The Social Democratic Party (SDP) continued to exist after the merger with the Liberal Party to form the ironically named Liberal Democrats. The pro-Brexit party, anti-lockdown and anti-woke SDP have attracted some high profile support. We interviewed Andrew Bence, back in April and have published and worked with the party.
More locally Ian Woodleyis the party organiser in Surrey. An ex-Croydon resident and Palace fan, we spoke with him about the party’s plans in the county.
Ian thank-you for your time.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Ian Woodley. I am the Surrey Coordinator for the Social Democratic Party. I was born In South London and spent my school years in Croydon, Elmwood and Selhurst Grammar /High and now live in Woking. I run a couple of businesses that raise investment for the restaurant sector and British manufactured goods, I have 4 children and one grandson.
Food, Music and Sport dominate my personal interests, lifelong Palace fan, once chairman of Dulwich Hamlet FC, Harlequins supporter, Americana music and a keen home cook.
The party is gaining publicity, but it’s still fair to say the SDP is not a well-known as it once was. What first attracted you to the party?
The party has had a roller coaster past. It is 40 years old in January and hit the heights with the “gang of four” in the early 80s. Then followed what turned out to be a disastrous alliance with the Liberals which ended in a full merger and gave them the word “Democrat” which is something over Brexit they have obviously forgotten. Those who didn’t want to throw their lot in with the Liberals such as Dr David Owen kept the flag flying and the party has existed at grass roots level ever since. Membership is now growing as we have enjoyed greater visibility. Like most people I have gone almost full circle on political views as I have grown older, before joining the SDP I was an “inactive” member of the Conservative party although was never a fan of austerity and got very frustrated with the infighting and ill discipline over Brexit. I now very much feel at home.
“at the time of writing I really hope Boris doesn’t bottle it, we have come too far for a fudged compromise. I am in line with the party’sviews on lockdown in that what we really needed was a longer term consistent policy not the endless stop/starts which have destroyed some sectors and as for woke, I see this an unwelcome American import”
We described the SDP as pro-Brexit party, anti-lockdown and anti-woke SDP. Would you agree with these descriptions and what are your thoughts on where things are on these issues?
All of those things are certainly true although that sells us a bit short. We are very much Red Tory Blue Labour. We sit left of centre on economic matters such as a fairer distribution of wealth and renationalising the railways. As you suggest we are socially conservative although radical in some matters such as the abolition of the house of lords and creation of an English parliament. Specifically, at the time of writing I really hope Boris doesn’t bottle it, we have come too far for a fudged compromise. I am in line with the party’s views on lockdown in that what we really needed was a longer term consistent policy not the endless stop/starts which have destroyed some sectors and as for woke, I see this an unwelcome American import which has highlighted that our media and academia is laden with progressive liberals who are a real danger to free speech and British culture.
We are hopefully coming out of the worst of the Covid Lockdown crisis. What would you do to help us recover?
Firstly I would say that now there is news of a vaccine do not expect the government to change its approach. To me I think the discussion around state aid and Brexit are crucial. What the government need is free a hand to stimulate British Industry. I think the major difference between us and the other parties on this is that we would be far more interventional and not leave everything to the vagaries of the free market which would mean more jobs effectively exported to China. We have a buy British policy where possible for government procurement.
“We have a policy for new immigrants “All will be required to agree to a pledge to uphold and adhere to contemporary British values as a condition of migration” which will light up the wokeratti but is what we feel most British people would expect”
The SDP are a communitarian party, what do you think we should be doing to build a more coherent national community?
That isn’t a five-minute job as our communities have been undermined for decades. Culturally I think the governments Australian style immigration policy is on the right track in that we need to slow the flow to allow things to settle. Never were the British people asked for their views on mass uncontrolled immigration. Most are in favour of immigration but not at the speed it has happened in past decades a situation made worse by there never being a plan for integration. The free market liberals whether they be Labour or Conservative have viewed immigration as a means to plug gaps in the need for short term unskilled labour but without factoring in issues such as housing and the NHS which have become stretched. We have also hugely ignored the needs of our own working class who have understandably felt that they have been pushed to the back of the queue. What some people call racism is actually resentment which has built as a result of thoughtless government policy. We have a policy for new immigrants “All will be required to agree to a pledge to uphold and adhere to contemporary British values as a condition of migration” which will light up the wokeratti but is what we feel most British people would expect. As a nation we have grown afraid to actually say what we want on this issue.
Economically there are huge extremes of wealth and the North South divide is real. We keep hearing the term levelling up but that will not happen on its own and will need steering from government.
You’re an ex-Croydonian what are your memories of growing up here, and thoughts on the now bankrupt borough?
I spent years 2-22 in Croydon, as mentioned earlier I was at Elmwood in West Croydon, which had the countries first schools steel band! Going to see Palace at the age of 6, the last year of the 11 plus and going to Selhurst Grammar seeing the head boy wearing a cape. No more first year intake so we were the youngest boys in the school for 4 years in a row. Discovering Lady Edridge girls school even though Selhurst girls school was right next door. Working my Saturday job at Sainsburys in the Whitgift centre and the many pubs we used to frequent around Croydon. I must admit not being close enough to understand what has happened with Croydon council but I was saddened by the news as I am sure most old croydonians were.
“We have made ourselves busy in objecting to Surrey County Council’s bid to get rid of the 11 district and borough councils to create one mega unitary authority. Too big and not accountable”
How are the SDP making headway in Surrey, how have you been campaigning and what are your plans once we’re back to a more normal situation?
I only took on my role this summer so have not actually enjoyed a period of freedom to convene a meeting of existing members live so to speak and comms revolve around zoom calls . This is massively frustrating as it has been very difficult to make any headway. We are focused on getting some candidates out for the forthcoming Council elections in May and will be all guns blazing once we can get back to some form of normal. I think in common with most members of the party we believe we have a compelling message but as we get so little coverage progress is painfully slow.
We have made ourselves busy in objecting to Surrey County Council’s bid to get rid of the 11 district and borough councils to create one mega unitary authority. Too big and not accountable.
What are the local issues you think the party can make headway on in Surrey?
Surrey is very Conservative, all 11 constituencies are viewed as safe seats so we are under no illusion that we have an uphill battle. That said I feel there are a great number of disillusioned Tory voters who would certainly feel comfortable our policies and I think a number of people vote Lib Dem thinking they are centrist when on many issues they clearly aren’t. Housing and Transport are the big two. Its impossible for young couples to get onto the housing ladder and our solution is to dust off the concept of council housing which worked well for decades but then became ideologically unacceptable. We would also nationalise the railways its expensive and not very good and every Surrey commuter we feel would happily encourage a complete rethink.
If you could introduce two big changes Surrey and two nationally what would they be?
Only two? In Surrey as mentioned above, we must resolve the housing issues and make public transport more affordable and efficient, it should be our jewel in the crown.
Nationally, lets go big, proportional representation and abolish the house of lords. The people of this country will not get the government it needs and deserves under the current archaic system.
“Brexit was a fantastic reminder of this, forgetting the EU for a minute, it was the British people saying Oy! This is not what we want! That however was the start of a bigger fight to defend democracy not the finish as we found out”
Are there any thoughts you would like to leave our readers with?
Wow, haven’t I said enough. Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist, which I am not. We need to be very alive to the creeping globalism of huge tech firms, big pharma , vested interest and a political elite who seem to forget they are accountable to the people who put hem there. Brexit was a fantastic reminder of this, forgetting the EU for a minute, it was the British people saying Oy! This is not what we want! That however was the start of a bigger fight to defend democracy not the finish as we found out.
Learning the lessons of EU membership we must not sleepwalk into a situation where we find that our views and our vote no longer count.
The Scottish Libertarian Party a pro-Brexit and pro-Independence for Scotland, has recently reached an important political milestone. Back in April we interviewed Tam Laird the party leader. Now we are delighted to interview Aberdeenshire Councillor Sandy Wallace a first elected politician for the Scottish Libertarian Party.
I was the Councillor for Lower Deeside, where I live, from 1999-2007 under old one member FPTP rules. I was not re-elected when it went to multi-member STV wards at a time when the Conservatives went through a Hague/IDS/Howard period of being unelectable. I was talked into standing again by a close friend, Alex Johnstone MSP, who sadly has since died. The Conservatives won a mini landslide in 2017, which English readers will recall from Alex Salmond losing his seat in the GE a month after the Council elections. The ward is 20% Lower Deeside, rural farmland but in reality an upmarket dormitory for Aberdeen, then 80% Stonehaven, a gorgeous seaside harbour town. In England it would be rock solid Tory but we have tartan Tories to fight it out with
“I sit on the Communities Committee, which is Policing, council housing and social work. That is my opportunity to ask the police how their pointless war on drugs is going”
You sit on the Aberdeen Community Planning Board, The Regulation of Private Renting Sub – Committee and the Sustainability Committee, among others. What are you able to achieve in these roles, and what are the main challenges facing Aberdeenshire Council?
I have achieved the square root of bugger all which is why I flounced out of the Conservative Party. They have no interest in smaller government. Sustainability is enjoyable, mostly I draw attention to BS, and point out that the fluffy policies the council has merrily adopted actually have consequences. Planning has been fairly heart-breaking and was the camel back-breaking straw for me the council is run by anti-business NIMBYs. Gypsy Traveller Committee is good fun, the Chair likes having me there because I can give a pro-business and liberty perspective on the idea that perhaps we should stop trying to give gypsies services they don’t want but maybe just leave them alone to live on land they themselves own. I sit on the Communities Committee, which is Policing, council housing and social work. That is my opportunity to ask the police how their pointless war on drugs is going. Have they managed to bully anyone into choosing to give up drugs by threatening to take their kids into care or have them evicted? Yes, sadly, I have been reduced to that level of behaviour. The main challenges are that we have no money left and can’t get our head around doing less.
You had been a Conservative Councillor prior to moving to the Scottish Libertarian Party. What made you leave the Conservatives and what first attracted you to the Scottish Libertarians?
I did not join the Conservatives because I agreed with them, I joined because they seemed to be the party with the most chance of coming my way., They had dropped their stupid support for Clause 2a ( Clause 28 in England), dropped the poll tax and opposition to devolution. I had hoped they could continue the journey. They didn’t, but nobody else did either, so I have not been proved wrong. I am a very wet libertarian, I would say a Whig, a fanboy for Dan Hannan and Doug Carswell. Joining the Libertarians is my public expression of anger at the lockdown.
We speak at the time of Covid. How have you personally found the lockdown and what do you think of the Scottish Governments handling of the crisis?
Personally? I am one of the many people living the dream. Detached home, garden, financially secure, 80% salary on furlough, granted a pass for university work based on earlier marks. Who cares about the kids in the gig economy whose future is being squandered. Of course in reality, I am livid. Johnson looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights, but while Sturgeon is following identical policies, her motivation is totally different. This is what she dreamed of, an authoritarian regime that destroys people’s lives then calls them selfish for grumbling about it.
“The idea of letting somebody have a birthday party for a ten-year-old now seems like anarchy. We need to have birthday parties for ten year olds. With a magician. And a whole buffet of finger food that all the parents just sort of graze at”
As we move into 2021 what would you like to see done to help the economy and society recover?
It is a huge task because even if you lifted all restrictions tomorrow, 25% of people would still choose to follow some of them and every time you don’t buy a coffee, that is somebodies job at risk, and with it, perhaps her ability to stay in college. It honestly needs changes that are tantamount to revolution. The idea of letting somebody have a birthday party for a ten-year-old now seems like anarchy. We need to have birthday parties for ten year olds. With a magician. And a whole buffet of finger food that all the parents just sort of graze at. And car sharing. We have put society back 25 years, the only solution is to put government back 25 years.
My thoughts are barely printable. This is Humza Yousaf’s pitch for leadership when Sturgeon goes, his vision is a soft-focus form of fascism like Singapore or Malaysia.
If you we’re able to get more Libertarians on to Aberdeenshire Council what would you like to see done differently, how would you change the council?
Well if you mean Councillors of a libertarian frame of mind, most of what we do is defined by the Scottish government, so a tax and services cutting budget is not actually feasible. I would like us to run the planning system with a presumption in favour of development, whether it meets policy or not, unless there are actually constraints such as sewage. A neighbour with a bad attitude is not a constraint. a planner thinking the building is ugly is not a constraint. I would like us to seek to delist half our listed buildings so that people could afford to maintain them, including all the bridges the council actually owns. I would like us to regard the equalities agenda with the contempt it deserves, given that it is the bastard child of people who belong to parties that are actually institutionally racist
“I would like to see Scotland governed very lightly, more of it by local authorities than the Scottish government, with local authorities raising nearly all of their own revenue so answerable to the voter for value for money”
The party is both a pro-Brexit and pro-Independence for Scotland. What would be your vision for the future of Scotland. How would you like to see it governed in say 5-10 years?
I voted for the winning side in both referendums. I hope to see that the democratic mandate honoured. I would like to see Scotland governed very lightly, more of it by local authorities than the Scottish government, with local authorities raising nearly all of their own revenue so answerable to the voter for value for money. The UK government can carry on worrying about defence and foreign affairs, ideally not being involved in any foreign wars. More important than that, however, I would like to see us being a tolerant nation, one that welcomes economic migrants and treats asylum seekers with compassion but a bit of suspicion. I would like anyone who claims to be offended to be asked ” so what?”
Are there any thoughts you would like to leave our readers with?
I think George Foreman was a better fighter than Muhammed Ali, new Taylor Swift is as good as old Taylor Swift and John Stuart Mill should be core reading in states schools especially the bit where denounces the very concept of state schools
We are joined by Dick Delingpole as we discuss the US Elections Results, Lockdown 2, some “Despite Brexit” news and the fact that Croydon Council is now officially bankrupt. We then chat with Dick about his new found stardom and we play the Yes/No game with him.
Dr Tom Rogers has been a long standing supporter and party activist, and is the party’s Deputy Leader. He was also the party’s candidate in the 2019 Peterborough by-election and again, in the same year, in the General Election.
Tom thank-you for your time.
You’ve run twice in your home town for parliament, tell us a little about the campaigns and how you feel they went for the party?
Our policy as a party is to stand in every election that we can, as it’s a way of building the party, but especially promoting our deep conviction that Christian values and principles are crucial to us both surviving and then thriving as a nation.
I knew I had to stand when it looked like a by-election was coming up in Peterborough, where I live. The situation first arose when Fiona Onasanya, our sitting MP, was arrested in July 2018 for perverting the course of justice. However, we were on stand-by for nearly a year, unsure of whether the election was going to happen or not, and it finally took a recall petition for the election to be called and then we all went into an overdrive of activity. This was the first time we had stood a candidate in Peterborough and really wanted to establish ourselves in the city, and promote our Christian pro-life message. I had fantastic support from Sid Cordle, our party leader and also my agent in that election — he organised many supporters to come from all over the country to help campaign. We really put a lot of time and effort into personally making our party known to people – and undertook many hours of door-knocking, in order to explain who we were and what our policies are about. I had a certain apprehension, unsure of how people would take us — we of course met a certain amount of opposition, or people who were wedded to the main parties, but overall I was greatly encouraged by the level of support we received, as well as the number of people prepared to stand there and give us a hearing.
As you might expect we connected with a number of Christians, but also Muslims and people of other faiths, who were pleased we were making a stand particularly on the moral issues, for marriage and the family, and also in defence of parental rights over the new compulsory relationships and sex education, as government policy in that area had made many families anxious. People generally were also impressed, however, by our economy policies, and liked our idea of the Turnover Tax, which would ensure big multinational companies like Amazon and Google, who transfer their profits abroad, pay their fair share of tax here, and that’s how we would fund our financial support for marriage (£12,000 grant on getting married) and restoring the Tory’s £12 billion cuts to benefits.
In the by-election we were part of a very crowded field, but were encouraged to have come 7th place in the vote out of 15 candidates. For us, as a relatively new party, the election was largely about making our mark and getting our Christian message out there which we really did. For most people that by-election was really about Brexit, and there was a large protest vote for the Brexit Party, and, of course, the following General Election (just 6 months later) was also mainly about Brexit and there was a massive swing back to the Tories. We didn’t improve on our vote, which was disappointing, but on a personal level I had developed really as a candidate and was much stronger in debates, interviews and getting our message out in the local media. That was important as with the cold dark December evenings we didn’t have as much chance to do all the door-knocking that we did in the summer. Fighting two Parliamentary elections in the space of six months was certainly exhausting, and I was certainly ready for the Christmas break and to spend more time again with the family afterwards.
In the by-election you found yourself ‘cancelled’ from a hustings held in a church! Can you tell us about the events around that?
There were a number of hustings which took place during the by-election campaign — certain of which invited all standing candidates, which is the fairest and most democratic way, and others which just invited candidates from the “main parties”, and I could understand, even if I disagreed, that certain organisers would restrict things in that way given that there were 15 candidates. However, there was a large hustings organised at St John the Baptist CofE Church in the centre of Peterborough, where the criteria for who they invited was completely arbitrary and made no sense – they only allowed 8 candidates, which included the “main party” candidates, but also certain select and favoured smaller party candidates, including the newly reformed SDP and the unknown Renew Party, both of which had polled lower than CPA in previous elections. One would have thought that a Christian church would have actually wanted an openly Christian party candidate to participate at such an event. However, this “St John the Baptist” church certainly does not live up to name of the prophet they’ve adopted — they are a liberal, pro-LGBT ideology, so-called “inclusive” church who no doubt were uncomfortable with having faithful Christians on the platform who actually stick to the Biblical truth on issues like marriage and abortion, and other important issues of our day.
Anyway, we were not invited but Sid Cordle, acting as my agent, was determined that they should do the fair democratic thing and allow me onto the platform. We were in town on that evening for an earlier election-related event nearby, so we thought we’d go along to the St John hustings anyway. Sid tried to reason with the Chair, who was the vicar of the church, beforehand to allow me onto the platform, but we were again rebuffed. At the time I would have just left it, but Sid is a courageous man of God, on fire with the Sprit and he has no qualms whatsoever about taking his complaint to the audience. He therefore stood up before the start of the debate and addressed the audience, explaining that the selection of candidates for the debate was unfair and demanding that a vote should be taken on whether to allow me onto the platform. The Chair, Canon Black, would not allow such a vote to take place and stated the debate would go on with the chosen candidates as planned. Sid and I sat down. The first question was on Brexit and all the eight candidates had their say — I could see Sid next to me with his head in his hands deep in prayer through all this. The Brexit discussion was supposed to address the question of how each party would bring the country back together again after such a divisive debate. Sid was going to ensure the CPA had their say on this regardless — he stood up and again addressed the crowd, stating that only the CPA had the solution to this, as we would honour the result of the 2016 referendum and leave the EU, but guarantee another referendum 5 years after we’ve left so people can actually see and make up their own minds about how Brexit has worked out in reality. However, the Chair did not welcome this intervention and ordered security to remove Sid from the hall. So much for their “inclusive” church!
What does being deputy leader of the party mean in terms of a role, and what are you focused on?
Being deputy leader can mean different things in different parties. It does include being a stand-in for the leader, and sharing with certain frontline duties, such as media interviews and public speaking. However, in our party the deputy leader also has the very specific role of overseeing policy development and the manifesto, and that is what I am primarily focussed on at the moment. It’s very important for us that we have a manifesto that not only makes us distinct from the other parties, but also offers a positive vision and is unafraid of proclaiming real truthful solutions to our nation’s problems, no matter how “politically incorrect” they seem. We were very proud of our 2019 General Election Manifesto, not only of the strong pro-life and pro-family stance we adopted, but also the range of strong down-to-earth practical, fair and workable policies we have on a whole range of issues, from the economy to the environment. We are very blessed in our party to have many people with particular specialist knowledge and talents in many different areas, who were able to contribute strong policy ideas, for instance, in areas like social and health care. The development of policy is very much a collective exercise, in which those with a particular interest will want to contribute along the way, but it’s my role as deputy leader to ensure the process keeps moving and results in strong manifesto items to offer to the electorate at the end of it.
“many parents got to try their hand at homeschooling for the first time. It may not work for everyone, but many found they were actually quite good at it, that they enjoyed the experience, and, most important of all, their kids made far greater educational progress in that time than they ever would have done at a conventional school”
You’ve worked in Education for a number of years, what do you think of the impact of Covid on education and exams this year?
The impact of the Government’s totally erratic and disproportionate response to Covid-19 has been catastrophic across the board – to our economy, healthcare system, to most industries and countless businesses, to our education system, to people’s lives and livelihoods and, above all, to our basic human rights and civil liberties. Historians in future generations (as far as we have a future) will scratch their heads as to why we committed national economic suicide for the sake of a virus with a 99.9% survival rate, and which for most of the population results in an asymptomatic or relatively mild illness at worse. The Government actually had a very right and sensible approach to the ‘pandemic’ at the start of it all – which was to focus on safeguarding the elderly and other vulnerable groups at risk, whilst allowing normal life to carry on as far as possible, whilst natural herd immunity developed through the majority of the population. I guess there was no money in that approach though for Big Pharma and the vaccine-pushers, who just happen also to have the mainstream media in their pockets.
The education system is a case in point. The Government was rightly resisting shutting down the schools in early March, recognising the impact not only on children’s education, but on all the parents who would not be able to work because of new child care responsibilities. It was early recognised that Covid posed an incredibly low risk, if any, to children themselves. But the clamour of the lame-stream media’s cheerleading for school closures was quickly too much for them and the Goverenment buckled – to what end? Once they’d shut the schools for 3 months there was no easy solution to the problem of what to do about exams, etc. I don’t think going on predicted grades was necessarily the fairest thing to do, but was fairer than relying on some over-complicated algorithm and was probably the most practical.
Perhaps the one good thing about the school lockdown was that many parents got to try their hand at homeschooling for the first time. It may not work for everyone, but many found they were actually quite good at it, that they enjoyed the experience, and, most important of all, their kids made far greater educational progress in that time than they ever would have done at a conventional school. That was also our family experience and my wife decided to carry on homeschooling our 4 year-old as it worked so well for him. With the State having done so much to undermine the role of parents, particularly with the attack on their rights over relationships and sex education, then home-schooling during lockdown proved to be a very empowering experience for many parents.
Whilst on Covid how do you feel the established church and churches more generally have acted in lockdown?
It’s really been a tale of two churches.There have been many individual Christians, including brave clerics and pastors, and a number of Christian organisations and smaller churches, that have really discerned spiritually what is going on, and have raised a prophetic voice against the completely disproportionate and oppressive measures of the State. They have been in the minority though and in view of the catastrophic, Godless depravity into which our nation has descended in recent times, then it’s a spiritual no-brainer — if we’re taking the word of God seriously — that, as well as showing active compassion for those suffering, the Church should be declaring the reality of God’s judgement and calling for urgent national repentance.
Unfortunately, that urgent prophetic voice has been all but drowned out by the deafening silence we’ve heard from the established church and other main denominations — and that’s been a sad indictment of how compromised Christianity has become in the West. As a Catholic I was totally dismayed at the attitude of our Bishops which has throughout been one of total craven faithlessness. Their response to the Government has been not just one of total compliance — but, even worse, of over-compliance, to the extent that they have always gone even further than required — as if they believed they could earn extra brownie points from the State. For example, when announcing the national lockdown the Government initially wanted to ban collective worship but keep the churches open for private prayer. However, not content with those oppressive measures the Catholic bishops actually lobbied the Government to go the whole hog, persuading them to shut up the churches altogether! So not only were we denied Mass and the Sacraments (which are supposed to be very essentials of the Catholic faith) for over three months, but the Bishops also denied us entrance into the house of God. That has had a devastating effect on many of the faithful and has sent an appalling message to the world concerning what the Church actually stands for — or even whether it can still stand for anything at all. Look, if Jesus and countless of his faithful followers ever since could mix with lepers, and tend to desperate souls in some of the most dangerous situations on earth and in the history of mankind, how could the Church now simply shut up shop in response to a virus with a 99.9% survival rate? Take measures to protect the vulnerable yes (if they choose to be protected in that way), but give some hope and meaning, why don’t you, to what this life is all about.
Thankfully my faith in God, if not Church leaders, has only grown stronger through all this and I know He will use these events, and the tribulations and persecution that are likely to come, to purify His Church of all the dross so it will be more faithful, more prophetic, more full of the Spirit, so it will do what it was created to do — which is to save souls and represent Christ on earth until His coming.
“we have to keep reminding people of the complete humanity of every unborn child — who is not just a potential life but an actual human life just like each of us”
The CPA works to protect the unborn child. Abortion isn’t an issue we’ve seen gain the same traction in the UK as say in the US. What is your party’s policy on abortion and what are one or two things you would you say to our readers who might be less familiar with the issue to persuade them to it?
We are a 100% pro-life party in that in our manifesto we pledge to protect the right to life (from intentional killing) of every innocent human being from conception until natural death. That is the only way for a Christian party to be. EVERY LIFE MATTERS for the CPA. So in practice that means complete repeal of the 1967 Abortion Act and 1990 Human Fertilisation Act so that all unborn children are legally protected from intentional destruction. We would also repeal the Northern Ireland Act 2018 which was so abused and hijacked in order to impose abortion on that very pro-life part of the UK, completely against the will of the electorate there. We would legislate for a new Offences Against the Person’s Act, if necessary, to prohibit abortion, embryo experimentation and all forms of euthanasia.
We do recognise, however, the difficulties often faced by those who turn to abortion. We would support the nationwide provision of pro-life pregnancy care services, including provision of accommodation for women made homeless by pregnancy, pregnant women with special needs and one-parent families. We would divert the over £200 million of UK taxpayers’ money spent each year on funding abortion here and abroad onto supporting any mother in a crisis pregnancy situation. We would also ensure recognition for the millions of women, and men, who have been deeply affected by abortion. Post-abortion trauma affecting many women must now be recognised and non-judgemental post-abortion counselling will be made available for any woman or man who wants it, no matter how long ago the abortion took place.
Surveys of public opinion still show that there is a general unease about abortion in the population, and most people in UK certainly don’t want an abortion free-for-all, or believe in a “woman’s right to choose” no matter what. For instance, a 2017 ComRes poll (the most extensive UK polling in last decade on abortion) showed only 1% of the population (and 1% of women) in favour of allowing abortion up to birth, and around 60% of women favoured a reduction in the current legal limit. So the abortion industry and it’s champions in Parliament, like Stella Creasy are clearly out of step with public opinion. I’m not saying public opinion is where we are at this stage, but it’s not where the abortion industry is either — probably somewhere in the middle. Most people know in their heart of hearts what abortion really is. The truth has always kept its foot in the door.
The pro-abortion lobby has naturally always tried to make the unborn child a complete irrelevance, to be discarded whenever him or her is inconvenient. So we have to keep reminding people of the complete humanity of every unborn child — who is not just a potential life but an actual human life just like each of us, with a lifetime of gifts and contributions to the world in front of them. Every abortion stops a beating heart — that’s a fact because the human heart is there and beating from just 21 days, that’s 3 weeks, from conception. In fact, some of the latest research from Oxford University suggests even earlier —that the heart could beat from just 16 days, or 2 weeks! Human life is so miraculous in its wonder and complexity that each and every human being can only be the beloved creation of God. Also we have to listen to the stories which demonstrate how abortion is never the right answer, even in response to sometimes very real and genuine difficulties — stories from the women and men who have not found abortion to be the solution to their problems, but something that just created a whole set of new and worse problems. And those who rejected or survived abortion, who were blessed by the choice of life, and now enjoy the gift of life which in so many ways conveys its own amazing answer.
We have seen an explosion of the culture wars in the UK during lockdown. What’s your take on the political climate?
The “culture wars” are something we’ve up to very recently regarded as a mainly American phenomenon, because there’s a more marked polarisation in mainstream politics in America than there is here — there’s a genuine choice, even if I’m over-generalising somewhat, in the USA between the Christian social values and free market capitalism of the Republican Party and the cultural-Marxist social values and increasing economic socialism of the Democratic Party. Whereas in Britain you’ve basically got a liberal and clueless one-party state characterised by cultural Marxism and a mixed market watered-down economic socialism. Despite what orchestrated pantomimes we witness between the establishment parties, they are starting now to fail to delude the electorate into thinking they offer some kind of choice.
The whole disproportionate and oppressive lockdown response to the paltry threat to humanity posed by Covid-19 has of course been the most striking and extensive power-grab of the liberal Deep State that we’ve seen yet. Taken by itself it’s very disturbing. However, even before Covid we saw great signs of a rising populist challenge to the Deep State, an uprising that was most visibly represented by the Brexit referendum and the Brexit party, and also an increasing resistance to and justifiable ridiculing of “woke culture” in all its grotesque forms, which was all very encouraging. There is a definite growing backlash against the attempted brainwashing of the population by the Deep State. The Keep Britain Free campaign, led by Simon Dolan, who is pursuing a legal challenge against the lockdown measures, and the wonderful well-attended anti-lockdown protests, featuring Piers Corbyn amongst others, have been inspirational and are conveying the important message that we need urgently now to stand up for these precious freedoms we hold so dear before it’s too late. I see such a massive threat of Deep State totalitarianism, but also so many green shoots of resistance. Where sin abounds grace abounds the more!
You plan to run candidates in the local elections in May. What would the CPA focus on in local government?
Most local issues are in fact inextricably connected to national issues, or at least decisions made at Westminster, now more so than ever. Many local councils, for instance, are left in the difficult position of having to make drastic cuts to local services and social provision because of sweeping funding cuts from central Government. However, there are still many priorities to be made. CPA local candidates stand, firstly, for the prioritising of the welfare of the most vulnerable and in need, so we will strive to ensure that the elderly, sick and disabled have essential social care provision in place. Actually, one of our signature policies in our forthcoming London Assembly Manifesto will be the provision of dedicated personal assistants to elderly and vulnerable people who would benefit from such help — particularly those who do not have the close support of relatives and family. It is also a manifesto pledge of ours to guarantee every homeless person a free night-shelter and affordable move-on accommodation as we help them back up into society.
We also believe in a zero tolerance approach to crime and the kind of genuine anti-social behaviour that blights many of our communities, and we want to see a far higher rate of reported crime being followed up. However, we are also pledged to provide greater support and practical assistance for those leaving prison — both because it’s the right thing to do and because that’s shown to cut reoffending rates drastically. We also believe in providing reliable and efficient public services and cutting down waste and pollution, creating a safe and clean environment for all local people. We also aim to help revitalise our city centres by a number of means, including the provision of more residential living accommodation – which helps retain local businesses and retail outlets, and reduces crime and depravation by reversing the ‘ghost town’ effect.
It goes without saying that we will also reverse the wasteful virtue-signalling and promotion of pro-LGBT ideology, BLM and other left-wing ideologies that so many councils occupy themselves with — forcing their employees to wear rainbow lanyards and festooning public spaces with Pride flags etc. We believe in safeguarding freedom of speech and belief, and creating a welcoming environment for all citizens. We will particularly safeguard the right to peaceful witness and to offer charitable help outside abortion facilities — as there is now a disturbing trend for left-wing councils to try to introduce censorship or “buffer” zones around abortion clinics — mostly based on completely distorted and uncorroborated allegations about those good people who provide essential pro-life witness. It’s very important that unborn children — the most helpless, voiceless and vulnerable of all — have someone there to peacefully advocate for them, and to offer women in difficult situation the choice and practical help to choose life that they’ll never receive from the abortion clinic.
“Our goal then is to aim to field a full list of candidates in every constituency for the 2024 General Election”
What areas do you hope to run candidates in and what do you see as your party’s route to electoral success?
We will be concentrating our main efforts on the London Assembly elections, where we’ll be running a full list of candidates. There will be other candidates standing locally around the country, and we invite people to stand in their local areas, but London is where our most organised and concentrated efforts will be — to get, please God, a CPA member of the London Assembly. Our goal then is to aim to field a full list of candidates in every constituency for the 2024 General Election — we are praying both for the financial breakthrough and for many more people excited by our vision to come forward to stand as CPA candidates to enable that to happen.
How can people get involved?
The Christian Peoples Alliance party are online and you can sign up for membership or for further information on our website. You can also find CPA on Facebook and on Twitter. We can also be contacted at [email protected]
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.
Set-up in 2016 the UK Liberty Party has the “SteppingStones” concept of moving continually closer towards protecting individual rights, enabling laissez-faire capitalism and achieving a constitutionally limited government. The party allows members to directly propose party policy and somewhat unusually, amongst other things, has its own coffee brand.
We speak with party leader Kevin Bruns. Kevin thank-you for your time.
What are your feelings about how we make the country more free and how would your “SteppingStones” work?
To have a free country you first have to have free individuals. Freedom is a fundamental requirement of Man’s nature; a being of the mind. It is Man’s mind that is his tool for survival, for thinking, creating, discovering, producing; for living.
The enemy of that freedom to think, to act, is force from another. If a man lived on a dessert island he would not need the concept of freedom; of Rights. There is no-one to use force on him. He would however, need a guide to action, a moral code; “What should I do to survive?”.
It is that code that leads to the question “What should I do if I meet someone else?”. The answer, in recognition of the potential of force from another, is the moral concept of Rights; the sanction of action within a societal context.
That is the base we work from. Everything in the context of the individual and his Rights. It is the base we think a proper government should work from. The first “SteppingStone”, although not part of our intro video, which deals with potential policy ideas, is to spread the idea of this view of Rights and what constitutes a proper government leading to a wider acceptance and understanding of what freedom means, how Rights protect that freedom and how a proper government protects those Rights.
”SteppingStones” as an idea comes from a family holiday when I was younger at a place called Tarr Steps. A series of large stepping stones across, what seemed to be at the time, a raging river. I was hesitant to cross and received this piece of advice from my Dad “Look, to get to the other side seems really hard because you’re looking at the river and how far away the other side is. Just a take it one step at a time and you’ll get there.”
That’s the basic premise, to steadily work towards our goals, as you set out in your introduction.
“Party members helping to create policy seemed logical to me. The more people that I can involve in the process of thinking about the party’s goals and suggesting ways to bring them into reality the greater the chances of change”
We now have a quite a few parties in the UK that are broadly liberation. What makes your party different and how does your system of letting members propose policy work?
The philosophy of freedom, Rights and proper government formed following that philosophy is our difference and I think is unique to us.
Party members helping to create policy seemed logical to me. The more people that I can involve in the process of thinking about the party’s goals and suggesting ways to bring them into reality the greater the chances of change.
It’s all done electronically and offers Members the opportunity to influence the policies that could ultimately affect their lives.
The party has an online shop with it’s own tea and coffee brands. What led to that coming about?
Capitalists gonna Capitalist! Joking aside, it was simply an idea to ensure that the party isn’t reliant on Members or donors to have the funds to grow. Gaining new members is hard work.
Our Liberty Store not only offers a great range of tea and coffee but also clothing and accessories with more products in the pipeline.
Being advocates of laissez-faire capitalism there is also a range of business focussed services that help them to reduce their running costs. These include, electric, gas, mobile and broadband.
Individuals can also sign up to be ‘Liberty Ambassadors’, we provide them with personalised urls’, they share them on social media and then we pay them a commission or bonus on any sales that happen as a result. Not only do they earn an extra income but we have funding to grow. Win-win.
“A small, temporary, ‘War Fund’ tax, started over 200 years ago has become one of the most Rights abusing activities of government… and is roundly applauded by most. It just shows how difficult it is going to be to move towards freedom”
To give our readers an idea about the party, could you briefly set-out your platforms on Brexit, Global Warming, and Taxation?
Pro Brexit. This government hasn’t handled it to my liking. However, with no influence in the direction they took, it was odds on that most voters would be left not fully satisfied. There seem to a be a million different ideal outcomes that government hasn’t achieved!
”Global Warming” is too much of an abstract term. Too all encompassing. It’s a tool for an agenda of global governance.
However, assuming that it is the biggest issue we are facing, the solution is not to give more and more power to governments to tackle it. The solution is to allow entrepreneurs the freedom to identify specific problems and come up with market solutions.
Taxation is extortion. It does however serve as a great lens on the creeping nature of government power that we have allowed to become commonplace. A small, temporary, ‘War Fund’ tax, started over 200 years ago has become one of the most Rights abusing activities of government… and is roundly applauded by most. It just shows how difficult it is going to be to move towards freedom.
“A free market would have quickly learnt lessons over each virus outbreak and would be far better equipped to deal with outbreaks. The NHS seems to start out as ‘Baby Bird’ each time, simply falling out of the nest and waiting to see if it can fly!”
We’re in the period of Covid and the ever moving lockdown. What do you think of the governments handling of the crisis, and what would you like to see done next?
Government, and I mean government as I envisage it, must always be restrained from initiating force. It is an agent of self-defence. It is a Rights protection agency. Today’s government is a contradiction of almost everything I advocate for.
Using government force (tests, lockdowns, businesses closed) on those not proven to be infectious is wrong, it is a Rights violation. In respect of Rights the question should always be “What do we do about X without violating Rights?”.
Government should have set out very simple guidelines at the start and should have locked borders to all those not able to prove their infectious status.
Should have been:
If you are over 60 with any health issues stay home whenever possible (Data from as early as late Jan was showing these most affected). Everyone else carry on until you show any of these symptoms X,Y,Z. At that time you *must* get a test. (Yes, at the point of an individual with symptoms showing it becomes a Rights issue so government mandates are permissible) Then, if positive, self-isolate, track and trace, rinse repeat (again by mandate if necessary).
It must be clear though, without proof a government cannot use any force. By force, I mean Laws, Regulations etc. not just physical.
As to what they should be doing today, the above.
It’s worth noting that the government response has been influenced by the inability of the NHS to respond to this type of emergency. A free market would have quickly learnt lessons over each virus outbreak and would be far better equipped to deal with outbreaks. The NHS seems to start out as ‘Baby Bird’ each time, simply falling out of the nest and waiting to see if it can fly!
We have a bumper set of local elections coming up in May next year. What are your plans for these and generally for elections going forward?
It’s far too early to stand in elections with any hope of being elected. Look at the momentum The Brexit Party created and the growth of members and yet it didn’t manage anything of note at the elections.
Our plans are to work on spreading ideas. Ultimately unless people adopt new (better) ideas anything political will always end up as a tyranny of the majority.
What can people do if they want to get involved?
Most importantly discover more about the ideas that we advocate. Become a Member or Supporter. Buy our products. Use or services. Send us money. Need Help!
One of the least religious places in the UK, the worst rate for homelessness outside London. Home to Britain’s only Green MP and its first Green Party Council, the city of Brighton and Hove is not the first place you think of fertile as ground for a free market, small state party. However gaining ground for these ideals is the role Sofia Svihurova takes on as Brighton Group Leader of the Libertarian Party.
Recently completing a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Ethics at the University of Brighton, with a thesis on “Concerning the Right to Self-Defence in the UK and the Issue of Empowerment”, Sofia spoke at the Libertarian Party 2019 Conference about why she is libertarian.
Sofia thanks for agreeing to speak to us.
“To me libertarianism at least tries to uphold these rights and values, it might not hand you anything for free but it won’t interfere in your life either unless you’re actively physically harming someone”
You spoke at the conference about why you are a libertarian, but for our readers can you tell us a little about why you are a libertarian and why you joined the party?
My first introduction to anything anti-establishment was actually punk rock, I really got into the whole Anarchy in the UK mentality and I especially still have a soft spot for the Clash. It was weirdly enough political music that got my attention and then I mostly just watched the news from there and found out that libertarianism made the most sense to me. The most interesting shift for me was probably seeing attitudes towards freedom of speech, shifting from the Conservatives censoring speech to the Left doing it, and of course both sides now either blame each other for censorship or act like they’re championing it. For me, neither side really cares or represents the people or their rights. To me libertarianism at least tries to uphold these rights and values, it might not hand you anything for free but it won’t interfere in your life either unless you’re actively physically harming someone. For me libertarianism is just the most reasonable ideology out of the whole lot. I joined the party because I wanted to promote those values and meet more likeminded people who also saw liberty as vital to a good life.
“Brighton has a lot of potential for libertarianism. There are a lot of anarchist groups around with people actively volunteering and doing stuff to help their community instead of moping around waiting for the local council to do something”
Brighton doesn’t seem a natural home to libertarian Politics. How did libertarian ideas go down on campus and more generally in Brighton?
You’d be surprised actually! I think Brighton has a lot of potential for libertarianism. There are a lot of anarchist groups around with people actively volunteering and doing stuff to help their community instead of moping around waiting for the local council to do something. And of course, the whole town is mostly obscure small businesses that somehow have enough customers to keep going, so I think there is a lot to work with! Recently, the council have been experimenting with the whole “car-free” idea, by closing off Madeira Drive by the seafront, and people are already protesting it saying it will affect business too much. I think Brighton is already convinced of the ideas of personal freedoms and small state, it’s just the economic side that would be an uphill battle.
As for libertarianism on campus, it took me a while to speak out and say what I truly believed but I eased people around me in to my way of thinking and by the end of first year I had built up a libertarian reputation (for better or worse)! During my second year I managed to get on to the Philosophy Society committee and managed to get 2 speakers who weren’t strictly radically left, one was even a libertarian from the IEA so that was a win! In all honesty, now that I am thinking about it I wish I had done more but it was always so exhausting and felt like an uphill battle. I think there was one other person in my year who I knew of that was libertarian/conservative and stuck with their views from beginning to end.
Because of this I was mostly involved with Libertarianism in Brighton outside my uni. I first joined a non-party group, Liberate Brighton, who later became the Brighton Brexiteers. There I met people like Paul and Ian who inspired me to keep fighting the good fight even after they decided to step away from it a bit. We’ve had a few meet ups as the party “Brighton Libertarians” and had a good few people show up! I think it’s important to keep these sorts of socials going, even if we don’t always end up doing anything productive at least it allows people to meet up and speak freely and feel less alone in this largely left-wing town.
Your thesis was on “Concerning the Right to Self-Defence in the UK and the Issue of Empowerment”. Clearly this was a major piece of work, but what are your main views on the issue?
Well, first of all I should highlight that, unfortunately, I didn’t really reach some grand conclusion. After doing over a year’s worth of research I mostly found out that there is no one size fits all solution. But my research did lead me to find out just how ridiculous the laws here are. Of course, pepper spray is still very much illegal. But in fairness you could just carry a bug-spray, just don’t tell anyone that you’re using it for self-defence because then you’re carrying it “with intent to harm” and that’s definitely something that could get you into trouble. Similarly, while carrying a knife with a blade under 3 inches is legal, make sure you’re not carrying it for self-defence reasons (again intent to harm). Legally the only self-defence item we are allowed to carry in the UK is a rape whistle. Which is ridiculous of course, there is no defence in that at all. Imagine using it in a big city like London, it would get about as much attention as a car alarm going off does. We have to be pragmatic about these things, telling people in the UK that they should all have access to firearms from tomorrow so that they can defend themselves is never going to work. Legalizing pepper spray might though, everyone I have spoken to on all sides of the political spectrum seems to agree with this. We can’t rely on the police for protection, those minutes, sometimes even an hour between you getting attacked and the police showing up could mean life or death. And if the US is anything to go by the police might not always be on our side anyway.
You’ve been at University during lockdown, how has this affected higher education, and do you have any thoughts on what more permanent changes we might see in universities as a result of this period?
We had our lectures emailed to us and just used Microsoft Teams for our seminars which only worked so well due to the technical difficulties everyone was having. I can definitely see universities simply uploading lectures online instead of having them in person. It would save on a lot of time and money for sure, hopefully for both sides… Seminars and Lab work or anything hands on like that are probably irreplaceable though. It wouldn’t be the same experience otherwise, debating with people is already too impersonal with it mostly just happening online and whatnot. I think having to physically talk to people you disagree with is so important, even if you walk away with no minds changed you can always learn something from the other person, even if it’s just realizing the way the other person thinks so you can avoid certain traps or phrases next time you try to get them to see your side.
“The overall lockdown situation is pretty terrifying from a libertarian perspective though, the state has just decided to give itself huge amount of power, I am not sure how easily they will give that up again if they even will at all”
More broadly what do you think of the government’s handling of the Covid crisis and lockdown?
I have the mainstream view that the way they handled it was ridiculous. They change their mind about what we should and shouldn’t do almost every week. So many mixed messages for different groups of people too… I think they should have just done local lockdowns from the beginning and closed the borders for a bit. There’s no knowing if that would really work of course but maybe that would have somewhat controlled economic damage at least. The overall lockdown situation is pretty terrifying from a libertarian perspective though, the state has just decided to give itself huge amount of power, I am not sure how easily they will give that up again if they even will at all.
Now lockdown is easing how do you think the government should get the economy back up and running?
Remove a lot of unnecessary red tape first of all and lower taxes for a good while as well. We will have to pay back all that debt at some point, that’s what worries me most.
During this time we’ve seen an explosion of cancel culture and identity politics. What are your thoughts on these?
To be honest I don’t care about these things as much as some people in our circles. I think that sometimes it’s just used as a distraction. Sometimes we end up spammed with news of multigender polyamorous “families” bringing their kids up identifying as spirit animals or whatever, but I don’t see why we should give it any attention, it’s all they’re after anyway. While we’re getting mad at them for making up new gender pronouns, there’s a whole elite paedophile ring investigation being swept under the rug, or new tyrannical laws being introduced, know what I mean?
As for cancel culture, I think it can be tough, but it’s also always been unavoidable. If you’re going to go on a mainstream platform and insult half the people using it of course they’re going to boycott and report you. It’s not fun to see when it’s someone you support getting cancelled, but I suppose it’s like the free market working, gotta keep your consumers happy so they don’t consume you instead of your content! I think the free market is already fixing this issue though, especially with Parler and Gab and similar such platforms gaining popularity.
If you could introduce or remove 3 laws what would they be?
Definitely remove. Firstly, I would get rid of laws prohibiting pepper-spray. Secondly, and a similar to the first one, I would remove the “carrying with intent to harm” law. And can I also say, remove income tax?
How are you espousing libertarian ideas in Brighton, and what can people do to get involved?
Now that I am out of university, I mostly just organize the meet ups and post on the Brighton Facebook page. The meet ups should be back up again soon hopefully, now that the virus is slowing down! If people want to get involved they should definitely just DM the page or email us or just DM me directly. I will be living in London from now so if anyone local would be interested in helping me run the Brighton page that would be great!
We discuss the reopening of pubs and gyms, the Mini-Budget, Croydon Council job cuts, the Purley Skyscraper and the BBC’s latest antics. We then have an interview with Jayde Edwards, a local Conservative Party activist who stood in the Fairfield ward by-election last November. We chat with Jayde about her campaign, issues affecting young people in Croydon, the Black Lives Matter movement and how she is inspiring more young people to get involved in politics locally.
Looking back what are your thoughts on the treatment you received from real and social media?
You wanted to “inspire young people, I also want to bring something new to Croydon – a new passion and a new energy”. We saw large crowds out to campaign for you. What’s the lasting effect of their politically engagement?
In your campaign you focused on “Westfield and the promise that was given to residents”, and “Knife crime and the lack of opportunities”. What are your views on where we are now on both of these issues?
What are your thoughts on the General election win and the more recently the impact of the lockdown?
Looking at your Twitter, you hold a more nuanced view than many on the Black Lives Matter movement. How do you think we best move forward?
We recently hosted a podcast with people of faith talking about how their faith impacts their politics. How do you feel you faith impacts your political view?
We are joined by Dr Lee Jones, Reader in International Politics at Queen Mary University of London and founder of The Full Brexit, as we discuss the reopening of pubs, the Immigration Bill passing through the House of Commons, Boris’ “New Deal” and the situation in Hong Kong. We then chat with Lee about The Full Brexit and the left-wing case for leaving the EU, his career in Academia, the woke culture in universities and the challenges facing Higher Education. We also discuss Croydon Council and the potential for an elected mayor.
“It’s not just about hindsight, if we had been more bold and if the government had been willing to face down public opinion more,,kl not panicked into a total lockdown, then I think we could have had this calibrated policy from the beginning.”
“That was the advice they were getting from the scientific experts at the time that lockdown wouldn’t be effective, airport screening wouldn’t be effective, banning flight wouldn’t be effective. So when the government was saying it was being guided by the science it was true, people didn’t believe them but it was true….. then they abandoned that.”
“There will be political pressure on politicians to solve the underlying weaknesses in training and education, which there won’t be when there is a steady supply of unlimited immigration from the continent.”
“It was going to be a much more interventionist government, that was much more comfortable with state intervention in the economy and didn’t just want to leave everything to the market.”
“I also think tinkering with the planning system is not going to solve the housing crisis. If you look between 2011 and 2016 there were 280,000 homes that weren’t built despite having planning permission. So you have to ask why. Instead of trying to deregulate the planning system you have to say why were we giving planning permission when the homes don’t get built.”
“We need to stop trying to squeeze tiny flats onto every brownfield site we can find, round the back of the supermarket, and start thinking about expanding into new dormer settlements.”
“Migrants whether they’re economic migrants or refugees, tend to be better off on average. Because if you’re really dirt poor you can’t leave, you’re stuck. You don’t have any resources, you’ve got nothing to sell, you have no assets you can’t pay the people smugglers to get you out.”
Interview
“The EU is anti-democratic, not non democratic, it’s anti-democratic, it shifts policy making from spheres of domestic public political contestation like parliaments, into spaces of private interstate diplomacy and it locks in rules and laws that can’t be challenged or changed”
“Universities as institutions campaigned openly for remain, surveys suggest 90% of academics voted for Remain, and academics are a core part of the bitterest and most anti-democratic opposition to Brexit”
“Unfortunately there isn’t really very much of a principled commitment to free speech on University campuses, it’s a major problem. I think we’re quite likely to see government intervention around this at some point, but they’ll never be taken seriously as being committed on grounds of principle as well as prosecuting a culture war, until they also wind back Prevent.”
“it’s not a majority of people, it’s a very vocal minority who cower others into submission”
“if you want to make students happy when they are coming and spending a lot of money buying a degree, then the easiest thing to do here is to make sure they get a good mark. If you want to make sure you have a high value added score, also give them a good mark. This is why there is rampant grade inflation”
We are joined by Dan Liddicott, the Chairman of the Libertarian Party UK, as we discuss the impending easing of the lockdown restrictions, the end of Rory Stewart’s Mayoral campaign and the latest in the fiasco that is the Electoral Commission. We then chat with Dan about his role with the Libertarian Party and their plans for the future.
On the next election: “I’d like to get 30 odd candidates stand and I’d like to have them get more than a 1000 votes each. That’s what I’d like to see, at that point the press and the national attention starts to look at you.”
“We are the only ones that understand the importance of defending the smallest minority of all, which is you the individual”
On the Electoral Commission: “it’s incompetence or it is activism. Which one is it? Because it isn’t nether, and I’m very concerned, if it’s the later, if it’s activism, then we’ve got a serious problem in this country”
“We are under emergency powers, if policy is being decided by just 4 people, that’s not great is it? We need more scrutiny than that”
