Interview and Q&A with Tony Brown Libertarian Party Candidate for Mayor of London – 15th November

Join us for an interview and Q&A with Tony Brown Libertarian Party Candidate for Mayor of London on Wednesday 15th November at 7pm.

Venue:

Upstairs, Whispers,
5 High St,
Purley
CR8 2AF

Part of our #ThirdWednesday drinks and events, we hold these in association with Dick Delingpole’s #ThirdWednesday Libertarian drinks club, and POLITICS in PUBS a group of people from across the political spectrum who value the freedom to question and to speak openly.

Join us Upstairs, Whispers, 5 High St, Purley CR8 2AF on Wednesday 15th November, from 7pm. Space in the room will be first come first served.

Facebook: https://fb.me/e/1gJsURwd4

Wet summer, whilst Europe burns.  Is it weather or is it climate change? – Your Views (Part 1)

In the UK we’ve faced a wet summer, whilst we’ve been told Europe burns.  Are we being told the truth?  Are these problems man-made or due to climate change?  If climate change, what if anything should we do about it?

We asked our contributors for their views.

On to Part 2

Tony Brown, Libertarian Party UK candidate for Mayor of London

“There almost certainly has been some recent warming as we emerge from the Little Ice Age of the 13th-19th centuries which followed the Medieval warm period”

To say Europe burnt this summer is the worst form of hyperbole. I spent my entire summer in Europe, England and Belgium to be precise and I assure you neither burnt nor were particularly wet: both experienced perfectly ‘normal’ summer weather. And that illustrates the problem of absurd, wild comments from people one is supposed to respect claiming global boiling or similar nonsense (I use the word literally and accurately.) 

Both the weather day-to-day and climate millenia by millenia constantly change. There almost certainly has been some recent warming as we emerge from the Little Ice Age of the 13th-19th centuries which followed the Medieval warm period which saw wine cultivation as far north as Northumberland (still not yet possible today). It is impossible to judge the human contribution to all this and even the most sophisticated climate modelling is still far too simple accurately to understand the vastly complex interactions involved. 

So, no we are not being told the truth because the truth is not known and perhaps not knowable at this stage.  (though in time AI and quantum computing might help.)

“we are subject to a barrage of unscientific scare-mongering by people who really ought to know better. And it is certainly not justified to trash our standard of living”

Instead, we are subject to a barrage of unscientific scare-mongering by people who really ought to know better. And it is certainly not justified to trash our standard of living and force us to replace low-cost, proven technology such as gas boilers and petrol cars with more expensive, less efficient alternatives such as heat pumps and EVs with all their problems of charge, range and weight.

Neither should we ignore it all. We should be pursuing a strategy of progressive adaptation based on first, proven technology which works; secondly, full life-cycle costing from raw material extraction to final scrapping and recycling; thirdly, efficiency as indicated by market pricing (which is why pricing is useful and essential); and, fourthly acknowledge that much of the world is not a nice place: countries such as Russia, China and even India are very happy to manipulate our gullible good nature to damage us and give themselves economic and competitive advantage at our expense whilst making promises they have no intention of keeping! 

To quote Ford Prefect ‘Don’t Panic’. Apply our minds instead and the result will be a much better outcome for all of us!

You can find out more about Tony’s campaign at https://www.libertarianpartyuk.com/

Spanish political scientist, Lorena Serantes

“I know temperatures are raising, at least here in Spain, and we’ve been having severe draughts in the last 2 years”

Unfortunately, I’m not an expert on climate change and environmental issues, I know temperatures are raising, at least here in Spain, and we’ve been having severe draughts in the last 2 years. My view is Southern Europe is at risk due to high temperatures, because wildfires are becoming more common year after year, and it’s scary. I wish I knew more about these issues but there’s too much information and too little time to check it out. It’s a complicated matter.

Lorena blogs on British Politics at https://serantesprietolorena.blogspot.com/

Martin Hartmann, President of the Libertarian Party Switzerland

“There are many more and more important factors affecting global climate than humankind. We should focus on innovation and change

The climate crisis is a hoax. It’s being hyped by the green leftist journalists in the mainstream media. There are many more and more important factors affecting global climate than humankind. We should focus on innovation and change – the only constant.

The Libertarian Party in Switzerland can be found online, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

On to Part 2

Photo by USGS on Unsplash

Martin Day, Party Secretary, UK Libertarian Party

If you believe in individual rights, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and the constraint of government size and influence, then the Libertarian Party might be for you.  We recently spoke with Party Secretary Martin Day.

“People have had enough of the incredible tax burden faced nowadays – the highest since the aftermath of WWII”

Can you introduce yourself and your role within the Libertarian Party?

Hi, I’m Martin Day and I am the Party Secretary. I joined the Libertarian Party back in 2018 after UKIP lurched into territory I didn’t want to go into. I believe there has been increased interference in our daily lives, particularly over the last 30 years, and the Libertarian Party was a perfect fit for my ideals. My role includes writing some of the content that we put out on almost a daily basis, assisting with uploading website content, and sending out Press releases. Believe me, they do get sent, despite the mainstream media giving us a wide berth. I’m also the coordinator for the midlands (Mercia) region. We rely on people rallying to a common cause. It’s hard as organising libertarians is akin to herding cats, but we try, because we believe in our minarchist ideals.

We face reduced liberty on many fronts, without a popular push happening so far.  How do you see the cause for liberty fairing in our country?

Talking to the man/woman on the streets, there is much support for the idea of more freedom and less government. The demonstrations against the lockdowns proved that, and the mounting anger against the ULEZ expansion is another example. People have had enough of the incredible tax burden faced nowadays – the highest since the aftermath of WWII – and the restrictions to setting up small businesses in favour of the big corporations. Unfortunately, it is difficult to translate that into votes as tribal instincts kick in and people vote for either the red or blue socialists anyway. Yes, I did say blue socialists, the two main parties are seemingly locked in a battle as to which of them can extort more money through taxation and squander it on projects that defy reason after an ever-increasing army of civil servants have had their cut out of it first. They believe they know how to spend our money better than we do.

“What was interesting was Uxbridge, where the result was a clear rejection of Labour’s ULEZ plans, yet they voted for the Conservatives, who have not clearly stated they would stop it”

We’ve just had 3 by-elections with many smaller party’s running and wins for all 3 main parties.  Are there any conclusions you draw from the results?

By-election results can be very deceiving, with the electorate keen to show their dissatisfaction with the ruling globalists like Sunak and Hunt. What was interesting was Uxbridge, where the result was a clear rejection of Labour’s ULEZ plans, yet they voted for the Conservatives, who have not clearly stated they would stop it. This shows how difficult it is for the smaller parties to get their message across.

“we are currently trying to raise the funds for Tony Brown’s tilt and the London Mayoral office. The required deposit to even stand is, £5,000, which is, quite frankly, a tax on democracy”

We likely have a general election next year, and we’ve interviewed Tony Brown your London Mayoral Candidate.  What are the Libertarian Party’s plans for these and other elections?

The reason that we did not contest the recent By-elections is that we are currently trying to raise the funds for Tony Brown’s tilt and the London Mayoral office. The required deposit to even stand is, £5,000, which is, quite frankly, a tax on democracy. It will be our main focus for next year, but we do also hope to have a number of candidates standing in the next General Election.

How can people get involved in or find out more about the party?

We welcome all those interested, who can become members at https://www.libertarianpartyuk.com/join There are opportunities for getting involved from writing to helping candidates leaflet at election time, though just sharing our posts on social media all helps to get the message out there.

You can follow Martin on Facebook and Twitter.

Podcast Episode 84 – Tony Brown: Libertarian Party Mayoral Candidate; ULEZ, Housing & Policing

We are joined by Tony Brown, who was recently announced as the Libertarian Party UK candidate to take on Sadiq Khan in next year’s election to be Mayor of London. Tony explains his philosophy and his plans for London.

Spreaker

iTunes


Google Podcasts

Podchaser

Podcast Addict
Deezer

Spotify


Stitcher


Castbox

Amazon

Contents:
00:00 – Intro
01:38 – Who is Tony Brown?
05:07 – Why Libertarian Party UK?
07:33 – ULEZ
08:37 – Policing
10:25 – Transport
13:11 – Housing
17:31 – Wasted Vote?
20:57 – Campaigning
22:03 – How to get involved
23:30 – Event
23:53 – Outro

Plans for 2023

With a politically tumultuous 2022 coming to an end, we asked you, ‘What do you hope your organisation will be doing in 2023?’

Hilary Judge, TOGETHER Croydon

“I hope that they take the Cash Fridays campaign on-board, and it goes nationwide. Businesses should be encouraged to actively promote taking cash.”

My hopes for Together are that they become more democratic with greater member input.  We would have ideas coming from meetup groups and individuals and adopting participatory democracy, which is a program where recipients answer questions where they completely agree, somewhat agree etc.

I hope that they take the Cash Fridays campaign on-board, and it goes nationwide (Cash Friday’s is a campaign to on a Friday, spend cash to pay for goods / services rather than use cards). Businesses should be encouraged to actively promote taking cash. Expand the campaign to younger people by giving cash to dependent teenagers, rather than bank transfers.

I would like bigger debates with participants from all over the political spectrum and I’m thinking of organising our future meetings as open debates.

Together Croydon are meeting on Tuesday 7th February in Croydon and Thursday 9th February in Beckenham, contact [email protected] for further details.

Martin Day/Andrew Withers, Libertarian Party

“Small business owners are increasingly aware of the bias towards huge corporations that this current administration has. They know that we support initiative and entrepreneurism.”

The Year ahead.

2023 will finally see a new website produced, featuring more interaction with the members. Hopefully, that and the data system behind it will enable us to run increasing numbers of candidates in the local elections this May.

We are also speaking to university students to get the message of self-sufficiency and individualism into the younger generation. So far, it is generating more interest than previous years.

We continue to highlight the appalling corruption of this current government, whist pointing out that the other side are unlikely to be any better. Just different coloured snouts in the trough. Sadly, too many voters are shackled to the two-party system.

Locally, a whole new initiative is being discussed along the lines of London Libertarians. Small business owners are increasingly aware of the bias towards huge corporations that this current administration has. They know that we support initiative and entrepreneurism.

We are now faced with the Prince Harry farago dominating the headlines, while this unelected Prime Minister, without the mandate of the voting public, enacting a surveillance authoritarian state.

Serious policies are no longer subject to the scrutiny by the voter, nor by MP’s more concerned with climbing the preferment greasy pole and raking in expenses and part time appointments.

Centralisation of power amongst the few is root cause of political crisis. The Libertarian Party has a fully thought-out Constitutional Reform package.

What you tolerate will continue.

Back to Part 2

Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine: Your views – Part 3

Picture: Every Night for Ukraine 022 Russian Embassy Finland.  Author: rajatonvimma /// VJ Group Random Doctors

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding before us following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.  The risk of a major military conflict is remote but real, and the situation on the ground continues to change.  We asked our contributors how they think Putin’s aggression will impact politics and policies in the UK and what if any changes are needed?

Back to Part 2 | On to Part 4

“We ought to all agree that Putin is “to blame” but errors were made by the West and Ukraine. To mention this however is to invite the accusation of being a Putin shill”

Councillor Sandy Wallace, Scottish Libertarian Party.

The first casualty of war is the truth, so we are now long past looking at the causes. We ought to all agree that Putin is “to blame” but errors were made by the West and Ukraine. To mention this however is to invite the accusation of being a Putin shill, so we might as well gloss over them.

When seeking directions, as the Oirish say, I would not start from here. Putin cannot lose and escape with his life, so the options are

  1. Putin wins. I think this is the least likely. I can see no scenario where he “wins”. His economy will sink like a stone.
  2. Palace coup, 15 minute show trial on a mobile phone and execution. My preferred option.
  3. WW3, because Putin looks like losing, but retains control in Russia. My least preferred option.
  4. Long drawn out conflict, Afghanistan on steroids, really sorry, but I think this is the most likely outcome.

To be brutally horribly cynical, option 4 is quite good for the UK.  Self-indulgent drivel like Indyref2, lockdown fetishism, personal pronouns, critical race theory and most of all Net-Zero will be forgotten in the face of far bigger things. But Freedom of Speech will be a hard sell for those of us who believe in it.

It’s even fairly good for the EU. The EU was facing a genuine existential crisis in the face of Brexit, Net Zero and the Culture war. Six months ago the EU was threatening to cut off funds to Hungary and Poland for being naughty. Now, there is no danger of them cutting off funds, and in any case, Hungary and Poland have rapidly lost the will to be naughty. 

Its also the option the West should be playing for, because it leaves Option 2 in play and keeps option 3 out of play.

But it’s going to be hell for Ukraine.

“The Principle is perfectly clear that the sovereignty of any territory is no longer determined by war, history, geography or religious scriptures of any kind but solely by the wishes of the people who live there today. Putin by contrast regards Ukrainians as Russians regardless of their own wishes”

John Poynton, UKIP NEC member.

Given that we cannot directly confront Russia militarily in Ukraine as they are not a member of NATO we must play the long economic game. In particular Germany and Italy must wean themselves off Russian oil and gas. It may take some time, but eventually Putin will fall and his successors will sue for economic peace and the occupation will be ended as part of that deal.

Yesterday Putin came clean. He does not after all believe in the Principle of Self-determination of Sovereignty, which is enshrined in international law, contrary to what as he has previously indicated. He accepts now that he is acting illegally and doesn’t care, reverting instead to the base and uncivilised human instinct for territorial domination and imperialism. The Principle is perfectly clear that the sovereignty of any territory is no longer determined by war, history, geography or religious scriptures of any kind but solely by the wishes of the people who live there today. Putin by contrast regards Ukrainians as Russians regardless of their own wishes.

This crisis just emphasises yet further the inadequacy of the UK’s immigration and refugee policy, and that incudes UKIP’s own policy. As a member of UKIP’s NEC I am currently arguing for manifesto changes as follows:

  1. We need an auctioned quota system for long-term immigration, not a points-based system. I would set the quota at 50,000 a year fewer than the number who emigrate each previous year, so we have a background of depopulation going on. This country is dangerously overpopulated and, as any competent social psychologist will tell you, overpopulation leads to competition for scarce resources, which in turn leads to a fracturing of society along the nearest visible fault line. Today that is racism. It used to be classism. Either way Labour subversively ramps it up for their own selfish identity purposes, thereby making racism worse. A policy of depopulation will reduce that risk not increase it, as well reducing shortages of housing, access to essential public services, wild habitat, overloaded sewage works overflowing into our rivers and may other forms of environmental contamination as well as the fact that we can now only grow 55% of the food we eat.
  2. You cannot humanely turn refugees away, and it also impossible to distinguish objectively between refugees and other illegals (ok, I know there are plenty of cynics out there who say it is quite easy, but that is not legally sufficient). Also it is all very well saying they should return to the first safe country they come to, but those countries are not co-operating and anyway have severe immigration crises of their own. With a quota system we can instead bring them in and allocate them free of charge to the quota and correspondingly reduce the number available to normal auction sponsors so the total quota is not breached. If the number is greater than the quota in any year it can be spread over several years. Either way refugees and illegals should be given special refugee passports, saying for example British Ukrainian Refugee Passport, which would only be valid until the occupation has ended. When they return home their quota places can be returned to the quota.
  3. In the meantime we should be looking to purchase a large tract of habitable land somewhere outside Europe where, with the agreement of the host country, we can set up a refugee colony as British Sovereign territory, so we can then transfer all new arrivals there immediately. This would be outside the quota but still British sovereign territory so that even a successful appeal for asylum would not require moving them back to the UK. They would already have the refuge they need there. I am not proposing this as a cheap or punitive option (unlike Australia). It must be done properly with open borders, law and order, security, benefits, housing, and public and personal support services enabling them to engage in economic activity which should lead to self-sufficiency and achieve a reasonable standard of living in the longer term. It would use the host country’s currency but under our economic management, thereby enabling trade with the host country and giving that country a substantial regional and national economic and export boost as part of the deal. In the short term we can use some of the massive overseas aid budget which is currently doing little useful other than assuage some people’s guilt complexes.

I welcome any comments or additional observations so we can construct as practical and acceptable a policy as possible.

John can be contacted via Twitter, Facebook, and his website.

“I am not at all surprised that most of the western governments have acted to cut Russia off (and our future gas supplies, of course) with their gesture politics…..Our same government said that PM Johnson didn’t go to parties when thousands of non-Etonian people were prevented from seeing their loved ones!”

Laurence Williams, London and South East Coordinator for the UK Libertarian Party.

It’s a loaded question, ‘Putin’s aggression’, ‘Putin’s actions’ would have been better, but, though I detest war and its repercussions, I am not in the least surprised as to it happening. Yet another US proxy war, this time starting in 2014 with a President Obama organised coup, followed by 8 years and 15K casualties in the Russian speaking east at the hands of Ukrainian forces, is the perfect storm. Given that the Ukraine has national guard units modelled on Nazi Germany’s SS, and that these units committed unspeakable crimes against their own in WW2, they have now ‘modernised’ into having some 15 US bio – chemical facilities, just like Saddam Hussein was supposed to have in Iraq! 

I am not at all surprised that most of the western governments have acted to cut Russia off (and our future gas supplies, of course) with their gesture politics. Two years ago, these same governments said that we must all be vaxxed with an un-tested toxin, against a Common Cold! Our same government said that PM Johnson didn’t go to parties when thousands of non-Etonian people were prevented from seeing their loved ones! 

Cutting off Russia in the sports, and now our football clubs brandishing Ukrainian flags is just gesture politics like ‘taking the knee’, it just winds people up. The Olympics is dead for sure now, and so, hopefully, it the Eurovision song contest!

Back to Part 2 | On to Part 4

Podcast Episode 67 – 2022 Local Election Hustings

In this episode we bring you the speeches from our recent event held at Clyde Hall in Croydon,

Speakers:

  • David Omamogho – Christian Peoples Alliance
  • Zack Stiling – Heritage Party
  • Gavin Palmer – Independent Candidate for Mayor
  • Laurence Williams – Libertarian Party
  • Steve Kelleher – SDP
Spreaker

iTunes


Google Podcasts


Podchaser

Podcast Addict
Deezer

Spotify


Stitcher


Castbox

Photo’s from the evening: https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/hustings-2022-photos/

Press Release: https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/press-release-hustings-2022/

More info: https://croydonconstitutionalists.uk/hustings-2022/

Hustings 2022 – Photos

Thanks to all who attended our Hustings last night. A tremendous set of candidates with great ideas for Croydon, further afield and our country. We wish them all well in May.

Photos from the night below.

David Omamogho, Christian People Alliance
Zack Stiling, Heritage Party
Gavin Palmer, Independent Candidate for Mayor
Laurence Williams, Libertarian Party
Steve Kelleher, SDP

Laurence Williams, London and South East Coordinator. UK Libertarian Party

Laurence Williams is the new London and South East Coordinator Designate for the UK Libertarian Party. Laurence lives in Sidcup and has stood in multiple local elections and the 2010 General Election. We catch-up with Laurence about his new role.

Laurence, thanks for your time.

Can you start by introducing yourself to our readers, and tell us how you became the Designate London & South East Co-ordinator for the Libertarian Party?

I’ve been ‘Bitten’ by Libertarianism after many years in and out of the political wilderness. This lead to me re-joining Libertarian Party recently. This was just in time to be put forward for the vacant role of London and South East Coordinator, which I have accepted.

“I was allowed free – rein to be myself at the hustings in Erith & Thamesmead constituency, exactly what Libertarianism is all about”

You’ve stood in 3 General Elections, 2 Welsh Senedd races, 2 x European elections, and Local elections over the past 32 years. Do you have any enduring memories from previous campaigns?

My favourite election was the 2010 GE for which I was allowed free – rein to be myself at the hustings in Erith & Thamesmead constituency, exactly what Libertarianism is all about, no whip for us! It was a great night, and one voter couple wanted to hire me as a stand – up comic!

We appear to finally be moving out of the period of lockdown. What would you like to see happen to get the country back to a form of normal?

Stop the lockdowns and media scare stories! And stop the useless vax passports!

“‘Libertarian’ to most uninterested ears sounds like ‘lib dem’ or ‘liberal’, and people can’t differentiate easily. Key messages from us are: Small govt, small tax, Large Truths!”

How do you feel the Libertarian message in London goes down, and what do you see as the key messages for the capital?

The Libertarian Voice is comparatively small in London, bought about by a general ignorance and disillusionment in our populace; ‘Libertarian’ to most uninterested ears sounds like ‘lib dem’ or ‘liberal’, and people can’t differentiate easily. Key messages from us are: Small govt, small tax, Large Truths!

Any thoughts you would like to leave our readers with and how can people get involved.

For anyone who fancies having a go at politics, I say, give us a try, you don’t know until you do, you may even enjoy it! To get in touch, it’s either the LPUK website or myself on Facebook via the Libertarian Party London and South East branch page.

Marco Di Paola London & South East Coordinator for the UK Libertarian Party

Marco Di Paola is the new London & South East Coordinator for the UK Libertarian Party.  Their sister party in the US finished third in last year’s Presidential Election.  We have spoken with Marco’s predecessor in London and others from the party.  We catch-up with Marco about what brought him into politics, and his thoughts and views for the party in London and beyond.

Marco, thanks for your time.

Can you start by telling us a bit about your background, and how did you became the London & South East Co-ordinator for the Libertarian Party?

I considered myself a Conservative until the EU referendum in 2016, after which I found myself appalled at how politicians from all sides of the spectrum were so keen to try and overturn a democratic mandate. I had a frustrating period where I couldn’t find a party that aligned to my principles and values and it was only when I took the Political Compass test that I discovered Libertarianism. I’ve been a member of the Libertarian Party for a few years and had started to contribute to the local Facebook Page when I was asked to become the co-ordinator for Sussex. A very short time later, there was a vacancy for the London & South East position and I was eager to step up.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the current mayor is likely to be re-elected based on which party he represents rather than his ability to do the job. From an outside perspective, all I see is virtuous posturing but little action of relevancy”

In May we have the Mayoral and GLA elections in London.  The Libertarian Party has endorsed Laurence Fox for Mayor.  What’s made the party endorse Laurence and more widely what are your thoughts on the upcoming elections?

The Libertarian Party strongly oppose all lockdowns so when Laurence Fox declared he would lift lockdown if elected, we weren’t prepared to stand in his way! I think it’s unfortunate that the current mayor is likely to be re-elected based on which party he represents rather than his ability to do the job. From an outside perspective, all I see is virtuous posturing but little action of relevancy.

We’ve had a year of lockdown restrictions, which should be fertile ground for Libertarians, but we see the Conservative government polling strongly.  What do you think is happening on Britain’s support for lockdown, and what are your thoughts on the past year?

Its been a tough time for Libertarians, that’s for sure! It’s clear to me that the government propaganda has scared people so much into accepting this level of restrictions on our liberties. We aren’t even able to have a sensible debate on whether lockdowns are an appropriate or proportionate response without being accused of wanting to ‘kill granny’ or ‘let the virus rip’. I personally don’t feel there should ever be a situation where government has this sort of power over it’s population but I could understand the argument more if all members of society where at equal risk of being seriously ill or dying from the virus. The fact is that Covid 19 is a nasty virus for some but the majority of people who get it will be ok. The demographics of who are most at risk are very clear and I really feel we should have looked at focussed protection for the most vulnerable as proposed by ‘The Great Barrington Declaration’. My biggest fear and main reason why I oppose these blanket measures is that once the state has these powers they will not let them go easily. This is evidenced now by the fact we have the 2nd lowest infection rate in Europe, continued falling hospitalisations and deaths and one of the highest vaccination rates in the whole world yet we still have one of the strictest lock downs worldwide! Boris’ roadmap is quite frankly a disgrace. How can it remain illegal to have friends or family in your own home until at least May 17th despite all the data showing that the virus is in decline and the vaccinated are protected? It is outrageous.

“We are only ever told about left vs right in politics and I think that’s for a reason; why would the establishment want you to know that there is a philosophy and way of being that means you don’t need them!?”

How do you feel the Libertarian message in London goes down, and what do you see as the key messages for the capital?

I feel its really difficult for people to understand libertarianism and what it really means. I think people don’t even know its a ‘thing’. We are only ever told about left vs right in politics and I think that’s for a reason; why would the establishment want you to know that there is a philosophy and way of being that means you don’t need them!? I think its important we help people see that a system that encourages individual responsibility, freedom to make your own choices and free markets will provide everyone a greater opportunity to thrive.

How do you plan to grow the party and extend its reach in London?

It’s all about awareness for us. Its really difficult to get any traction in the mainstream media so we are looking forward to the launch of GB News where hopefully they will be more open to giving a platform to parties such as ours.

We’re a Croydon based group, as you know our council has issued a Section 114 notice and declared de facto bankruptcy.  What do you think about what’s happened in Croydon, also would you and if so how would you, change local government financing?

It’s the fundamental problem with the public sector; they don’t have the ‘rudder of profit’ to guide them. There is no consequence for poor service because citizens i.e. customers don’t have the choice to take their business elsewhere. They are forced to fund failing organisations and receive a lesser service for it! It is illogical. Regarding local government funding, you have to reduce the size of the state as much as possible and allow citizens to keep as much of their own money to spend how they need. I really do believe that business, charity and volunteers will step in and provide what people need far more efficiently and effectively than any publicly run institution ever could.

I would persistently challenge them on all areas of spending and be unashamedly looking to reduce the size of the council itself.  I want citizens to keep as much of their own money as possible so they can spend it on services that actually deliver value to them directly

You are running in the Tarring ward for both Worthing Borough and West Sussex County Council.  What are the major issues facing the town and county, and if elected what’s one thing you like to achieve?

On a larger scale, the town will be decimated by the effects of lockdown and I feel people are really blinded by this due to the various handouts given by central and local governments.  I am a huge advocate of allowing private business to operate in a way that they deem appropriate for their own customers and not to have to answer to top down mandates. Equally, I encourage individuals to think about their own responsibility and enable them the freedom to choose how they want to live and what businesses they want to give their custom to. Locally, a major gripe currently is the increase in council tax year on year for a lesser service.  In particular, the county council reduced refuse collection to a fortnightly service and are now making it as difficult as possible for citizens to access the tip by cutting opening times and, bizarrely, introducing a process of attendance only by pre booking!  As usual, councils and public services treating its customers as inconveniences and you wouldn’t get away with it in the private sector.  If elected I would aim to be a thorn in the side of the bureaucrats on the council.  I would persistently challenge them on all areas of spending and be unashamedly looking to reduce the size of the council itself.  I want citizens to keep as much of their own money as possible so they can spend it on services that actually deliver value to them directly.

“People who are pro tax only ever consider it from a ‘rich’ person’s perspective (‘they should pay more!’) but I tend to think about how many of the taxes such as VAT and sin taxes are really regressive and disproportionately effect the worst off”

If you could introduce 3 changes to how we are governed what would they be?

Firstly, power needs to be devolved to as close to the individual as possible. It makes no sense to me that people with no understanding of local issues get to decide what is important and what our money should be spent on. Secondly, I want the state to be as small as possible and work towards a system whereby people have the freedom to make their own choices on what is best for them without being tied to certain policies and processes. Thirdly, we need a simplified and lower tax system. Its quite ridiculous the number of taxes there are and how we are constantly taxed on money that has already been subject to taxation. People who are pro tax only ever consider it from a ‘rich’ person’s perspective (‘they should pay more!’) but I tend to think about how many of the taxes such as VAT and sin taxes are really regressive and disproportionately effect the worst off.

Any thoughts you would like to leave our readers with and how can people get involved.

Politics isn’t about left v right any more but rather authoritarianism v libertarianism. If you value freedom to live your life how you wish we need to collectively stand up and challenge the rise of authoritarianism as this past year has evidenced how far we have moved away from liberty and truly being a free country. 

Marco is standing in both the Worthing Borough and West Sussex County Council elections in his local ward of Tarring on May 6th, and we wish him all the best. You can contact him at [email protected].   The Libertarian Party are online at https://libertarianparty.co.uk/.