Could we be on course for a second lockdown? According to the Government’s leading scientist, Patrick Valance, the UK faces 50,000 new Covid cases a day by mid-October if the current infection rate is not halted. But just how can this be stopped? What measures are the government considering to slow the spread of infection? – Sputnik Radio spoke with Mike Swadling on the UK’s Coronavirus response.
“Because the entire focus seems to be on COVID not the plethora of things that people die of and need health treatment for normally, the government’s completely taken their eye off the ball for what’s in the national good!”
“the curve hasn’t changed when we introduce marks or indeed, when we opened up pubs and it’s just carried on and the government unfortunately feels poised to think that they can make one more change and do something I don’t know why they think that I see no evidence of that. It they feel to me like the the communist dictators of the old Eastern Bloc”
“People are starting to see what an absolute farce this has been. I fear they won’t, the government will try to impose more but I hope that people have the good sense to just get back to normal and ignore these people that want to control us”
ex-NCC joint statement response to Libertarian Party press release
RESPONSE:
The 8 former NCC members have put together this statement to explain the situation:
In August 2020 we former members of the Libertarian Party UK (LPUK) NCC resigned from the NCC and the Party.
Subsequent to our resignations the LPUK issued a public statement (https://libertarianparty.co.uk/2020/08/27/onwards-and-upwards/) which presented grossly false insinuations about the circumstances of our departure. We therefore release this joint statement to address the misinformation presented in the LPUK’s statement, as well as the real reason for each of our eventual resignations from the LPUK NCC at that time.
Regarding the LPUK’s statement, we believe the assertion by the LPUK regarding a slide into populist nationalism is intended to paint a false picture of the circumstances of our resignations. In our view this assertion is not only a deflection from the truth but seeks to deliberately attack the reputations of each of us on false pretences.
In reality, our decisions to resign came in protest of the actions of certain individuals in the NCC at that time who in our opinion sought to target a fellow NCC member, Sean Finch, for removal in an unfair, unreasonable and biased manner that went utterly against core libertarian values which we believed the LPUK ought to uphold – namely, that an individual is considered innocent until proven guilty; that an allegation is not of itself evidence; that due process ought to be carried out in a fair, reasonable and impartial manner; that an investigation ought to be impartial; that decisions should be based on evidence; and that accusers cannot also be ‘judge, jury and executioner’ [the very definition of a ‘kangeroo court’].
Unfortunately such basic expectations were in our opinion rejected by some then on the NCC. Even the investigating officer engaged in behaviour that in our opinion sought to prejudice any forthcoming outcome for Sean Finch, including by publicly posting on Facebook in a manner that could prejudice any future action. A matter which itself is serious.
The former Chairman and others in the NCC sought to apply a fair, reasonable and impartial process in full compliance with the letter of the Party Constitution, and finding there was no evidence presented of conduct that should result in Sean Finch’s removal the then Chairman took no action to do so. The door was left open for any available evidence justifying such an outcome to be provided, but by the time of our resignations none was ever forthcoming.
Subsequently certain of the accusers, instead of providing evidence to support what in our opinion seemed to be their preferred outcome, supported a move to replace the Party Chairman with one of the accusers. At this the Party Chairman resigned believing he had lost the confidence of the NCC. The accusatory faction subsequently succeeded in having their preferred man elected as a temporary Chairman who continued to pursue Sean Finch, in our opinion unfairly, in spite of lack of evidence; in our opinion ignoring the strong likelihood of prejudice introduced into the process by the investigating officer; and by retaining a number of NCC accusers as ‘judge, jury and executioner’.
By the time of our resignations that temporary Chairman had failed, even after several prompts, to bring forward the matter of the Investigating Officer’s potentially prejudicial conduct on Facebook, for any kind of similar scrutiny before the NCC. In our opinion this demonstrated a clear bias and favouritism and suggested that he had no intention of challenging this conduct for which there is clear evidence, while being determined to pursue Sean Finch while lacking evidence.
We came to see the situation as follows: that an individual might join the LPUK, become an activist and candidate, commit resources, miles and a great many hours in campaigning in the Party’s name, and yet still be pursued with the intent to remove, unfairly, without justifying evidence, on the say so of a vocal few, a number of whom have demonstrated nowhere near such commitment. Not wishing to lend even tacit support to the LPUK while individuals pursuing what in our opinion was an unfair, unreasonable and biased approach sat in power over others, and being unwilling to lend our good names to what in our opinion was a corrupt vendetta by some in the NCC against Sean Finch without evidence to justify it, we each resigned as we each found the situation irreconcilable.
Based on this it is our opinion that any effort invested in the LPUK is effort that could be ultimately wasted. We therefore hold the opinion that the cause of libertarianism is best served elsewhere.
We hope that those who have been questioning the reasons for our resignations will now be more informed of our reasons. We note that were it not for the statement released by the LPUK we would not be having to set the record straight with this response of our own.
Having each made our own choices to resign based on the reasons given we harbour no ill will towards the membership of the LPUK and wish success to all individuals seeking to promote the cause of liberty. We do not believe any one individual or organisation has a monopoly on liberty and will be promoting libertarianism via other, we hope more fruitful, and in our opinion more libertarian means.
We discuss recent developments at Croydon Council, Brexit and some interesting appointments to the Board of Trade. We then consider various recent protests, the latest on the US Presidential Election and whether or not the BBC has a Death Wish.
England has come under pressure to reconsider quarantine rules for Greece after Scotland and Wales introduced new restrictions for the country in a bid to slow a rise in coronavirus cases. Looking at this story in more detail, Sputnik spoke to the Analyst Michael Swadling from the Croydon Constitutionalists, in this interview.
“The great risk to this country is that we are not acting in a normal manner and anything, be it holidays, schooling, work, travel, shopping… that gets us away from normal and continues to spread that fear and dread“
“God knows, we need a break more than we would normally. Blanket bans destroy our travel industry, hurt those countries, hurt people who have saved hard and put away for a holiday and finally get that break their family needs. For what? For what risk? What’s the actual impact we’re seeing here?”
“If we had a government that had any courage, a government that was in any way ready to lead rather than just follow, Boris would do that but sadly, he’s really made a problem for himself because he’s never shown any signs of doing that certainly since this crisis began”
“we’ve now created an industry in government of dealing with the pandemic. The pandemic isn’t there in the same way anymore and they just need to find new things to do. Unfortunately, holidaymakers are the people being punished by that incessant need from government to find something else to do”
The Foundation Party is a party of clear patriotic principles and feels the major political parties are no longer fit for purpose. We have spoken with the Party Leader Chris Mendes and founding member Councillor Mary Lawes.
Now we speak with new Party Chairman James Hunt. James thanks for your time.
You have been a member of the Conservative Party, UKIP, run a think tank, The Libertarian Conservative Group and now are a Party Chairman by age 23. How have you found the time, and what are the highlights of what you have worked on?
In my years in politics I have been an active member of UKIP, the Conservative Party and the Libertarian Party. During this period I founded a think tank called the “The Libertarian Conservative Group” with the aim of uniting both Libertarianism and Conservatism as I noticed that both ideological actions always fought each other when in fact they are more alike than they like to admit.
I have always found the time to be so active because I am someone who works non-stop when it comes to politics. It is a subject that is always on my mind morning, noon and night. I want a country very different from what we have now, a country that respects the smallest minority, the individual. This is the driving force that gives me the energy to be as busy as I have and I do not intend to stop anytime soon.
Your appointment said the party’s internal focus will be in “ethical party governance, full exploration of modern digital technology, and properly supporting the hard-working volunteers”. Can you tell us a little about how you plan to take forward work on each of these?
Almost every political party I have been involved in has had two fatal flaws. It has ignored its members and it has never offered them the support they need to go out and campaign on their party’s behalf. The parties I refer to are UKIP and the Conservative Party.
Instead of properly valuing the dedicated active member who has worked so hard for their party, they have valued and prioritised the big donor instead. However it is not the big donors who meet the general public, deliver the leaflets and keep the party’s candle lit, it is the ordinary hard-working members and supporters and this is where I intend the Foundation Party to be different.
With respect to “ethical party governance”, I want the party’s members to be involved, to be provided with a voice to speak up against things they both agree and disagree with. I want our party members to feel like the door is always open for them. I want to hear everything you have to say, every idea you have, and why? Because this is the only effective way to succeed as a political party -united as a team we can accomplish everything, divided and we will achieve nothing.
Fully exploring modern digital technology is something that the Foundation Party is successfully doing. We are using some of the latest cloud technologies to automate many backroom processes so that we can invest more of our time on policy and campaigning . This also helps us to reduce operating costs and increases our overall efficiency as an organisation. The more time we can spend planning on how we will improve the state of the country, the better!
“My intention for the party in next year’s elections are to a) increase the number of council seats we currently have, and b) increase the public’s awareness that there is a fresh, exciting political party out there providing the radical opposition”
You’re building up to the 2021 local elections. What are your hopes for the party in these?
You are right that we are currently working very hard to get our party ready for the 2021 local elections. My intention for the party in next year’s elections are to a) increase the number of council seats we currently have, and b) increase the public’s awareness that there is a fresh, exciting political party out there providing the radical opposition, nationally and locally, that the country so badly needs.
“I would advise all of your followers to read the Town Hall Rich List, from our friends from the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which shows you how each of these councils are very happy to waste your money without a care in the world, and in next year’s elections this is something that we will fight against”
We often highlight Croydon Councils wasteful spending, excessive debt and ever-increasing council tax, areas you are focusing on. What do you think of the performance of many local councils today?
The performance of all local government is nothing short of abysmal. They spend money that they do not have, they raise everybody’s council tax systematically, each year without fail, whilst making sure that their chief executives are paid handsomely, often more than the Prime Minister. I would advise all of your followers to read the Town Hall Rich List, from our friends from the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which shows you how each of these councils are very happy to waste your money without a care in the world, and in next year’s elections this is something that we will fight against.
More broadly what policies do you see the party focusing on in the coming elections?
Broadly speaking the Foundation Party is radically different to the other parties. We believe in a confident bottom-up society shaped by the choices, innovation and good judgement of the people, with overriding government power that is cautious in nature, limited and robustly held in check, because the people are the masters, not the servants, and the true source of our success.
So our policy priority generally is about enhancing your ability to choose. We believe in lowering the tax burden on millions of ordinary families and millions of hard-working businesses so the people can choose how more of their own money is spent. We believe in free schools and the right for parents to choose the education for their children. And we believe in a democratic self-governing nation so the people can choose the government that governs them.
Locally we want to see decisions on major local issues made locally, rather than in Westminster, by devolving powers downwards to local authorities. We want to lower council tax. And we want to import long overdue financial discipline into Conservative and Labour controlled councils up and down the country who have a long track record of wasting the peoples’ money and delivering very little in return.
The Foundation Party is truly a party on the side of the people.
“I have never known at least in my lifetime a government to perform this many U-turns just because of an outrage to something that is being expressed on Twitter. What Boris has shown is that being popular is more important to him than being a good leader”
We have recently seen a year of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister. What are your thoughts on that year?
I was hopeful that we at least had a Prime Minister that was a bit less out of touch with the people, but the last year has shown me how wrong I was. Whilst he may be delivering “Brexit” (as far as we know), he is failing in every other regard.
I have never known at least in my lifetime a government to perform this many U-turns just because of an outrage to something that is being expressed on Twitter. What Boris has shown is that being popular is more important to him than being a good leader, and in the words of the late and great Margaret Thatcher, “If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and would achieve nothing.”
I think Boris Johnson has gone down severely in the estimation of many, many people who were expecting much more, but then why should we expect any different from a Conservative Party politician of today’s calibre?
With likely increased unemployment, massive government debt and new ways of working impacting many industries, economics is likely to once again be at the centre of our politics. Given the opportunity, what are some of the main things you would do to kick start our economy?
There are two things I would do to kickstart the economy. Firstly I would cut all taxes to give both individuals and businesses more money to spend. They know how best to spend their money to get themselves back on track.
Secondly I would look at severely cutting government spending as it is not morally right to carry on borrowing record level amounts of money while the country is economically suffering. We need financial discipline and responsibility at times like this, and that includes the government. This would encourage businesses to invest, employ more people and grow their business, while allowing individuals to spend more money in the economy and increase economic growth – you cannot tax your way to economic recovery.
“What we need is a return to genuine liberty. The problem is, we simply do not have the political class that understands what liberty truly means, and even if they did, they wouldn’t for a moment have the courage to defend it”
With BLM protests, pro and anti-statue protests and the rise of cancel culture, we appear to be copying the culture war from the US. How do you think we bring the country closer together?
We can’t go wrong by reasserting the neglected values that pave the foundation of our country, such as freedom, liberty and democracy.
Statues should not be pulled down by mobs, they should be debated by the people and by their representatives and decisions made as a result of a democratic process. Speakers should not be cancelled, they should be free to speak and subsequently supported or opposed as a result of a free choice by those listening.
The recurring theme of this culture war is the “regressive left” and its abandoning of reasoned and civilised argument, in favour of uncivilised shouting and screaming.
But more crucially, we are faced with a movement that judges people on group identity rather than individuality. As groups like BLM charge a mass number of people with the collective crime of “white privilege”, for example, the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. of ‘judging not by the colour of our skin, but by the content of our character’ is thrown out of the window and everybody suffers.
What we need is a return to genuine liberty. The problem is, we simply do not have the political class that understands what liberty truly means, and even if they did, they wouldn’t for a moment have the courage to defend it.
You’re after people getting involved. What’s your elevator pitch to people who might like to join or help your party?
We are always looking for people who share the values of the Foundation Party. At the core of the Foundation Party are our cultural values. The value which I think sets us apart from other political parties in the United Kingdom is our integrity. We uphold the highest standards in all of our actions and seek to maintain the trust of our members, supporters and voters. To achieve this we hold ourselves to the highest standards ensuring that we are transparent in everything we do as well as accountable allowing for proper scrutiny at all times.
As we have already discussed the Foundation Party is not the first party I have ever been involved with. However one thing my experience has shown me is where other political parties get it wrong. Instead of recognising their members for their individual merit, they have instead given preferential treatment to those with the most money, or those with the most blind loyalty and who will fit into their little inner circle. This is something I will never allow to happen to the Foundation Party. In the end, democracy and accountability within such a party is undermined and the work towards continuous improvement and development of the party comes to a halt.
In my position as chairman, I will ensure that members are treated equally and afforded the utmost respect and courtesy at all times. We are nothing if not a grassroots party which rather than seeking a reliance on a well-resourced few, but instead the loyal support of a dedicated many.
My promise to our members is that the party will always support you should you wish to get involved in any way it can – because the central office is not the party, the members are.
Are these any thoughts you would like to leave us with?
We are at the beginning of a very exciting journey. There are millions of people in our country who are fed up with the status quo, and fed up with the complete lack of real opposition. Our politicians are interested not in defending the rights of the people, but the rights of the government.
The real opposition that our country needs – championing the peoples’ right to national self-government, robust law and order, freedom of speech, lowering our taxes, more responsible public spending rather than bankrupting the country every five years – is not going to just emerge on its own, we have to create it. We cannot endlessly complain while doing nothing about it.
We in the Foundation Party have taken the initiative so that one day we can elect Members of Parliament and elect a government that is truly on the side of the people. Join us and let’s fight together.
Growing up in the 80s it was common to hear “I can say what I like,, it’s a free country”. This has not felt true for some years. We have seen growing control from the state over what you can say, the business you can engage in, the food you eat, and what you can stop your children being taught at school. This gradual encroachment on liberty from governments, universities and Big Tech, has been little preparation for the tsunami against freedom we have seen in 2020.
Whatever you think of the initial 3 week lockdown, it was as an understandable response to a pandemic, and was imposed to simply protect vital health services. 5 months in, health services were not overwhelmed. The introduction of further requirements for facemasks seems only to happen because politicians and advisors have too much power and too little willing to give it up.
When the Coronavirus Bill was passed giving sweeping powers to the government to lockdown society few other than Steve Baker MP showed any concern at what was happening saying in the House of Commons “For goodness’ sake, let us not allow this dystopia to endure one moment longer than is strictly necessary”.
Since then we have seen advisors, the mainstream media, celebrities, big business, Big Tech and politicians of all parties, complain the lockdown wasn’t imposed soon enough, wasn’t harsh enough, and that people mostly stuck indoors weren’t taking it seriously enough. We’ve even had the police already given unprecedented powers, make up rules to tell people they can’t stand in their own front gardens. There are notable exceptions in the media like Toby Young with his excellent Lockdown Sceptics site, but there is no mainstream objection or leading politician questioning the erosion of liberty.
“You don’t have to win general elections to exert influence. If you can gain some support in the polls the major parties will take note”
What can we do about this? How can we reclaim liberty?
The Green Party with foundations in 1975 (as the Ecology Party), hit a high point in 1989 with 15% of the vote in the European elections, has never had more than 3.6% of the vote in a General Election and never had more than 1 MP. Yet all main parties are committed to net zero emissions and have we have a Department of Energy & Climate Change.
UKIP / Brexit Party whilst receiving 12.6% of the vote in 2015, and twice winning the European elections, managed only 2 MPs. Yet we had a referendum and have left the European Union (and let’s hope we fully leave at the end of the year). The SNP and Plaid Cymru were never major parties prior to the devolved assemblies in both nations. The reason I point this out? You don’t have to win general elections to exert influence. If you can gain some support in the polls the major parties will take note, you will empower sympathisers in them, and make strategists look for opportunities to win back your support.
Imagine we had a group, even small group of major politicians who were vocal about liberty. Politicians who could be invited onto mainstream media or write columns opposing new rules. Politicians who make speeches on liberty in the House of Commons. Mainstream figures who could be shared on social media. This would start to make a difference. It might not have stopped lockdown, but might bring about a quicker opening up, might stop further lockdown rules and bright ideas on advertising, or buy one get one free offers.
“a small group of MPs wanting to see off a threat from freedom focused candidates would likely be opposed to the governments next imposition on us”
Scared politicians are compliant
It would be great to be able to write that I believe a classical liberal party could start up tomorrow and with a little bit of advertising could capture 30/40% in the polls and be viable to form a government. I’d even like to be able to write that I think they could get 15% and really shake the establishment to taking on their policies. Nothing I have seen before or during lockdown makes me believe that. But 1%, and up to 5% with the right issues in some areas. Yes that’s possible.
Imagine we had a broadly libertarian party running at 1% in the polls and able to stand candidates in most of the country. At 1% (about 500 votes per constituency), 12 MPs with majorities of less than 1% would know their seats we’re at risk. At 3% a number quite achievable with some targeting of resources, 40 MPs would be at risk. At 5% (again possible with targeting), 35 Conservative (almost half their majority) and 20 Labour (almost 10% of their MPs) would be at risk.
Whatever one of these numbers could happen, a small group of MPs wanting to see off a threat from freedom focused candidates would likely be opposed to the governments next imposition on us. They would garner supporters in the mainstream and non-mainstream media, and be champions for the cause. Long before anyone mainstream was talking about a referendum to leave the EU, we had a multitude of opt outs from the EU and never joined the Euro, in no small part due to a small number of eurosceptic MPs. Imagine what a similar group could do for liberty.
Is this possible and if so, how quickly is this possible?’ At the 2019 General Election the Yorkshire Party proved to be the biggest of the small parties, running 28 candidates and receiving over 29,000 votes. The Liberals (an actually liberal party unlike the LibDems) managed to run 19 candidates averaging over 570 votes per constituency. Whilst economically more collectivist, strong on personal liberty, the Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) managed 27 and 20 candidates respectively and the Libertarian Party managed 5 candidates averaging 356 votes a piece. These relatively unknown parties, who all respect personal liberty managed a respectable 72 candidates (all of whom did and would have expected to lose their £500 deposits) and an average of 316 votes (about 0.6%) between them.
Based on the numbers above, and keeping in mind 2019 the Brexit Party took 2% of the vote, people who are likely to sympathise with this cause, it should be more than possible for a well organised party to run say ~200 candidates, get registered in polling, and make MPs take note.
What platform?
We have a Libertarian Party, a Scottish Libertarian Party, and a UK Liberty Party. The Brexit Party is broadly libertarian, UKIP is by its constitution libertarian. The Foundation Party, 5 Star party, and Time Party are all largely classically liberal. Whilst more economically collectivist the Liberals, SDP and CPA all agree with many of the core values of freedom, run decent number of candidates and reach communities most libertarians don’t.
Too many parties chasing relatively few votes is a problem, and one very difficult to resolve. People fighting for liberty are by their nature free spirited. It may be over the next few years the parties shake out and we see one or two clear leaders, or as an alternative we might see parties work either formally, (realistically needed to register in polling) or informally, together.
Away from the parties what might be the platforms they agree on? I believe they all agree on the following:
free speech
rule of law
democracy
devolution of power from the centre
value for money from what government does spend money on
Here you have the basis for domestic liberty, government spending (at all levels), constitutional reform, and a preference for democracies in foreign policy. Not a bad start. The Stockport Declaration written by a group of former Brexit Party candidates is a good overview of much of this. We saw in the 2019 election the benefit of a small manifesto for the Conservatives (62 pages), and even then almost no one can remember anything beyond ‘Get Brexit Done’. A few simple ideas, well publicised, get votes.
“As a minimum, each time you stand you will raise awareness. You may deliver or hand out some thousands of leaflets with a simple message supporting free speech, supporting free choice”
How to make progress?
As someone who has run for office 3 times without making much impact on the outcome I feel a little presumptuous writing this but please bear with me.
If the goal is to get support, copy the parties you are aiming to get support from. What does your local Conservative, Labour and even Green Party do? Do the same or similar. Major parties build up support from local councils (from Parish to County and every type in between). Down to just 11 MPs, you might wonder how the LibDems keep going, but when you know they have 2527 Councillors, and run 19 District councillors it’s less of a surprise. District councils have limited but real power, and influence how we live.
To get elected you firstly need to run for election. Council seats are free to run for and only need 10 signatures (2 for Parish) to stand. In many parts of the country elections are held annually, and may include Parish, District and County elections for the same area. There is an annual opportunity to run for election, sometimes multiple elections, all free. All requiring just 10 signatures from local residents to run. 5000 leaflets (colour, double sided, A5, decent weight of paper) are £100 (not cheap but not generally unaffordable) from my local printers, it can be less online. 5000 leaflets would cover most council wards, and depending on the area you live in, give you about 40 hours of delivery exercise!
Granted not so possible at the current time, but once back to normal street stalls in a busy high street can be an effective way to get your name out there and speak to people. Leafleting on public land, outside a primary school when parents collect their children or in the morning at a train station are great ways to get seen by many people and get a leaflet straight in their hand.
As Jordan Peterson says first ‘clean your room’, get to know your local community, if you can, volunteer locally.This improves name recognition for you, builds knowledge, builds your CV (political and professionally), is living by the rules you are proposing, and can be personally rewarding. As a school governor for many years, it is mostly an apolitical role, but I have found on occasion I have been the sole voice for parental choice, or stopping a ‘bright idea’ that isn’t as apolitical as the proposer thinks it is.
When you have an event, issue a press release, local reporters emails are normally on their website. The press probably won’t publish it (they might) but you can publish it and people are more likely to read an article titled ‘Press Release’ than one titled ‘street stall’.
Use social media as an add-on not substitute for physical activity. A street stall where you hand out a 100 leaflets, speak to 10 people in some detail, get seen by a thousand, and followed-up with a Facebook post on the local residents Facebook group, or maybe advertised to the local area (normally about 1p per person reached, £2=200 people), backed with a few tweets to #nameoftown, is a really effective add on to your day, and reaches out to new support. The Facebook post or tweet alone will simply speak to the echo chamber. Public Facebook groups work best when they speak to the public, about real issues relevant to them, rather than ways to share in jokes, or the talk about the least mainstream ideas to the committed few.
If you do all this will you get elected? Probably not, no. Unless you live in an area with a Parish council where it’s quite possible you can stand unopposed. You probably won’t win the first or even the second time you stand. As a minimum, each time you stand you will raise awareness. You may deliver or hand out some thousands of leaflets with a simple message supporting free speech, supporting free choice. You might organise events, get more local Facebook or Twitter followers, get one of many press releases published, the key thing is, you will be building support for the cause of freedom.
And what if you are elected, even as a loan voice on a Parish council? You get the opportunity to implement polices at a local level. You get to build support for ideas. You can write to you constituents, the press, or more widely as a Councillor. An elected Councillor speaking for liberty, that would be a big improvement on what we have today.
Building consensus
Elections generally happen once a year. Many of these parties are very small and the next member may live a few towns away! It can be a hard slog when a few of you are out campaigning let alone doing it by yourself, but why not work together?
Often the main enemy of most small parties is a lack of name recognition, the main enemy of personal freedom, is I think, lethargy. Why not work with other local parties to organise a debate or a local protest, an event, to jointly support a petition etc. Anything that gets your name/s and the cause out there.
Find something your local council is doing to restrict freedom and work with others to make that an issue to campaign on. Even simply organise joint drinks with another group as a bit of moral support and to share ideas. When parties are running at 5% they can campaign against each other when they are running at 0.005% they gain more working together.
Right now we do have restricted freedom (a potential campaign issue) but unless under local lockdown you can leaflet. If you have a local issue you can issue a press release or write a letter (and mention your party) to the local paper, and if they don’t publish it – you can. You can write an article for a site like this or better still this site! And most of all, if there are elections in your area, you can stand for election next May!
Dan Liddicott Libertarian writer, podcaster and political candidate, writes about state schooling.
Has lockdown proven we don’t actually need state schooling? That there are better ways of getting an education rather than rely on the government?
“It’s worth noting that our present system of education was invented in the 1800s to meet a very specific need – an obedient and trained population, discouraged of original independent thinking”
Putting the criticisms and worry generated by the state response to missed exams aside, for now, this is likely the start of a long conversation. But let’s begin by considering this briefly. It’s worth noting that our present system of education was invented in the 1800s to meet a very specific need – an obedient and trained population, discouraged of original independent thinking, with teaching limited to those licensed by the state delivering a standardised curriculum – designed in the industrial revolution and built on the Prussian model which wanted obedient soldiers as the end product.
Award winning teacher John Taylor Gatto wrote:
“In the long history of the human race, until the mid-19th century, no such institution as universal forced schooling (following a government design) ever occurred, because the idea is so ridiculous on its face.” (1)
Education expert Sir Ken Robinson, wrote:
“One size does not fit all. Some of the most brilliant, creative people I know did not do well at school. Many of them didn’t really discover what they could do—and who they really were—until they’d left school and recovered from their education.” (2)
In spite of the challenges lockdown posed, I can’t help thinking it perhaps offered more educational opportunities than barriers for those who wanted to seize them. Individuals were finally free – during ‘school hours’ – to pursue education and learning of things that resonated with their interests, passions and inclinations, rather than the ‘one size fails to fit all’ standardised curriculum.
As Kerry McDonald, of the Foundation for Economic Education put it:
“The vast technological platform that is now at our fingertips makes self-education accessible to all. It also makes clunkier forms of learning, like sitting passively in a classroom memorizing and regurgitating information from textbooks and a predetermined curriculum, seem passé at best. …Humans have an instinctual drive to learn and are able to learn an incredible amount of knowledge and skill in their earliest years. This natural curiosity continues into adulthood, but is often dulled by a forced system of education that prioritizes schooling over learning. The ability to self-educate can be schooled out of us, leaving us dependent on others to be taught. Technology changes the relationship between teaching and learning. It empowers the learner, supports the rapid change of knowledge creation, and lets the learner decide what to learn, when, and from whom. Learners may still choose to be taught, but their teachers work for them.” (1)
“Is it just possible, that classroom learning designed over a century ago is an anachronism? Has lockdown shown we don’t need school – except perhaps on a superficial level, as a place to put our kids while parents work?”
Is it just possible, that classroom learning designed over a century ago is an anachronism? Has lockdown shown we don’t need school – except perhaps on a superficial level, as a place to put our kids while parents work? Has the government response to the lack of exams demonstrated even they are not essential – do skills and knowledge matter more than grades? Certainly many graduates of 2020 will be proving that to future employers and Universities without any exams at all.
But what do you think? Can we do without the state school system? Is real education better achieved by technology? Is classroom schooling an out of date throwback to bygone era? Could genuine education leave schooling behind?
References taken from: (1) Boyack, Connor. Skip College: Launch Your Career Without Debt, Distractions, or a Degree. (2) Robinson, Ken. The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.
We are joined by Alasdair Stewart, the former Chairman of the Croydon Conservative Federation, for a discussion of Scottish politics. We discuss the SNP Government’s response to Covid, the Highers Results scandal, minimum drinks pricing and the new Scottish Hate Crime Bill. We then consider the new Scottish Tory leader, the demise of the Labour Party and the prospects for the 2021 Holyrood Elections and a potential IndyRef2.
