CfD, providing it with £600,000 in its first two years, yet an independent review questioned “the purpose of the organisation.”

£10 million spent flying poor Brits to poor countries to work for free.

IPN’s Julian Harris, one of the report’s authors, said “DfID often hand-picks the largest recipients, such as trade unions, behind closed doors. This smacks of cronyism.”

The report highlights the waste of DfID funds on political campaigning while a child dies every 30 seconds from malaria in poor countries.

“The money DfID is wasting in this year alone could in principle treat 230 million people suffering from malaria,” concluded Harris.

Please read the detailed report here.

The Libertarian Party Press Release can be read here.

LPUK South East September meet up -- Thursday 3rd

2009-08-28T22:54:00.006+01:00

The South East branch of the LPUK are having their regular meet up in the Rose and Crown, Southwark, next Thursday -- September 3rd.

As usual we will be there from about 6:30 and the event is open to all. So if you're just interested in finding out more about the party feel free to come along.

If you are new to these events and cannot find us on arrival please ask at the bar. The lovely landlady will point you in the right direction.

Here is a map...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

And we hope to see you next Thursday.

City Hall chiefs to end prostitution by 2012...

2009-08-18T08:57:00.005+01:00

In a daring big government plan City Hall chiefs are planning to end prostitution in London before the Olympics...

Mobile phone networks have been asked to cut off pimps and prostitutes ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

City Hall chiefs have called on top phone companies to help crack down on prostitution and trafficking in the lead up to the sporting event.

They want help targeting numbers advertised on thousands of sex calling cards that litter phone boxes throughout the capital.

Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor for policing, said the mobile phone numbers are a valuable resource for those behind the sex industry.

He said an agreement must be reached between mobile phone networks and police that sees them taken out of use as soon as they are identified.

Mr Malthouse said: "If you are an American tourist and if you walk into a telephone box you would think it was a sex shop.

"We want a streamlined, agreed process for barring these numbers because they become very valuable for a number of reasons.

The great thing about these sort of plans is that they're always based on the assumption that the people running and using these services are as idiotic as the bureaucrats trying to stop them.

Have City Hall not contemplated that mobile phones are not the only form of communication? And that we might just be living in the information age? Which should make it quite easy for pimps and prostitutes to find a way around this.

Clearly not.

The only solution to this problem is to legalise and regulate prostitution. Then at least it might become a little safer for the women and men involved.

Everyone seems to know this apart from the moralising wing of the Conservative Party who currently sit in City Hall.

Anne Maine Survives -- Tories doomed in St Albans

2009-08-16T09:25:00.006+01:00

Quite how Anne Maine MP survived the de-selection process this week is beyond me...

ST ALBANS MP Anne Main has survived a bid by party rivals to oust her from her Parliamentary seat.

The under-fire Tory, currently under investigation for allegedly abusing her expenses, came through a vote by Conservative Party members in London Colney in the last few minutes.

The meeting followed allegations that she allowed her daughter to live rent-free in the St Albans flat she claimed as a second home at taxpayers’ expense.

The point with this case is that her expenses claims have dogged her for years. Finding out that she let her daughter live rent free in her second home was simply the icing on the cake.

She should have been booted out. Her survival has resulted in the local Tory chairman resigning. And opens the door to the Lib Dems. Which of course means you never know if you're going to get a liberal or socialist.

And Lib Dem candidate Sandy Walkington seems to personify this very problem...

One journey took me walking through Transylvania and I saw the impact of the Ceausescus on Romania. Seeing the bitter effects of communist rule first-hand had a profound impact on my political thinking, as did subsequent journeys into eastern Turkey, Iran and the former Soviet republics in the Caucasus.
...
I joined Friends of the Earth in the 1970’s at the same time as I joined the Liberal Party and I have always belonged to one or other of the major environmental campaign groups ever since.

The Tory party have really let themselves down here. And for little benefit. Because unless the people of St Albans are completely stupid/ignorant there is no way Maine is retaining her seat.

Osborne and Education Reform

2009-08-12T13:40:00.003+01:00

My new post for Liberal Vision is now up. It's on George Osborne's education reforms and how they don't go far enough...

This may surprise you, but I think Conservative George may actually be bright enough to have a rather cunning plan. And I believe his cunning plan is to weaken the left’s strangle hold of the education system.

It should be obvious why he would want to do this. The state education system is notoriously left wing, a bed rock of Labour support and has massive influence over the development of the next generation of voters.

Dan Hannan Talks Healthcare

2009-08-09T17:49:00.001+01:00

Brilliant chat between the Judge and Dan Hannan on Healthcare. Why don't we see Hannan more on British TV?

Tory split over de-selecting Anne Maine MP

2009-08-05T12:58:00.002+01:00

Seems the Tories in St Albans are ripping themselves apart over whether Anne Maine MP should be de-selected for the next election...

The future of MP Anne Main has sparked a civil war among St Albans Conservatives.

Chairman Seema Kennedy and her two deputies, Matt Peck and Mary Zambra, asked Mrs Main to step down, and have now called a meeting of the local party’s 300 members on August 13, to vote on her de-selection.

But an opposing faction is backing the MP and trying to remove Mrs Kennedy and Mr Peck from their posts ahead of the crucial vote.

All I can say on this subject is I hope they do the right thing. And if they're not sure what that is I'll tell them -- just to make sure.

De-select the thieving scoundrel. Otherwise I imagine the local electorate will do it for you.

Barclays and the bailouts...

2009-08-04T22:19:00.006+01:00

Just thought I'd point you in the direction of my recent post at Liberal Vision questioning the bailout policy...

There is something really rather annoying about Barclay’s and HSBC’s financial results...
Barclays has announced an 8% rise in first-half profits, boosted by its investment banking division.

Pre-tax profits for the first six months came in at £2.98bn ($5bn), although this was slightly below analysts’ forecasts … HSBC reported half-year profits of $5bn, although this was about half what it made in the same period a year ago.

And it’s not that a bunch of cough-bankers are going to get some rather nice bonuses this Christmas. It’s that we actually fell for the Government line that if we didn’t bail out the banks the world would end.

It's triggered off a rather interesting argument with a Vince Cable fan-boy so hopefully it's worth the read.

Rose and Crown meet up August 6th

2009-07-29T20:13:00.003+01:00

The South East Branch of the Libertarian Party will be having their monthly meet up at the Rose and Crown in Southwark on Thursday, August 6th.

As normal we will be there from 6:30 onwards and we are praying for sunshine as the July meet up was wonderful.

The meet is open to everyone. And if it is your first time or you can't find us when you arrive ask at the bar -- the landlady will point you in the right direction.

Here's a map and we hope to see you next Thursday...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Something you wouldn't see on TV in the UK

2009-07-28T20:23:00.001+01:00

You can tell how far we're down the road of statism in this country by just looking at the difference between American and British TV.

Would you ever see anything similar to the above on a British news channel?

Probably not.

Last Veteran of the Trenches passes away

2009-07-25T13:49:00.002+01:00

Harry Patch, the 'Last Tommy' to have served in trenches of WWI passed away today, just a week after Henry Allingham, the last surviving veteran of the Battle of Jutland.

I don't think this is a time for political commentary on that war, current wars or the nature of war, it is a time for a few thoughts for the passing of a generation who quietly and honourably served their country. For several years a small handful of increasingly frail supercentenarians have had to shoulder the burden of being the last living representatives of a generation of young men who were sent to fight a war - sometimes pointlessly, sometimes necessarily, but always honourably.

We will remember them, and those in Afganistan and elsewhere who have paid the ultimate sacrifice today.

Jim Rogers Printing Money is not the solution

2009-07-17T22:46:00.001+01:00

Inspiring stuff from super investor Jim Rogers.

BoE to continue typing numbers into computers

2009-07-15T07:52:00.004+01:00

This is a rather interesting development. And suggests the BoE has no desire to stop with it's Zimbabwe policy...

The Bank of England today indicated it is ready to print more money to boost the economy after inflation fell below target for the first time in nearly two years.

Deputy governor Charlie Bean and new recruit Adam Posen, who joins the Bank's monetary policy committee in September, said last week's decision not to extend quantitative easing beyond £125 billion did not mean the programme was finished.

"Much too much has been made of this so-called pause," said Posen.
...
Posen said: "The risks right now are more about deflation than inflation. Once you fall into a deflationary situation, it is very hard to get out.

"Interest rate cuts and quantitative easing combined with the fiscal stimulus is the right way to face this."

The point everyone should remember about 'typing numbers into computers' is that while you destroy debt you also destroy savings. Or in other words you destroy the investment capital that will help us get out of this mess.

IanPJ speech to Parliamentary Conference on Global Economic meltdown

2009-07-14T16:09:00.001+01:00

As Leader of the Libertarian Party UK, I had the pleasure yesterday (Monday 13th July) to spend the day at Westminster, attending as a speaker the Parliamentary Conference on Global Financial and Economic Meltdown.

This lively event, hosted by Lord Tarsem King of West Bromwich was held in Committee rooms 3 and 4a in the House of Lords, and was organised jointly by Global Vision 2000 and the Universal Peace Federation UK.

There were a variety of speakers at this conference, including:

Dr.Nafeez Ahmed : Director, Institute for Policy Research and Development
Anne Belsey: Monetary Reform Party
Canon Peter Challen:Chairman, Christian Council for Monetary Justice
Kelvin Hopkins MP - Labour, Luton North
Ian Parker-Joseph   Leader, Libertarian Party
Daud Pidcock: Global Vision 2000
David Triggs: Coalition for Economic Justice & Executive Chair, Henry George Foundation
Dr.Adrian Wrigley Systemic Fiscal Reform Group

The full text of the 10 minute speech given by myself is below, although much of the presentation was interspersed with ad hoc examples and comments,

the Monetary Reform solution was presented in the Q&A session due to time constraints.

At no time in history has any individual had such a wealth of information at their fingertips. With this in mind, you would think it would be easy to take the pulse of the global economy but at no time in history has the global economy been so rich, varied, and rapid.

Business systems of increasing complexity govern our lives in ways the classic economists could never have envisaged. Entire industries collapse without anything tangible ever disrupting supply chains and nations fall bankrupt on the "market confidence" of Wall Street traders. We live in a world of inconceivable numbers and we live in blissful ignorance of business and financial practices we never knew existed until they go spectacularly wrong.

No government can ever control an economy. All those who have sought to do so have destroyed it. One can only manage ones' responses to events in it. While we may like to gear our economy in a certain way, our economies do not run in isolation of each other. Thanks to globalisation and the internet we are inextricably linked and we cannot pretend otherwise. Which is why the proposals that I will put forward later will cover both domestic and international economics.

As world leaders try to move us ever closer towards international regulations and international bodies of control, there is only one constant.

Systems,

Systems of whatever type, inevitably fail be they computer systems, regulatory systems or currency systems. This presents the immediate reality that if we use only one system then when it fails, we all fail. And we all fail at the same time.

Undeterred by this reality it has not prevented our leaders from seeking to standardise, make uniform and equalise our systems. But each society has its own unique perspectives and interests, any such common systems require either a democracy bypass or compromise which fundamentally weakens the basis of the system. In global banking we have seen both.

We have also witnessed institutional schizophrenia whereby one regulator does not know what the other is doing or even what it is for, and our politicians do not know the extent of their powers or to whom the real power belongs.

What we saw last year was the culmination of national, regional and global government intervening in things they do not understand and cannot control.

The oft quoted cause of this crisis is "irresponsible lending" and "excessive risk" by "greedy bankers". But that is only half way to the truth.

The credit crunch is a failure of global regulation as a tool, leading to the construction of castles on a foundation of jelly, such international regulation is now wholly discredited.
Risk is its own regulator when governments do not seek to meddle, and had we retained control of our own regulation, the crisis here need not have hit us as hard as it did.

We are all aware of the disposal of the assets that US banks were legally obliged to create under the Community Reinvestment Act, creating loans worth more than their balance sheets. This put a direct freeze on interbank lending. This subsequent freeze in capital flow sent shockwaves through the markets resulting in instant paralysis.

Subsequently we were forced by circumstance to take a leap of faith that bailouts would restore market confidence and jumpstart interbank lending. Whether or not this has worked is, frankly, anyone's guess.

There are conflicting signal signs and while there may be room for optimism we have been warned by the IMF this week that Britain cannot afford another bailout, which may yet be necessary. Among all the talk of "green shoots of recovery" the fear is that we will enter a double dip recession. The contraction of the job market further could lead to bigger credit defaults, not least on credit card debt which is now outstripping our GDP.

Our present administration has taken it upon itself to bailout everything that so much as squeaks. This is a path to economic suicide.

Even if such measures worked, this is all a sticking plaster at best. Present policy is predicated on the idea that a debt based economy is sustainable and desirable. It is not. UK Plc needs to be producing and exporting, earning money from overseas.

The Domestic Economy needs to be stimulated from the bottom up not the top down. Economies are sustained by the ability of the purchasing public to earn, save and spend, consuming the products that the factories produce.

There is little point in bailing out a failing car manufacturer to see them make cars that they cannot sell.

Put simply it is not capitalism that has failed, it is creditism. Capitalism was designed to work on capital, but it has been distorted and altered to rely on credit, spend now pay later.

It is that this debt based economic model that has now found its way into every layer of society from consumer, retailer, producer to government, all totally reliant upon credit, is the primary reason why a single system failure, in this case interbank lending, stopped everything dead in its tracks.

Having sold off our gold reserves, raided our pension funds and squandered the money, there was nothing to fall back on, and we have allowed the backbone of the country, the wealth creators, the small to medium enterprise to be drowned in a sea of compliance, regulation and taxes which are crippling our ability to compete, and consequently we have a shrinking productive sector in a country that is spending ever more.

Nations, markets and individuals are stronger through diversity than homogenised cultures, regulatory systems and governments.With this in mind we must reform to ensure our money is real and that our future is built on more than just an I.O.U note to the world bank.

Real Money, not borrowings, is the core of the economy. It belongs to those to earn and spend it, the wealth creators, not merely to those who currently create money or manage it.

But that is only a beginning.

Total Reform of the monetary system, I propose Three planks Sterling, Sovereign and Free Banking

Firstly, we will return the sovereignty of our national currencypounds Sterlingto the Crown, removing the privilege of creating money from the private banking industry, with new Sterling being created, debt-free, by the government, and thence spent into the broader economy. The amount of Sterling in circulation will be prevented from being expanded through FRB, stopping bank generated inflationary spirals developing, and keeping the value of your savings safe.

Secondly, we will create a new currency, pounds Sovereign, to be 100% backed by gold. Still vital for international trade, a gold-backed currency will be immensely strong, and help protect the UK from the storms and squalls that sometimes rip through international markets. This kind of currency will also attract investment from overseas into the UK.

Thirdly, allow for the creation of free banks. Free Banks would be completely free of any government interference or regulation. If these prove popular with the marketthe citizens of our nationthey will grow and prosper, choosing to embrace FRB if it wished with their own currencies (HSBC peso or Natwest dollars) possibly supplanting Sterling as the primary means of exchange on a day-to-day basis. However, and should they fail, such failure will not impact on anyone who chooses to keep their banking facilities purely denominated in pounds Sterling. In this way a genuine free market in banking will be able to be tried, without the risks being spread over the general population, or the nation as a whole.

I believe that the proposals outlined above are sound and necessary. Our existing banking system has been creaking from one crisis to the next over many years, and has only remained unchallenged because of the enormous influence that those who most benefit from itthe private bankerswield over our elected politicians.

I am happy that some of the Libertarian Party policies outlined in our manifesto (http://lpuk.org/pages/manifesto.php) are beginning to find traction in Westminster, and that my contribution reaffirmed the consensus view with those voices who shared this platform with me yesterday.

Private schools on the way out...

2009-07-14T09:31:00.009+01:00

I never enjoyed the wonders of an independent school education. However I must admit I am rather concerned about the government's crusade to abolish them. Or at least bring them under state influence...

Independent schools in England are protesting about "too narrow" rules for charitable status - as two out of five test-case schools fail to qualify.

The loss of charitable status threatens tax benefits for independent schools.

The Independent Schools Council says the rulings rely too much on the number of bursaries, with fees likely to have to rise to fund subsidised places.

The Charity Commission says charities must "demonstrate how they bring real benefit to the public".

You'll note the very vague goal posts set by the Charity Commission -- "demonstrate how they bring real benefit to the public". Which basically means we'll decide whether we like you or not.

In addition as Fake Charities point out there are plenty of 'charities' that are just paid up Government mouth pieces. So quite how you can criticise private schools is beyond me.

The only explanation for this behaviour by the Government is control. They want complete control of the education system.

It can be seen in their policies against home educators. And it's clearly the driving force behind their independent schools policy.

The reasons for this should be obvious. It's because one of the greatest threats to the statist agenda comes from independent schools promoting independent thinking.

Brighton Campaign Day -- August 1st

2009-07-13T08:31:00.006+01:00

After the success of our campaign day in Norwich the South East branch are organising our second campaign day.

The campaign day will be held in Brighton on Saturday August 1st. It is set to coincide with the Gay Pride festival and parade.

We believe this event will provide us with a great opportunity to promote and discuss our liberal policies and ideas.

Obviously we will need as many helpers as we can get. So if you want to find out more about helping and having a fun day out in Brighton please contact robert.waller@lpuk.org.

South East Members in Norwich North

2009-07-12T19:24:00.009+01:00

Yesterday members of the LPUK from the South East went up to Norwich to help Thomas Burridge with his campaign.

We had a great day out and got some good responses from the residents of Norwich.

Thank you to everyone who came and helped. And good luck to Thomas for the rest of his campaign.

Hertfordshire -- Police for hire...

2009-07-10T16:09:00.007+01:00

In a worrying development Hertfordshire police are trialing a rent-a-cop initiative...

A police force is hiring out uniformed officers to businesses wanting more patrols.

Traders have joined together to pay for extra police to look over their premises.

But critics claim the rent-a-cop plan is a move towards a two-tier service.

Police Federation spokesman Metin Enver said: "It's a worrying trend to get groups effectively buying policing.

"Is this a stepping stone to a two-tier policy so those who can afford it get one service and those who can't get another?"

And Mr Metin said of Hertfordshire Police's initiative: "This is a dangerous path. You can imagine a ripple effect as more people ask for extra patrols."

There are a number of issues with the above that raise concerns. First as tax payers we have already paid for a police service. So quite why we should have to pay again is beyond me.

However more worrying is the mixing of business and state. We should all be deeply concerned and suspicious of business being allowed to purchase and deploy the resources of the state. Because ultimately it gives businesses power they would not normally have.

For me this seems to be another sign of the development of the fascist/corporatist state in Britain. And we should all be concerned by it.

LGBT and the dangers of socialism

2009-07-05T23:19:00.018+01:00

I was over at LabourLost yesterday when I noticed this rather amusing piece of Fabian internationalist nonsense from Kevin Peel.

It encapsulates the idealistic but authoritarian thinking that many socialists follow...

[F]or the most part, the decades of struggle by committed LGBT activists has paid off. We’ve got an equal age of consent, gay couples can adopt children, homophobic discrimination at work and in the provision of goods and services has been outlawed, the gender recognition act means trans people can have their true gender recognised under law, civil partnerships give lesbian and gay couples (almost) equal rights as heterosexual married couples, lesbian couples have equal access to NHS fertility treatment and we’re currently putting a shiny new Equality Bill through Parliament to tie it all together with a big bow on top.

We now need to be looking to other countries and saying ‘Why haven’t you got that?’

67 countries (don’t quote me on that) have now signed the UN’s Declaration on the Decriminalisation of Homosexuality, a groundbreaking (but nonbinding) measure put forward in December 2008 which condemned human rights violations based on homophobia. I was proud that the UK led the charge on this. It was the first time gay rights have ever been discussed in the 192 member General Assembly of the UN and marks an important point in the recognition of the world wide struggle for LGBT equality. However, it had to be proposed as a nonbinding measure because there was not enough support for an official resolution. Homosexuality is still banned in nearly 80 countries and punishable by death in 6. Including Saudi Arabia, a country I’m ashamed that we call an ally.
...
But we can’t just pass the buck to the UN or to Europe. Our own Government needs to be speaking out more against countries oppressing their citizens and stifling basic freedoms. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is doing some great work through the diplomatic service and I was proud to see our embassies flying the pride flag on 17th May (International Day Against Homophobia), but we need to start getting tough with countries who think it is ok to treat LGBT people as second class citizens. The softly softly approach only works if you can back it up with a big stick.

The question one must ask is, how on Earth does Kevin Peel think we will achieve this? How do you stop the whole world being homophobic?

Historically speaking no-one has achieved anything like this. Not even the British Empire managed to end slavery. And they were willing to point the 19th century's version of a nuclear arsenal at people.

So if the Royal Navy -- which was the biggest stick at the time -- were unable to impose a world view on everyone. How precisely are we going to end homophobia worldwide?

Are we going to point guns at people? Or even nuclear weapons? How far would we have to go to achieve this objective?

The worrying thing about Kevin's view is it is inherently authoritarian. Because there is no way we could ever achieve such a ridiculous goal without resorting to controlling or violent measures.

And that is why everyone should be wary of socialism. Because despite the good intentions the only way to achieve their goals is through violence or control.

Liar! Liar!

2009-07-05T12:50:00.002+01:00

shopped from an original Nicholson in Australia and courtesy of the Red Rag

From the Times this Morning:
Mr Brown should engage with reality

How long can this go on? Every week Gordon Brown is presented with new numbers, taken from the Treasury’s own documents, showing his government is planning to cut public spending from 2011. Every week he denies it, repeating the mantra that voters have a choice between Labour “investment” and “Tory cuts”. Last week he gave us a phrase that will surely enter the political lexicon: that Labour would achieve “zero per cent growth”.

Commentators compare Mr Brown with Richard Nixon, who acquired the nickname of Tricky Dicky. In fact, the late US president’s dissembling was much more skilful. No 10 advisers are getting uneasy, as are cabinet ministers, at Mr Brown’s inept efforts. He has not yet promoted a horse to the post of consul but his detachment from reality is growing daily.

Love the Caligula reference.

Norwich campaign day

2009-07-04T11:38:00.003+01:00

As you may be aware, there is an upcoming parliamentary by-election in Norwich North.

It's not in our region, but a number of Libertarian Party South East members will hopefully be traveling up in one of the upcoming weekends to campaign for the LPUK candidate Thomas Burridge.

This is a landmark moment for the Libertarian Party- it is the first time the Libertarian Party will have contested a parliamentary constituency, and Thomas will likely be the youngest ever parliamentary candidate.

If you would like to join us on the campaign trail, please email me at richard.williams@lpuk.org. If you cannot spare some time, please donate to our election fighting fund at the link to the side of this blog.

Swine Flu -- London DOOOOOOOOMED!!!

2009-07-03T20:10:00.009+01:00

This is becoming really tiring. When are the MSM going to realise that Swine Flu might be a non-story that doesn't deserve so much attention?

How is a story about a very ill man being pushed over the edge by Swine Flu anything other than a personal tragedy...

A teenager has become the first London patient to die after contracting swine flu.

The 19-year-old man, from Lewisham, died on Wednesday after complaining of flu-like symptoms. It is understood he was already seriously ill with a rare long-term health
condition which left him with serious chest infections.

Paramedics took him to Lewisham hospital by ambulance after his family called the emergency services but doctors were unable to save his life and he was confirmed dead on arrival at accident and emergency.

Test results last night confirmed that the teenager was infected with the H1N1 virus and an inquest into his death is now expected to be opened.

Swine flu is just flu. If you're already ill or frail it might kill you -- like a lot of other things. But it's not as if HIV has become airborne. We really aren't all doooooomed!!!

But reading the MSM it makes you wonder whether they're in cahoots with the government to scare the... out of us all the time.

ID cards on the way out?

2009-07-01T09:00:00.004+01:00

Some people seem quite excited about Labour's back down over ID cards...

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, has announced the death of compulsory ID cards in a significant Government climbdown over the controversial scheme.

He said the cards will now only be issued to Britons on a voluntary basis meaning no one will ever be forced to have one, effectively paving the way for the scheme to be scrapped altogether.

However I'm not convinced. This isn't really the "death" of ID cards at all. They're not being scrapped just made 'voluntary'...

And as we all know, something doesn't have to be declared compulsory to be made compulsory.

All the government would have to do is force banks to demand them when people set up a new account -- and what do you know.

Let's be quite clear, we should not be content until ID cards have been scrapped completely.

Rose and Crown reminder

2009-06-30T20:33:00.003+01:00

This is just to remind everyone the Libertarian Party will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark this Thursday.

We will be there from 6:30 and everyone is welcome to come along.

For more information, including a map, view this post.

And we hope to see you on Thursday.

Water meters for all in the South East

2009-06-29T23:16:00.005+01:00

According to our completely impartial civil service everyone in the South East should be moved on to water meters because of climate doom...

Swimming pool owners, those with large gardens and those in areas prone to droughts should be moved onto water meters as a matter of urgency, with companies using satellite images from Google Earth and aerial photographs to ascertain heavy water users.

These are just some of the recommendations put forward by Anna Walker, a leading civil servant, in her 220-page interim report into domestic water bills, commissioned by the Department for the Environment.

It warns that all families should brace themselves for "substantially higher" water bills over the coming decade, as Britain's water supply steadily falls because of climate change.
...
Lavatories with large cisterns and large shower heads should be banned from being sold
...
The report also believes that everyone in the south east, south west and areas of low rainfall should be moved onto meters, potentially pushing up bills for large families substantially.

It seems that as soon as the sun put his hat on nowadays out come all the climate alarmists. Does anyone remember last summer? Washout springs to mind.

It's just so nice to know the state will use any old hypothesis to recommend the further erosion of our civil liberties.

Iran -- A diplomatic crisis out of hot air...

2009-06-28T16:25:00.011+01:00

It seems from out of nothing we have created a full scale diplomatic row with Iran...

David Miliband says he is "deeply concerned" about the arrest of the British embassy workers and has demanded their immediate release.

Reports say at least eight Iranian staff members were detained on charges of involvement in the country's political unrest.

The Foreign Secretary said he believed nine local staff had been arrested, but some have since been released.

He says the arrests are "harassment and intimidation of a kind which is quite unacceptable".

"At the moment our top priority is the position of our locally engaged staff, who we want to see released, unharmed and back at work," he said.

One has to ask how this situation has arisen. Has Iran threatened Britain in any way? Has it threatened anyone else? Nope, not as far as I'm aware.

This diplomatic debacle has come about thanks to the desire of some to preach about other country's internal affairs.

Let's look at a couple of examples. First the G8...

We deplore post-electoral violence which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians and urge Iran to respect fundamental human rights including freedom of expression and ensured by the international treaties it has ratified.

And now Gordon Brown using slightly subtler language to get the same point across...

We want a very good relationship with the Iranians, we also respect the fact that it's for the Iranian people themselves to choose who their government is.

But when there is a sign of repression or where there is violence that's affecting ordinary people in the streets, we have a duty to speak out and to say we want Iran to be part of the world, we don't want Iran to be isolated from the world.

The question here is, why bother? Nothing can be achieved by this sort "holier than thou" rhetoric. Ultimately it will be Iranians who resolve this crisis -- no-one else.

Also it's debatable whether Mousavi -- 'the good guy' -- would be much of an improvement for Iran. So again -- why bother?

All we've done here is heighten tensions between ourselves and Iran. And what good does that do? Absolutely none.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. We must return to a sensible, non-interventionist foreign policy because anything else just causes trouble.

And if you find that view objectionable I ask you to consider these fine words from Ron Paul...

I rise in reluctant opposition to H Res 560, which condemns the Iranian government for its recent actions during the unrest in that country. While I never condone violence, much less the violence that governments are only too willing to mete out to their own citizens, I am always very cautious about “condemning” the actions of governments overseas. As an elected member of the United States House of Representatives, I have always questioned our constitutional authority to sit in judgment of the actions of foreign governments of which we are not representatives. I have always hesitated when my colleagues rush to pronounce final judgment on events thousands of miles away about which we know very little. And we know very little beyond limited press reports about what is happening in Iran.
...
I adhere to the foreign policy of our Founders, who advised that we not interfere in the internal affairs of countries overseas. I believe that is the best policy for the United States, for our national security and for our prosperity. I urge my colleagues to reject this and all similar meddling resolutions.

Welwyn Garden City -- lunatic drugs conviction

2009-06-28T09:58:00.008+01:00

This is truly ridiculous...

A 20-year-old university student has been sentenced to eight months in a young offenders institution for supplying cannabis to his circle of friends.

Matthew Jubb, 20, who was due to begin a course at Hertfordshire University, admitted dealing what was then a class C drug, after cannabis and other drug dealing paraphernalia was found at his parents' home.

This is unbelievable. It is a complete waste of a prison space. But it gets worse -- this is what the judge said...

The courts take a dim view of dealing cannabis and I am satisfied despite the mitigation that your offence is so serious that neither a fine or community order is justifiable.

What planet are we living on? This guy's life has been ruined for what? Has he shot anyone, has he caused anyone any harm? No. He has sold something to people that wanted it.

So what is "so serious" about that? Nothing.

We really need to grow up about drugs in this country. We're never going to stop people taking them. And this sort of thing is just damaging the lives of people for no reason at all.

Rose and Crown Meet Up -- July 2nd

2009-06-23T21:36:00.003+01:00

Yes it's that time of the month again. Time to remind you we will be meeting at the Rose and Crown in Southwark next Thursday -- July 2nd.

Thankfully there are no strikes or Euro elections to worry about this month. So hopefully we will be able to enjoy some nice weather, good conversation and the odd drink hassle free.

As usual we'll be there from about 6:30. Everyone is welcome and if you can't find us on arrival ask at the bar -- the land lady knows who we are.

Here is a map...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

And we hope to see you next week.

A Vision of the Future

2009-06-22T10:00:00.001+01:00

There will be no parliament at Westminster, all elections will be for local or European elections.

The Houses of Parliament will be turned into a museum.

There will be no prime minister anymore

Our regional overlord will be Lord Mandelson

The regime will be that of a police state

Is this what Britain wants?

Is it what you want?

If not then dont vote for the main three parties because they have signed up to this vision and are hell bent on making it happen.

Is this the legacy you want to give to your children?

Phone 0845 299 7650

Anne Maine -- It goes on and on...

2009-06-19T07:21:00.007+01:00

Seems my local trougher really can't help herself. So much has been revealed about the 'Little Miss Piggy' of St Albans that you really couldn't imagine it getting any worse for her.

But then I am wrong on a lot of things...

UNPUBLISHED details of St Albans MP Anne Main's expenses have gone on-line this morning, revealing she has claimed for calling cards, posters and door-to-door delivery.
...
in February 2008 Mrs Main claimed for £1,647, paid to the Royal Mail for delivering literature to nearly 34,000 homes.

In September 2007, she claimed £1,247 for personal calling cards and a further £549 for 1,000 posters.

Oh, and it gets worse...

ST ALBANS MP Anne Main has been reimbursed the cost of filling in her tax return through her parliamentary expenses, expense details published on-line today reveal.

In January 2008 she claimed £558 including VAT as an accountancy bill for completing her self-assessment form.

She has also claimed £32 a month for hire of a Blackberry communication device, £881 for website maintenance, the cost of periodicals including The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, The Mail, the Spectator and The Economist, and £19.50 for the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

She has also claimed regular sums of £200 or £300 paid to the local Conservative Party branch, described as shared accommodation and support costs.

Now, I imagine the above is 'within the rules'. But I'm not sure I feel happy about my money being spent on Tory propaganda. And paying to fill in her tax return does kind of stick in the throat.

As I've said before. People of St Albans it's time to kick her out.

More corruption from BoJo the Mayor

2009-06-17T19:00:00.008+01:00

It just doesn't stop. The corruption among our political class has infected every level of government. Should we be surprised...

And it seems that BoJo has been caught out again. One has to consider how good a judge of character he is...

Boris Johnson was furious today as it was revealed that one of his deputies used a City Hall credit card to upgrade flights and pay for meals and groceries.

Ian Clement bought business class travel for himself and a colleague on a British Airways flight to the Beijing Olympics weeks after the Mayor said he was going to fly economy to the Games.

Mr Clement also used the card to pay for lunches and dinners with fellow Conservatives and a £700 meal in New York.

The deputy mayor for “government and external relations”, had the card confiscated earlier this month.

Now, I'll happily admit this is not a particularly heinous example of expenses abuse. But once again it crosses the line of what ordinary workers would get away with.

It's a continuation of the "one rule for us, another rule for everyone else" attitude that is destroying faith in our political institutions.

The sad thing is all the MEP and Councilor scandals still have to come out. Seems this will drag on and on and on...

Dan Hannan's 2009 EU election results speech

2009-06-15T07:09:00.003+01:00

I may be a little late on this one but I was watching Freedom Watch last night and they mentioned Dan Hannan's EU election results speech.

So I traked it down on YouTube and I must say -- it's brilliant. If you haven't seen it yet here you go...

Meet up reminder -- tomorrow (Thursday) at Rose and Crown

2009-06-10T20:03:00.003+01:00

This is just to remind everyone that despite the best efforts of our socialist friend Bob Crow the Libertarian Party will still be meeting at the Rose and Crown tomorrow night (Thursday 11th).

We will be there from about 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome apart from the Government and Bob Crow.

Remember if you can't find us on arrival -- ask at the bar.

And we hope to see you tomorrow night.

Another reminder..

2009-06-09T19:32:00.003+01:00

To give us the opportunity to give you the chance to put a cross next to Libertarian Party, we need donations. Just a small donation counts for a lot - We aren't bankrolled by offshore millionaires or corrupt unions.

To donate to the Libertarian Party South East specifically, email donate@lpuk.org and make sure you say you want your money to go to the South East branch. Every little really does help.

Alternatively, to donate to the national LPUK fund - click the button

BNP and free speech

2009-06-09T19:03:00.004+01:00

"Liberty, if it means anything, is the right to tell people what they don't want to hear."

- George Orwell

Let's make this clear, the BNP are a repellent, racist party of the old fashioned national socialist left, who's views I have no sympathy for. But this, despite the Labour Party's best efforts, is a free country, and in a free country tolerance cuts both ways. Sometimes, tolerance means tolerating the intolerant.

The fact that an individual or party may not uphold these rights does not mean they have in anyway ceded these freedoms. On Sunday we saw a band of thugs, in the guise of uniting against fascism, physically preventing (a now elected) representative from entering the election count in Manchester. Today we saw Nick Griffin pelted with eggs.

This really the depths of British politics - 'right-wing' racists and left-wing thugs fighting for attention. They are two sides of the same intolerant socialist coin, the yin and yang of authoritarianism. We Libertarians are (rightly) quick to point out the authoritarian course in which our current government are taking us. These events both put this in perspective, but also serves to issue a warning - imagine if the New Labour levers of power aren't pulled by Jacqui Smith or David Blunkett, but by Nick Griffin or Unite Against Fascism.

As much as we dislike the way in which Labour abuse the powers they have accumulated, the real worry is these powers coming into the hands of real 'fascists'

South East EU Elections -- Some Thoughts

2009-06-08T07:11:00.006+01:00

Well it was all rather interesting last night. Labour got trounced again. In the East of England they came 4th and in the South East 5th -- behind the Greens. Will Gordon hang on? Probably.

On a national level we're about to send our first BNP/national-SOCIALIST MEPs to the EU. I have a feeling they will fit in well. Also unlike the political elite I'm not too concerned about people electing national-SOCIALISTS as I happen to believe in freedom of speech and democracy.

However what was a little surprising was how well the Euro-sceptic vote performed in the SE and EoE. It suggests that these areas may be a little less 'metropolitan' in their views than you might think. Or at least they're not so 'metropolitan' that they like the EU.

If you look at the vote about 30% of the electorate in the SE and EoE voted for parties explicitly opposed to the EU. And that's excluding the many Euro-sceptics who voted Conservative.

Overall I think we can conclude a few things from last night's result. First it's confirmed our next government will be Tory. Second Labour will most probably be trounced. They may even finish third.

And finally -- and most importantly -- the electorate have sent a great big NO to the EU. Which I think means David Cameron, when he becomes Prime Minister, has to give us a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty regardless of its status. And possibly even a vote on the EU itself.

Support LP South East - Donate today

2009-06-05T12:23:00.003+01:00

The votes are yet to be counted, but this year's elections are over. This will hopefully be the last round of elections in which LPUK does not stand a significant number of candidates. But fighting elections costs time, money and effort, so please support LPSE however you can to make sure that we can give the electorate the choice they deserve.

We can only repeat the appeal for whatever you can spare.

The donation widget is now up and running on the blogs showing monies received since the appeal ten days ago.

Last year we set up a pledge bank in case of an Election. We would like to go down the same route again. The pledge will be called in on the morning that the GE is called.

Make your donation here or pledge by emailing donate@lpuk.org

PS. Congratulations to Andrew Hunt in Wisbech who yesterday became the first Libertarian Party candidate to stand for election. At time of writing the votes are being counted, but regardless of the votes received, Andrew has made a tremendous effort to promote LPUK, and will hopefully be the first of many flying the banner.

Anne Maine MP accosts tax payer for outing her

2009-06-04T07:22:00.007+01:00

This is how my local MP, Anne Maine, reacted to the man who confirmed that she and her daughter had been fleecing the tax payer...

A NEIGHBOUR of MP Anne Main has told the Review she angrily confronted him for confirming that her daughter was living in her taxpayer-funded home, drawing her deep into the folds of the scandal surrounding parliamentary expenses.

Mark Hughes, who like Mrs Main lives in Samuel Square, Pageant Close, told the Review he was approached by the Tory MP telling him that he had "cost her her job" after he confirmed to national newspaper reporters that her daughter, Claire Tonks, had been living at her second home on a full-time basis, and that he had never seen the MP in the neighbourhood.

Mr Hughes - himself jobless since being made redundant in January - said Mrs Main, whose main home is in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, spotted him speaking to journalists on Thursday, May 21, the day after Mrs Main's claims had been highlighted in the Review and the day before they featured prominently in the Daily Telegraph.

There is only one word for this behaviour -- DISGRACE.

Anne Maine is a disgrace. The reality is that the only person who has cost Anne Maine her 'job'* is Anne Maine.

If Anne Maine hadn't been fleecing the tax payer so she could house her daughter for free she would not be in this position.

Anne Maine simply must go. She is arrogant and clearly believes that she deserves all the perks she can get from the 'job' -- at our expense.

People of St Albans do the right thing -- KICK HER OUT!

* Some people might call it a vocation

South East Meet Up Reminder -- June 11th

2009-06-03T19:12:00.004+01:00

This is just to remind everyone we are NOT meeting up tomorrow -- Thursday June 4th. We ARE meeting up next week Thursday June 11th.

This is because of the elections tomorrow. And we hope you will go out and vote against all the pro-European and socialist parties standing.

So next week we'll be at Rose and Crown, in Southwark, from 6.30 as usual. Here's a map, everyone is welcome and we hope to see you next week.

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

Repeal Before Reform -- join the group

2009-06-03T09:00:00.000+01:00

Are you on Facebook, had enough of politicians throwing their hands up and proclaiming "We can change, just give us one more chance, we'll reform the system..."

Does this sound like you? If it does you should join the Libertarian Party's Repeal Before Reform group on Facebook.

The group has been set up to demand the repeal of all draconian laws before any reform is enacted...

In the UK there is an urgent need to step back from the Police State and Big Brother government and return those rights and Liberties already lost to the public. That need has not gone away simply because politicians have been caught with their fingers in the taxpayer till.

LPUK drafted a programme of repeal of the draconian laws that are needed before we start messing with the constitution that we should all campaign for.

We must not let talk of reform smother or sideline the issue of lost rights. We must not let discredited politicians fudge and shape the agenda to suit themselves.

Repeal before Reform.

Join today and tell Big Brother where he can stick it.

Interview in Politics.co.uk

2009-06-01T07:13:00.005+01:00

Thought I would point you in the direction of the Libertarian Party's first main stream political interview.

It was done by Ian Dunt of Politics.co.uk on our humble leader Ian PJ...

Right wing but socially liberal: Could the Libertarian party leader pick up the spoils of the expenses scandal on June 4th?

In the future this will be called the expenses election. Even candidates for the local elections can't get enough of it. And with so many members of the public obsessing over MPs' duck houses or house extensions those involved in the local elections can't afford to not have a view.

Ian Parker-Joseph, leader of the newly-formed Libertarian party, has a different attitude to most politicians, who have concentrated on proving how serious they are with promises of constitutional change.

"This particular frenzy about constitutional reforms is very much a red herring," he says. "As a party we would be looking for repeal of the many laws which have taken away our rights and liberties before we even discuss reform."

Good to see we're beginning to get some attention from the media. Well done Ian. And thanks must go to Ian Dunt.

Gazumping returns to London?

2009-05-30T12:02:00.005+01:00

Is this an example of the fabled 'green shoots' or just the dead cat bouncing...

Gazumping has returned to the top end of London’s property market, estate agents say, as the number of buyers starts to outstrip houses in some of the capital’s most sought-after areas.

Sealed bids, which estate agents use in periods of high demand to extract the best price from competing buyers, have also been seen for the first time in 18 months.

Furthermore, the number of cash buyers has risen to unusually high levels, agents have reported.

Logically, based on historical examples, the market should continue to fall for another few years. But who knows with the amount of money being poured into the markets.

We live in interesting times...

LPUK South East Meet Up -- June 11th

2009-05-25T09:15:00.011+01:00

As members should be aware it is fast approaching our next Rose and Crown meet up in Southwark.

However this month there is a slight change of plan. The meet up should occur on Thursday, June 4th but this is the same day as the Euro elections.

And, as I'm sure you're all aware, we all need to get out and vote so none of the nasty socialist parties get in. Like the Greens who wish to impose a water melon based utopia on all of us.

So instead the June meet up will occur on Thursday, June 11th. The week after.

The venue will remain the same and as usual we will be there from about 6:30 onwards. The event is open to everyone, not just members. And remember if you can't find us on arrival ask the land lady.

Here is a map...

View Rose and Crown -- Southwark in a larger map

And we hope to see you on Thursday, June 11th.

Expenses Protest...

2009-05-24T08:28:00.009+01:00

Well yesterday's protest was a little less than a protest. You can't seem to trust the public to get angry about anything nowadays...

But nonetheless OH put up a good show despite the SWP and actually got the event on the news.

And as usual we ended up having a couple of pints afterwards with the libertarians who turned up -- so things didn't turn out too badly.

Anyway, just thought I would share my photos of the event...

For more reviews of the day see Tom Paine and OH.

St Albans it's time to get rid of Anne Maine

2009-05-23T08:12:00.006+01:00

It can come as no surprise that my MP, Anne Maine, has come under the expenses microscope.

The local paper has been questioning her expenses for quite some time. And now the Daily Mail has a piece on her...

The daughter of Conservative MP Anne Main has been living rent-free in a flat that her mother claims second home expenses on.

The MP for St Albans has claimed £64,586 over three years on the flat in her constituency, even though daughter Claire Tonks has lived there during that period.

Mrs Main received a 10 per cent second home discount on council tax - even though this discount can only be claimed if no one lives at the property full-time.

Her main home is a large detached house in Beaconsfield, Bucks, 25 miles from St Albans, the Daily Telegraph reported.

She charged the taxpayer £1,095.68 a month in mortgage interest payments for the flat, along with service charges, utility bills and furnishing costs, the newspaper revealed.

Neighbours at her St Albans flat claimed they had never seen Mrs Main at the property.

However they were familiar with Miss Tonks, a marketing expert with Kids Industries, which helps companies target families.

This has to be the final straw for Anne Maine. And I ask the people of St Albans simply not to vote for her at the next election.

Because while she may not have done anything 'wrong' or 'broken any of the rules'. She is quite clearly one of the many MPs with their snout in the trough that we must kick out come the next election.

Expenses Protest -- Saturday 23rd May

2009-05-18T21:10:00.000+01:00

I will be going to this protest on Saturday in London to peacefully, but publicly, register my disgust at the expenses scandal.

I shall be there from 12pm, probably with my partner but not in any V get up, and it would be nice to see a few other libertarians there too.

I cannot emphasise enough how important it is that we publicly express our feelings about this rotten parliament. Because if enough people turn up we'll get on the news. And that makes it even more difficult for the sniveling retches at Westminster to ignore us and deny our right to a general election.

So if you do live in or near London please come along. And if it's too far for you to travel pass this message on -- via your blog, Facebook, Twitter or any other means.

Here's some rousing propaganda to get you in the mood...

And I hope to see you on Saturday.

H/T Old Holborn

General Meeting -- A short report

2009-05-17T12:52:00.008+01:00

Well Saturday was a great success as we had a really good crowd down for our first General Meeting.

It was good once again to see some new faces. And it was nice to have an opportunity to explain to the members what we are planning over the next few months and how they can get involved.

We also introduced the constitution to the members which didn't cause too much of a stir. And the Q+A session at the end gave us a chance to answer some of the many questions our members had.

And, of course, we ended the day with a nice drink in the sun.

Thank you to everyone who attended, I hope you enjoyed it.

More restrictions on protests at parliament

2009-05-15T10:00:00.003+01:00

You've got to hand it to politicians -- they've got some cheek. In the middle of the expenses row and they're still trying to destroy our freedoms...

Tamil protesters today vowed to fight proposed new legislation designed to push them out of Parliament Square.

Proposals were drawn up during an emergency meeting to give police the power to move people on from the square and to make it illegal for demonstrators to camp out overnight.

Westminster Council hopes the legislation can be passed before parliamentary recess in June. It would affect all protesters including veteran peace campaigner Brian Haw.

The proposals have been drawn up by parliament speaker, Michael Martin with consultation from Westminster Council, the Home Office, City Hall and the Metropolitan Police.

Westminster Council is also prepared to hand over ownership of the pavements surrounding the green to the Greater London Authority (GLA) - making any protest camp on the sidewalk illegal.

This is a disgrace. You may, like I do, disagree with the Tamil's protest. But everyone should have the right to protest outside of their parliament.

Politicians complain about being described as out of touch. Well if they won't let people voice their opinions outside parliament can they be surprised?

This simply adds to my feeling that politicians simply think they are our lords and masters.

Constitution and Agenda

2009-05-15T08:00:00.001+01:00

Just letting everyone know we have now published the constitution and agenda for tomorrow's General Meeting.

Note: If you want a nice printed version of the constitution you'll be able to get one tomorrow.

General Meeting Update

2009-05-13T20:58:00.006+01:00

This is just to let non-members know if you fancy a drink with us after our General Meeting this Saturday we'll be heading to St George's Tavern.

It's just round the corner from our meeting in Victoria and we'll arrive there between 3.30 - 4.00. For more info on the pub see here.

We hope to see you on Saturday.

We're sorry.... we've been caught

2009-05-11T19:36:00.003+01:00

I have to say I'm quite enjoying the current expenses crisis, that is to say I'm enjoying seeing them being publicly exposed. After all it's not as if we weren't already aware this was going on.

While they try to escape future responsibility by passing authority to another 'independent' organisatiion, there is one simple way to make sure they are held to account.

At the ballot box.

LPUK South East General Meeting

2009-05-10T15:19:00.006+01:00

This is just to remind all South East members that our first SE Branch General Meeting is being held next Saturday -- May 16th.

It is at the Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria, London^*. The meeting begins at 1:30pm but we suggest you arrive some time between 1:00pm and 1:15pm.

The meeting will provide you with an opportunity to meet the newly formed Branch Committee and see the Branch Constitution.

We will also provide ample time to discuss the constitution and any issues surrounding campaigning and organisation.

Remember the meeting is only open to LPUK members based in the South East. So please remember your membership number.

Here's a map...

View The Grosvenor in a larger map

And we hope to see you on Saturday.

^*Full Address of venue: The Grosvenor, 101 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1 0SJ