2022 Predictions and Wishes – Part 2

Image from Ragnar1904

With the New Year upon us, we asked our contributors for their predictions on, and wishes for 2022.

Thanks to Tam, Nigel, and Peter for their contributions.

< Back to Part 1 | On to Part 3 >

“In Scotland I predict we will see the SNP try to centralise more power. An attempt at least to introduce more draconian legislation with possibly another attempt to bring in Named Person Legislation or something similar”

Tam Laird is the leader of the Scottish Libertarian Party.  They can be found online, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

I think the most worrying development we may see this year is the introduction of CBDC (central bank digital currency) It may be the beginning of a cashless society which has massive implications for individual privacy and liberty. Especially if it goes hand in hand with a concerted effort by government to erase competing crypto currencies such as bitcoin. No easy task but government may decide that if you use crypto you are automatically involved in criminal behaviour and if caught face stiff penalties. They did it with gold before and there’s nothing to suggest they wouldn’t try it with crypto currencies.

Prediction: In Scotland I predict we will see the SNP try to centralise more power. An attempt at least to introduce more draconian legislation with possibly another attempt to bring in Named Person Legislation or something similar. They may also attempt to ban home schooling.

Wish: What do I want to happen? That’s simple enough. For the Scottish Libertarian Party to increase its support and membership and perhaps even win a few seats in the upcoming council elections in May.

“I would also like the government to abandon its plan to sack NHS staff who are not fully vaccinated and respect their right to informed consent.  Most nurses know more about health than the ministers responsible for this decision”

Nigel Jacklin is a statistician and market researcher.  He also runs www.TheDemocraticNetwork.org which helps new and independent candidates stand in local elections.

Prediction: Many of us who would like to break the hold of the Westminster parties on local Councils will fail to prepare for and take advantage of the May 2022 local elections.  Whilst there are not too many places with elections this year, rules and guidance which are created centrally tend to get implemented locally.  I predict there will be more candidates who feel the measures taken by the UK government in response to Covid-19 have done more harm than good.  These candidates will be best placed to counter over-reach by Council jobsworths.

Prediction: One month will be the warmest/coldest/wettest/driest month for the past 20 years.  This is a statistical joke.  Another would be predictions that something very bad may happen, to justify some imposition.

Wishes: My wish for 2022 is that the NHS resets the Covid case definition such that it is in line with other diseases.  This will put an end to the narrow focus on Covid and mean further restrictions will be unjustified.  I would also like the government to abandon its plan to sack NHS staff who are not fully vaccinated and respect their right to informed consent.  Most nurses know more about health than the ministers responsible for this decision.

“Many of us are politically homeless and will be seeking a values-based, principled alternative to the increasingly illogical, irrational and irrelevant legacy establishment and established parties”

Peter Sonnex, former Brexit Party candidate and political campaigner. Peter can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Gettr.

Through our conversations together in 2022, even protests, in the public square – engaging, explaining, encouraging and exposing wherever necessary, essential freedoms of expression, speech, association and peaceful assembly – I make two predictions and have one wish.

Prediction: The mainstream emergence of hopeful alternative, beneficial and compelling Covid and Climate narratives. As with Brexit, many commentators in 2022 will be manoeuvring themselves to the right side of history as the increasingly illogical, irrational and irrelevant legacy narratives crumble.

Prediction: The mainstream emergence of a hopeful alternative, beneficial and compelling political opposition. Many of us are politically homeless and will be seeking a values-based, principled alternative to the increasingly illogical, irrational and irrelevant legacy establishment and established parties.

Wish: “Modelling” is brought back into the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study – building on our knowledge – of the structure and behaviour of the physical, social and natural worlds through predictions (hypotheses), objective observations and experimentation. We used to call this “science.”

Two notable enablers in all this, for me, are the Reclaim Party and The Together Declaration – both founded on common denominator values and principles that may transcend self-interested party politics and politicking to paint an irresistible picture of a shared future.

Image from Jan Bowman

< Back to Part 1 | On to Part 3 >

2022 Predictions and Wishes – Part 1

Image from Ragnar1904

With the New Year upon us, we asked our contributors for their predictions on, and wishes for 2022.

Thanks to Nick, Mal, Chris and Josh for their contributions.

On to Part 2 >

“Next Winter, there will be fears of the NHS capacity being swamped by Flu, regardless of Covid, as they are every year”

Local Brexiteer Nick Mane.

Prediction: Next Winter, there will be fears of the NHS capacity being swamped by Flu, regardless of Covid, as they are every year and always will be until spare capacity (e.g. Nightingale hospitals) are permanently factored in. This won’t happen, so we will go straight back to square one!

Prediction: The poorer EU countries will use their rejection of EU Law supremacy as a bargaining chip to get better allocation of the pot from the richer EU states. This will cost richer EU economies and their citizens so they continue to pay more and receive less. Public pressure will turn ugly against the EU, let’s face it, the French spent an entire year rioting and this was before their EU budget went down the toilet!

Wish: I would love to see the hospitality sector have VAT removed from alcoholic sales (supermarkets don’t have VAT levied) and costs such as mandatory door staff at all live venues relaxed (so smaller venues can afford to pay musicians) so we could return to the roaring twenties (post Spanish flu), revive our nightlife, let people go out and feel good again. More comedy, more music, more entertainers, more art, more reasons to be cheerful, more revenues for the government from a booming hospitality sector. Sadly, this has absolutely no hope of happening as Boris will be busy fighting off a leadership challenge and is way too risk averse to actually make much needed and decisive changes.

“What I would love to see happen is a return of secondary industry to the West. Giving real ordinary people good stable working class jobs”

Libertarian Mal McDermott.  Mal can often be found at London Agora meet-ups. 

Prediction: All Covid sanctions will be lifted in the first six months of the year.  With the Omicron variant spreading through the population regardless of vaccination status and thus in turn bringing herd immunity with a lower mortality rate, the government will have to declare the epidemic over.

Prediction:  The EU bond market will collapse and a major player will begin the leaving process. The EU has being playing a risky game with bonds for years now and it’s use of the ECB as a constant buyer is not sustainable. There is a reckoning coming that will not be bailed out and this could definitely happen in 2022.

Wish: What I would love to see happen is a return of secondary industry to the West. Giving real ordinary people good stable working class jobs would be the best thing that could happen to us right now. Over relying on our ideological and geo political enemies is a disaster waiting to happen, combined with the alienation and disillusion caused by too many people working in the service industry. My hope is that somehow, some way we could bring real productive jobs back to the West.

“the anti-scientific, anti-human health crisis narrative peddled by governments has been rendered ineffective at convincing the millions of individuals who are awake and actively resisting the removal of human rights”

Independent Libertarian Chris Wilkinson. Chris is the host of the Libertarian Listener and can be found online and on Facebook.

Prediction: My first prediction is that the trajectory of increasing authoritarianism and tyranny on the part of states across the world will continue under the name of COVID-19. It is now abundantly clear that the anti-scientific, anti-human health crisis narrative peddled by governments has been rendered ineffective at convincing the millions of individuals who are awake and actively resisting the removal of human rights including the right to protest and freedom of speech, and the push for mandatory vaccination through a coercive state-funded fear mongering propaganda campaign among other priorities. That narrative has also been rendered untruthful in the face of mounting factual evidence to the contrary, yet our elitist masters are now finding themselves too far in to bail out – the vaccines are not reducing the spread of the virus and may be causing more harm than they cure, lockdowns have been proven on no fewer than three occasions in Britain to not stop the transmission of disease, social media giants are censoring information that contradicts their chosen (false) narrative, the wearing of face masks is ineffective and has become a socialist identity issue, the use of social distancing and enforced isolation has split families apart, driven people to avoidable suicide and has spurred domestic violence. Above all, the elderly and vulnerable who are ill have left to die alone. All of this will undoubtedly worsen during the coming year.

Prediction: My second prediction is that Western capitalism will be threatened through a systematic destabilisation of the global financial system and the installation, through COVID passports and other measures, of a rudimentary social credit economy under the tagline of the ‘Great Reset’. Inflation in developed countries has already started an upward cost-push spiral as wages rise without being matched by increases in production – coupled with supply chain blockages and shortages, tax increases, profligate government spending, job losses and the worst downturn in economic activity seen in centuries, the conditions are ripe for a major catastrophe. As already seen, the deleterious impact of universal COVID passports will have on international travel, cultural development, consumer spending and standard of living will compound the decline. While China continues its imperialist objectives in belt and road nations and expands its military in preparation for a war in the mid-2020s, the West is still obsessively concerned with bottom-of-the-list issues such as enforcing the use of gender-neutral pronouns and embracing illegal immigration as though it were virtuous. With globalists occupying key political positions across the globe parroting a uniform narrative that actively places individuals in jeopardy, we couldn’t be worse prepared for what’s to come.

Wish: My wish for 2022 is that the freedom movement continues winning the information war against state and media institutions. The early signs are positive, not least the consistent strength in numbers witnessed at protests and rallies even in colder months but also the new streams of alternative media emerging that are presenting unbiased and accurate information enabling individuals to make informed decisions about current affairs. Unlocking individuals’ ability to think critically is key to securing the real objective of restoring freedom. Beyond that, I’d like to see a push for decentralisation of the human way of life – an increase in self-employment, self-reliance and self-sustainability coupled with the empowerment that stems from private ownership. Though I see 2022 as continuing further the descent into collectivist madness, there are glimmers of a silver lining – but the real reward of liberty is for individuals to fight for and secure for themselves.

“I would like to see Steve Baker become the new Prime Minister should Johnson be ousted: a libertarian who is well read, & has been against government mandates since the beginning”

Libertarian, and economics writer Josh L. Ascough.  Josh can be found on Twitter and Instagram.

Prediction: 2022 is going to be an important year for those of us who are against the government’s mandates. 2022 will be exactly 2 years since the coronavirus act was established, which holds a clause that the act expires exactly 2 years from its inception; March 27th, with the possibility of an extension of 6 months if voted for. We must keep a watchful eye on the government; more so than before. The government will very likely extend the act for an additional 6 month period; during which time we should expect the milking of measures more draconian than prior, as Johnson and co are of the mindset that to do something is better than nothing; even if legitimate data doesn’t support such measures. If the act has not expired after at the latest of 27th September 2022, then in technicality the government will be breaking the law, & people must demand they abide by the act & allow for its expiration.

Prediction: With Johnson losing a parliamentary seat which has been held by the Conservatives for 200 years, a vote of no confidence is likely to occur. The most probable candidate is Rishi Sunak; the economically illiterate chancellor of the exchequer; new enough to the political game & ambitious enough to be a puppet PM.

Wish: I would like to see Steve Baker become the new Prime Minister should Johnson be ousted: a libertarian who is well read, & has been against government mandates since the beginning; it is an unlikely event though that Mr Baker would be elected, though if he were it would be the first time I’d be proud to vote for a candidate & actually believe in them, rather than begrudgingly voting for the candidate I despise the least.

Wish: I wish I could be more optimistic about the future of civil liberties, economic freedom & the political sphere in Britain, but it appears the only right the British care about is the right to complain; so long as we can complain the government can do whatever it wants. The most optimistic predictions I can give, is that we’ll go to the default before the worst comes, rather than a better and brighter future; I sincerely hope I’m wrong and can look back, and be pleasantly surprised.

On to Part 2 >

No Passports Required – Wednesday 19th January #ThirdWednesday

A great No Passport Required #ThirdWednesday drinks in December, we look forward to the next drinks in 2022.

Come and meet-up with likeminded freedom lovers, at our No Passports Required drinks at The George, Croydon on Wednesday 19th January, from 7pm. 

We will hold these in association with Dick Delingpole’s #ThirdWednesday Libertarian drinks club. 

Come and meet us at The George. 17–21 George Street, Croydon. CR0 1LA on Wednesday 19th January, from 7pm.

A Shadow Cabinet best left in the shadows.

When Sir Keir Starmer first announced his shadow cabinet back in April 2020, we reviewed the members and could only find the unelected Lord Falconer, who seemed to believe in enacting the democratic vote of 2016 to leave the EU.  Following the loss of the Hartlepool by-election in May this year we reviewed the reshuffle and found Labour still couldn’t find any MPs for the shadow cabinet who like 52% of voters, supported us leaving the EU.

Sir Keir has again shuffled the shadow cabinet and we have reviewed it to see if any of the new intake are more reflective of the British electorate?

Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office – Baroness Chapman of Darlington

Jennifer Chapman came into her role in June this year.  Previously an MP, she campaigned to remain in the European Union in the 2016 EU membership referendum.  Not wanting to honour the referendum result in 2019 she said “We got here through a democratic vote and the only way to proceed is through another democratic vote”.

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Peter Kyle MP

Kyle campaigned for remain during the EU membership referendum, 2016. In June 2018, he said “Brexit is a big deal but it’s not a done deal”. Kyle put forward an amendment to Theresa May’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, aimed at not honouring the original referendum, and to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on the condition that the deal on offer would go back to the British people through a confirmatory vote.

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – Wes Streeting MP

Streeting campaigned against Brexit in the run up to the 2016 EU membership referendum.  Not honouring the original referendum he tweeted that the NEC had “made the right call and confirmed that a public vote will be in our manifesto for the European elections”.  He described those who believed we could walk away from the EU without a deal as “Brextremists”.

Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department – Yvette Cooper MP

Ms Cooper said the Leave campaign was “being led by the hard right of the Tory party” who had “never been friends to public services or low-paid workers.  During the Brexit process, Cooper consistently fought against honouring the referendum result if it meant a no-deal Brexit.  Cooper tabled a private members’ bill, again with the intended effect of preventing a “no-deal” Brexit.  In the complete opposite of what we have seen in reality with rising wages she said “working people will be hardest hit by Brexit”.

We can see none of the new Shadow Cabinet members are supporters of Brexit.  But Labour also have people attending the Shadow Cabinet, let’s see how they fair?

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Pat McFadden MP

Pat McFadden was opposed to a no deal Brexit and supports a close trading relationship with the European Union.  Not honouring the original vote, McFadden was in favour of a second referendum to give the people a final say on leaving the European Union (note to Pat, we had already had that say).

Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords – Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Roy Kennedy, Baron Kennedy of Southwark took up the role in June.  Baron Southwark appears to have a problem with constrained labour markets giving working people a pay rise.

Once again not one MP, not one Lord, in favour like 52% of voters, of Brexit.  Worse than that many members of the Shadow Cabinet wanted to ignore the referendum and have the people of Britain vote again, and no doubt again, and again, and again, until we voted the way they wanted.  The Labour Party is not yet proving it can be trusted with democracy.

Podcast Episode 62 – Sandy Wallace: Tyranny in Disguise, Johnson’s Troubles & Mayoral News

We are joined by Sandy Wallace, a Scottish Libertarian Party councillor from Aberdeenshire, as we discuss the new Covid restrictions, Boris Johnson’s recent troubles and the latest developments in the fight to be Croydon’s first elected Mayor. We then chat with Sandy about being a Libertarian in Scotland and the state of politics north of the border.

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Missing: Croydon’s Bus Shelters

By: Zachary Stiling

Croydon residents will have noticed the disappearance of bus shelters across the borough. The old ones were cheap-looking and nasty, but never so awful as their so-called ‘Smart City’ replacements.

Since early 2020, Croydon Council has been working with VALO Smart City towards the ‘Replacement of existing Croydon bus shelters… with new bus shelters and advertising panels, providing an opportunity to embed ‘Smart City’ technology and to upgrade the existing paper advertising with digital advertising screens.’ The programme concerns all 158 shelters which are the council’s responsibility, but not those operated by Transport for London.

“VALO Smart City is a New York-based company which conceals its purpose behind unintelligible jargon”

VALO Smart City is a New York-based company which conceals its purpose behind unintelligible jargon. According to its website, ‘VALO’s Smart City platform makes cities more efficient by collecting real-time data for city services and infrastructure, such as transportation, utilities, security, and pollution. VALO is a smart city integrator that aims to better people’s lives around the world through the Internet of Things technology.’ Croydon Council tells us the shelters will monitor air quality, noise, footfall and traffic flow.

The scheme is spearheaded by Opama Khan, whose changeable but permanently nonsensical job title is currently ‘Head of Digital Services, Access & Reach’; she is ‘Leading delivery of an ambitious strategy to enhance the borough of Croydon through digital innovation and technology.’ Nobody voted for her, but she wields power over Croydon and won’t be underpaid (the council’s outgoing Chief Digital Officer, Neil Williams, was on over £100,000 a year).

“What are we to make of this, apart from that it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money when the old shelters worked perfectly well, and that a council which has just received a £120 million bailout after bankruptcy ought to be more careful?”

What are we to make of this, apart from that it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money when the old shelters worked perfectly well, and that a council which has just received a £120 million bailout after bankruptcy ought to be more careful? Suffice it to say, the council hasn’t revealed the cost but it claims it will generate £6.75 million in advertising revenue over 10 years. One fails to see how it should generate more than the old bus stops which also displayed advertising, but £6.75 million doesn’t seem much considering the council spent £5.4 million on a 2017 revamp of East Croydon bus station, which amounted to smothering the shelters in crass primary colours best appreciated by small children.

It’s pure hypocrisy for a council which subscribes to climate alarmism to outsource its bus shelters to an American company. Like all tech products, they are surely to be made in undeveloped countries, with raw materials, constituent parts and the finished shelters having to be transported thousands of miles before they arrive in Croydon. There may even be a bit of child labour somewhere along the line. And because they are to be online constantly, they are going to require a constant supply of power.

“They may not look misplaced on central Croydon’s streets, besieged as they are by glass-and-steel Babels, but they have no place in the suburbs”

The aesthetic of the shelters may be described as ‘industrial neo-modern’. At night, they will be tackily lit by LEDs. They may not look misplaced on central Croydon’s streets, besieged as they are by glass-and-steel Babels, but they have no place in the suburbs. Croydon’s suburbs were built in accordance with the Arts & Crafts philosophy intended to combine the beauty and healthy qualities of the countryside with the convenience of the town. To introduce the ugliness of stark utilitarianism to such a landscape would be to the detriment of all residents. Far better would be to supply semi-rural and suburban areas with traditional wooden shelters which could be made by local craftspeople for minimal cost.

Most of all, the great evil of the Smart City which affects us all is the spread of Big Brother. One may wonder how a bus shelter monitors footfall and traffic flow. That’s easy – it has cameras which, with its internet connection, might be viewed at any time from some central H.Q. With our government demonstrating increasingly authoritarian tendencies, surveillance bus shelters are not our friend.

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No Passports Required – Wednesday 15th December #ThirdWednesday

Thanks to all who attended our No Passport Required #ThirdWednesday drinks in November, and great to see some new people there.

Next up are our December Drinks.

Come and meet-up with likeminded freedom lovers, at our No Passports Required drinks at The George, Croydon on Wednesday 15th December, from 7pm. 

We will hold these in association with Dick Delingpole’s #ThirdWednesday Libertarian drinks club. 

Come and meet us at The George. 17–21 George Street, Croydon. CR0 1LA on Wednesday 15th December, from 7pm.

Net Zero – We came together to fight a referendum do we need a new one? – Part 5

As a group that came together to fight a referendum on membership of the EU, we thought we would ask you, what your views are on Net Zero, a possible Referendum, and more generally the environment.

Part 5 in our series of your views. More responses can be found from Part 1.

Thanks to Zack Stiling, and Roald Ribe for their responses.

“it would be arrogant and foolish to suppose that we could arrest a natural and inevitable greenhouse period simply by coercing the public to adopt a lifestyle which blends medieval feudalism with an enforced dependence on smart technology”

Zachary Stiling was the Heritage Party candidate in Kenley in the 2021 by-election, and was on the party’s GLA list the same year. Zachary has been interviewed by us and on our Pubcast.

Is global warming a threat?

No. Glacial and interglacial periods occur naturally across thousands of years and, since we made it through the ice age with little more than basic hand tools, fire and animal skins, we should be quite well equipped to cope with a projected rise of 1.5 degrees centigrade thanks to several millennia of scientific and technological progress. Even if global warming was a threat, it would be arrogant and foolish to suppose that we could arrest a natural and inevitable greenhouse period simply by coercing the public to adopt a lifestyle which blends medieval feudalism with an enforced dependence on smart technology. Presumably, some ‘net zero’ enthusiasts such as Barack Obama and Bill Gates are secretly of the same mind, or they would not both have bought coastal properties within the past year.

Should we have a referendum on enforced Net Zero targets?

No. Few members of the public have a detailed knowledge of climate and there is a danger that the government could increase its fear-mongering to manipulate voters, as the Remain side tried to do with the E.U. referendum. In the event of the government winning such a referendum, it would have a moral imperative of sorts to accelerate its Net Zero authoritarianism.

What action should we be taking on the environment?

The most important environmental action we should be taking is the protection and restoration of our countryside. Other than the fact that the countryside is an invaluable public asset, access to which is a lifeline for many people living in crowded urban areas, the destruction of it leads to phenomena which are immediately attributed to climate change. Before we get carried away with climate, a more immediate cause for loss of biodiversity is habitat destruction; a more immediate cause for flooding is the paving over of green land with impervious materials, which causes excessive surface run-off. We should also make an effort to reduce waste – so much plastic is unnecessary. As far as the climate goes, we should be making use of human ingenuity to adapt, not resorting to fear and authoritarianism in an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

“rational individuals should work for more individual freedom, which is the only action that will unleash the creativity and the economic environment needed to enable all to have enough surplus in their life to care about the environment they live in”

Roald Ribe is the Deputy Chair Political of The Capitalist Party (Liberalistene) (Wikipedia) of Norway. You can read our interview with Roald, and read below for an international perspective.

Is global warming a threat?

Within the current range of claims made, it is my understanding that no existential threat exists. If the sun were to expand, as it will at some point, that warming would be a threat.

Should we have a referendum on enforced Net Zero targets?

I am against letting any dictator, proletariat, group or majority control and run the lives of each individual. A referendum will not help much given the sense of doom and panic transferred into the population by bias and propaganda.

What action should we be taking on the environment?

The state or collective “we” should not do anything related to hypotheses about the planet’s climate. The “we” of rational individuals should work for more individual freedom, which is the only action that will unleash the creativity and the economic environment needed to enable all to have enough surplus in their life to care about the environment they live in.

This is the fifth set of your responses, further responses can be found from Part 1