North East Libertarians

What they are not telling you as members of LPUK

2011-06-03T09:01:00.000+01:00

On the 19th May 2011, an ‘emergency’ meeting was called to appoint new members of the NCC and it was to be conducted in a clear open and transparent manner. It was also to be supervised by ‘impartial’ members of the Party acting as observers. Sounds great.

Except it was anything of the sort, this was a fairly unsophisticated attempt to put a thin veneer of respectability on a crude coup based on smears.

One of the officers being proposed was not actually a member of the Libertarian Party, and neither was one of the impartial observers. Yet gamely they ploughed on proposing each other as officers of the party without a shred of legitimacy or even pretending that any of the proceedings were in line with the constitution.

Everything had the blessing of the Electoral Commission it was stated. One member of the NCC actually asked direct questions as to the legitimacy of the observers and of the proceedings only to be fobbed off .

Ken Ferguson who was still under a motion to remove him as Communications Director for breaches of the Data Protection Act was acting as ringmaster and allowed to vote. Ferguson rushed the ‘good news’ of the new appointments online, before the minutes were even drafted, congratulations all round (despite nobody being willing to accept the poisoned chalice of being treasurer)

Except just one fly in the ointment, a call from the Electoral Commission allegedly saying that due to poor Parliamentary dafting (??) the registered officers remained the same, and unless the transfer of officers was in line with the procedures of PPERA, the Act that governs registered political parties, the ‘new NCC‘ would be rejected by the Electoral Commission. And they were.

The small group around Ferguson, who now sees himself as leader in waiting, have been a little shy of announcing this gaffe that they discovered for themselves after having been repeatedly told that they were acting unconstitutionally on the 20th May. So currently the LPUK is a ghost ship, with various proposals to rip up the constitution and turn it into everything from an internet party to a committee led workers collective that will certainly ensure its rapid demise.

Various requests to turn the donation button back on and put moderation on the site to prevent further defamation and harassment were met by a blank refusal by the 'communications' director.

The truth is that the NCC announced by Ferguson had no validity has been known since the 20th May. The open and transparent ‘new leadership’ has decided not to make this public.

With no income and memberships flowing into the new unauthorised account, which is not declared as an accounting unit to the Electoral Commission, the insolvency situation has become even worse.

Faced with a blank refusal by Ferguson to stay within the constitution, together with electoral and civil law, and in line with Ferguson’s proposed ‘new constitution’ that suggests that registered officers will have no power, but are simply there to carry the can personally for breaches of of those laws, coupled with the suggestion that the party does not need more than £200 a year just to run his website, the Nominations Officer yesterday decided to call it a day and do the decent thing, and publish a public apology.

Except of course there was no way that this was ever going to be published on the LPUK website whilst under the control of the ‘Communications Director’, whose sole aim appears to be only to communicate what is acceptable to him and censor the rest.

The membership lists were handed over yesterday to the remaining registered officers and the following apology was made by Simon Fawthrop.

An Apology To Andrew Withers, the NCC, Membership and Supporters.

I want to make an apology to Andrew Withers, he is and always has been Party Leader as recognised by the EC and relevant legislation and the Party Constitution and I had no right to try to elect a new Leader and Treasurer. I also wish to apologise to the NCC and the wider membership and supporters for misleading you all about the position of Party Leader and Treasurer, I was wrong and it was not in my power to seek to fill those positions that I thought were vacant.

It was my misunderstanding that Andrew had resigned as Party Leader and that we needed to appoint a new Leader and Treasurer to be compliant with the relevant legislation. I now know that Andrew had not resigned and, furthermore, cannot resign. This means that Andrew is and always has been Party Leader and, with the resignation of John Watson, Treasurer.

As such the NCC meeting that I convened to find replacements for Treasurer and Leader was against the letter of the Constitution and means those NCC elections are not and have never been valid.

Obviously having been so wrong I cannot continue in any capacity within the Party and I have informed Andrew that I am resigning with immediate effect as Data Officer and Membership Secretary. Furthermore, I will step down as Nominations Officer as soon as a replacement is found. I am sure there are many members willing to take on those vital roles.

Once again, I apologise to Andrew and those I have misled and I wish you all well for the future.

Regards,
Simon

This is great shame as Simon has been a consistent and effective membership secretary for over two years, yet again another officer forced out by a small cabal who maintain that they are for openness, transparency and the continuance of the Libertarian Party, but act in exactly the opposite manner. This situation has been known to them for nearly two weeks.

The South West Branch has organised a meeting of its members on the 18th June to try an map out a proposed future for the party, the Scottish branch are doing the same in July.

Clearly things cannot go on as they are, the insolvency caused by the deliberate cutting off of funds needs to be urgently addressed or the party de registered. If it is to continue it may need to be restructured into a federal model. Clearly the ‘internet party’ has to cease.

What is certain is that the SGM to change the constitution called for 18th June 2011 has no validity constitutionally and would not be recognised by the Electoral Commission.

As the existing registered officers have only a short term intention to stay in office to either attend to funeral arrangements or to seek a more viable model for the lpuk to exist, within its constitution and comply with electoral law, the future of LPUK still remains uncertain.

New LPUK Website and Blog Goes Live 31st March

2011-03-30T07:59:00.002+01:00

The new integrated LPUK website and blog goes live on 31st March 2011 at www.lpuk.org in a more user friendly magazine version. You should redirect to this site.

Thanks to Ken Ferguson LPUK's Communication Director and the rest of the team who have put so much of their time and expertise into this project in the last three months.

Gregg Beaman To Stand In Oldham East For Libertarian Party

2010-11-05T13:55:00.002Z

Following the welcome news that Phil Woolas now ex MP has been gound guilty of electoral wrong doing

Gregg Beaman has announced his decision to run for the Libertarian Party in Oldham East.

2010 Libertarian Conference- 27th November 2010

2010-10-05T14:30:00.003+01:00

This will be held at the Punch Tavern, 99 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1 DE 27th November 2010 as we rotate for the third year back to London, from York 2008 and Bristol 2009.

You will need to register and pay £10 to off set costs by Nov 1st to receive your voting card and agenda. I do not propose to take money on the day.

Please pay via our account at HSBC noting your membership number and LP2010 as the reference.

If you would like to make a donation over and above (Please) mark as Donation.

40-28-20 Sort Code Account Number 92635313

It is envisaged that Libertarians of the non member variety can be invited but cannot obviously vote, hence the voting card.

Postal votes are obtainable from 1984@lpuk.org for NCC positions.

Tax Blunder Rebellion

2010-09-07T11:33:00.001+01:00

Never mind the politics of whether or not William Hague is gay (not in the slightest importance to me) this is serious stuff, and should make any sensible person question why they should not be a Libertarian. I reprint in full the following from the Anna Raccoon site in the hope people are going to start waking up.

Start

It’s been a while since there has been a story in the press that left me with my jaw so far down that it hurt. But today, I believe, we are firmly back in the deranged world of government gone completely insane:

HM Revenue and Customs could take direct control of every worker’s monthly pay cheque under plans to overhaul the error-prone income tax system.

Instead of employers deducting income tax then paying gross salaries to employees, the gross monthly payment would go to an HMRC-run tax “calculator”, which would then pass the net salary to the worker.

The reform would mean the end of traditional monthly payslips, because employers would no longer be able to tell workers how much tax they had paid each month.

The immediate thought that comes to mind is: what do we do when (and not if!) this all goes wrong? What happens when, as will inevitably happen, HMRC makes a balls up and takes your whole month’s salary? Who will you fight with? Without a payslip, how do you budget for the forthcoming month, especially if you are on highly variable wages? What about people with all sorts of different sources of income? How will this “help” them? What about people who have valid reasons for submitting an annual return to claw money back?

Inevitably, this kind of glorious “lateral thinking” is a result of the many failings of the people in HMRC. Why is the long-suffering taxpayer being exposed to this extraordinary risk? It’s not like the government exactly has a fantastic track record when it comes to grandiose computer systems.

I’m going to do something that I don’t generally do, because I’m not as erudite at campaigning as Anna: I’m going to ask you to spread the word about this as far as you can; I’m going to ask you to write to your useless MP and complain in the strongest possible terms about this insane idea; write to your local newspaper, tell all your friends and do everything you can think of to stop this insane idea from becoming reality.

Because although Anna is a wonderful campaigner, I don’t think there’s enough of her to go around to save each and every one of us!

UPDATE: I am generally loathe to update articles, especially if they have only just been published, but I feel that this information may be of great value to 1.4 million taxpayers:

The first batch of 45,000 letters demanding cash to be repaid will start to arrive on Tuesday – with the rest sent out over the next four months.

But accountants said recipients should act swiftly to use a little-known loophole which forces HM Revenue and Customs to abandon ‘out of the blue’ demands and effectively write off the money.

They also insisted many of those affected are entitled to argue that they or their employer have done nothing wrong and should not be penalised for someone else’s blunder.

Enough is enough. It is time to starve these incompetent thieves of our hard-earned money!

Still Fighting 'them' on the beaches

2010-08-22T09:24:00.001+01:00

The War goes on ! The war against Fascism (The marriage of the big State with big Corporations) we were told ended in 1945. Another skirmish has broken out, that the Libertarian Party is pleased to be part of-

All the links in the following article reproduced in full are to be found here on the Anna Raccoon site

70 years ago this week, Winston Churchill made his famous speech immortalising the words ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’ He did so to rally every man and woman in these Isles to support the war effort:

“because we have been nurtured in freedom and individual responsibility and are the products, not of totalitarian uniformity, but of tolerance and variety.”

Sheila Martin was a fragile babe in arms when her Mother heard those words. Too young to understand the menace behind the Messerschmitts and Heinkels screaming overhead and disturbing her slumber. She was the intended beneficiary of Churchill’s words, one of the generation of children that depended on the bravery of British men such as her Father, away in France fighting for the freedom, tolerance and variety that was Britain’s hallmark.

Today, Sheila is once more fragile; she is 70 years old and was widowed 30 years ago. She tells me she has survived five heart attacks; she suffers from asthma, angina and high blood pressure. She only smokes the occasional cigarette these days, partly for health reasons, partly because her minimal state pension doesn’t stretch to any more.

70 years after Churchill’s speech was made, she has retired from a lifetime of hard work.

She was part of that unsung army of hard working, clean living, decent individuals, who cheerfully got up every morning and trudged off to put in a decent days work for a paltry wage as a ‘Mrs Mop’, raised her family, nurtured her marriage, made ends meet, saved little, but asked little in return, save the freedom, and tolerance that her older relatives had fought to provide. She is not a politically aware lady, nor insolent, nor ambitious for financial rewards.

In common with other ‘Smokers’ who may not like the new laws prohibiting them from smoking where others may be offended by the practice, she respected the law of the land, and complied. She is no campaigner against such laws.

Thus it was that she found herself standing at a bus stop, waiting for the bus which would take her home, and taking the opportunity to smoke a cigarette in the open air – there was no bus shelter. She could no longer smoke a cigarette on the top deck of the bus. She had not been able to smoke a cigarette with the cup of tea she shared with her daughter in town. Now she must stand in the road to enjoy the ‘freedom, tolerance and variety’ of the British Isles.

She only smoked half the cigarette; as the time drew close for the bus to arrive, she ‘nibbed’ the cigarette, letting the lit end fall to the ground, and thriftily stowing the other half of the cigarette in her handbag for a later occasion. It was her last cigarette until pension day.

Two of Sandwell’s famed ‘enforcement wardens’ approached her – a man and a woman. They told her that they were issuing a ‘Fixed Penalty Fine’ of £75 under Section 87 (1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as amended by Section 18 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This mouthful of gobblygook was lost on Sheila; she had no idea what she had done wrong and put the piece of paper in her pocket.

Once home, friends and neighbours clustered round to read this piece of officialdom. Sheila still had the ‘end’ of the cigarette, with its precious inch or so of un-smoked tobacco in her handbag, so how could she be accused of littering the street – it had to be the cigarette ash they were talking about?

I have spoken to Sandwell Council, they tell me that they do not issue fixed penalty notices for cigarette ‘ash’ – I am sure they don’t. I am equally sure that Mrs Martin is telling the truth when she tells me that the half cigarette with its ‘butt’ was still safely in her handbag when she returned home. So we are left with the quandary of whether the ‘lit’ end of a cigarette, which will become cigarette ‘ash’ within seconds, constitutes parliament’s intention when they defined litter as including:

In section 98 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (definitions), after subsection (5) insert—

“(5A)“Litter” includes—

(a) the discarded ends of cigarettes, cigars and like products, and

(b) discarded chewing-gum and the discarded remains of other products designed for chewing.”

If a court holds that it does, then every smoker is liable for a £75 fine every time they smoke a cigarette in the street. I do not believe that to be parliament’s intention.

On Friday, the threatening ‘Final Demand’ from Sandwell Council, warning her that she now faces a £2,500 fine plus costs (and possible imprisonment if she does not pay that) expired. The next opportunity for Mrs Martin to contest this matter will come in ‘some months time’ – the council cannot tell me when her case will arrive at the top of their back log of cases to appear in the Magistrates court.

Sheila Martin is frightened, intimidated, and feels helpless in the face of this prosecution. She is in delicate health, aggravated by stress, and I have asked the council to reconsider their decision to press ahead with what may well be an interesting test case defining a cigarette end, but which will be at the expense of a frail and elderly person. They have referred me to their ‘revised Enforcement Policy’ – which makes for terrifying reading, a fine example of the totalitarian government Sheila’s Father fought so bravely to prevent. (available HERE)

Nick Hogan, who I was instrumental in rescuing from prison after similar council action, has joined with me, the Libertarian Party and the Sunday Mercury, to ensure that Sheila suffers as little as possible from the council’s intransience.

We have already arranged for some very high powered legal representation for her, to put her mind at rest, and I have promised her that she will go to prison ‘over my dead body’ – she is obviously unable to pay this fine, or incremental increases of it, and I have personally guaranteed her that somehow I will make sure that she doesn’t have to pay it herself, nor go to prison.

There is no need for money at present, all the legal beagles so far involved are kindly donating their time and expertise free of charge – although if there are any other lawyers out there who would like to join the team, this is one broth that will not be spoiled by too many cooks. My e-mail address is on the contact section of this blog.

70 years ago we were prepared to ‘fight them on the beaches’ – how appropriate that today we prepare to f’ight them on the Sandwell……’

The Target For This Month

2010-06-29T22:19:00.000+01:00

We need to start raising funds for the local Elections in 2011, I would like to appeal to all members and supporters to donate what you can this month.

Our account number is 92635313 Sort Code 40-28-20

Our immediate target is £2000. We are looking to open a permanent office to handle donations and all the other administration and membership applications.

Times are hard but every £5 and £10 is income in the right direction.

Working For The Man

2010-05-28T15:54:00.001+01:00

North East Branch Meeting

2010-05-18T11:00:00.004+01:00

Libertarian Party members in the North East (Cleveland, Durham, Tyneside & Northumberland) might like to make a note in their diaries that the first meeting of our regional branch will be held in the Destination Bar of the Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at 1pm on Saturday 29th May.

We will be discussing the appointment of a branch Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, and hopefully voting on the adoption of a Branch Constitution. Ideas for gaining publicity for the Party and fundraising will also be on the agenda.

Anyone who is not a party member but who is thinking of joining is welcome to attend, but be prepared to spend some of your beer money on membership fees, which are a very modest £15 per year, and/or a donation to Libertarian Party funds, which will be gratefully received!

Day Of Days !

2010-05-11T16:42:00.000+01:00

Guido has unconfirmed Reports he has gone.

Quick Get a stake to drive through Mandelson's 'heart' to make sure

ELECTORAL REFORM NOW !

2010-04-30T09:19:00.003+01:00

Libertarian Party Manifesto 2010

2010-04-28T14:21:00.000+01:00

We have seen much of the big three party's manifesto pledges. To this end I submit for review the Libertarian Party manifesto. Please note that you can compare this manifesto by carrying out a search for your party's name along with the terms manifesto and the year.

If the views presented are more to your liking perhaps you should contact the party, donate, become involved or a combination of all of the three!

In a country where we are individuals having choice is important. We should be aware of the decisions our representatives are making, the impact they have not just on our lives but that of all people and ensure our voices are being heard.

Libertarian+Manifesto

EDIT: For those of you that require this document in another format please email
sutton @lpuk.org

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth

2010-04-15T13:12:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the late comment on yesterday's Daily Politics show with this delectable washed up hack Mr Andrew Neil (61). Pictured here with yet another young lovely not the one that had previously been photographed with wearing a baseball hat that Private Eye repeatedly reprinted.

Anyway, the disgust that this hack produced yesterday has led to a glut of membership applications and donations to our tiny and irrelevant party in the last twenty four hours.

Neill and the BBC do not understand the meaning of 'Public Service Broadcasting' for which the BBC has a charter and the ability to enforce a TV tax to pay for itself. Neill felt that it was not his task to question Mounsey on his party's policies, but to play the man himself, attacking his blog. The wee balding scotsman is not fond of anybody who has any association with public schools, so Mounsey was never going to be off to a good start.

This morning Chris has deleted his blog, and has made a personal decision to tone down the visceral anger that has been his trademark.

Unlike the rest of the BBC, professional politicians and Neil himself sucking off the teat of the public purse, the members of the Libertarian Party are committed amateurs. We cannot afford to have our real jobs and lives threatened by those who feel threatened by having been caught fleecing the public purse in 'Rotten Parliament' and in the BBC.

Neill appears in another show were he sits around chuckling with the hypocrite Diane Abbott and the ever bizarre Portillo. If these three are what the BBC thinks represents politics no wonder forty per cent of the population don't vote, and the rest are utterly disillusioned with what is on offer, including the sterile 'Leaders' debate tonight.

Dinosaurs ruled the earth once, they do not do so now as they were unable to adapt to a new reality.

Cameron A Halfway House Libertarian?

2010-04-14T07:50:00.001+01:00

Where a libertarian party would simply decree that it is for the individual to build a strong family, get their children into a good school and find work, Cameron's conservatism wants to actively help people secure those three fundamental building blocks of the good life.

Tim Montgomerie

Yes, it is the Libertarian Party's belief that it is upto you to build your family, get the best education and get work. It is nothing to do with a raft of Quangocrats,Social Workers and politicians setting targets. All of these have removed tesponsibility from the family, along with crushing taxes that would make it financially easier.

Cameron has already stated infront of his party conference, that he does not lead a Libertarian Party. I don't want to be a partner in Government, I do not want to govern anybody else.

I do want Government off my back

Libertarian Party Leader On 'BBC DAILY POLITICS' Wednesday 14th April

2010-04-13T09:08:00.001+01:00

Fresh from the bearpit that was 'The Big Question' on BBC last Sunday (available on BBC iPlayer) Chris Mounsey is on the Daily Politics Show tomorrow Wednesday 14th.

Hopefully there will not be a member of the medical profession on the programme as per last Sunday who said 'I'm a Libertarian too, but I want everything banned' (paraphrasing a bit there I know)

Chris will be putting forward the proposition that the State should get out of our lives.

Appeal For Funds

2010-04-13T08:28:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank everybody members,supporters and non members for their financial support over the last week, however we have to up our income significantly over the next few weeks to support our candidates.

PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN

Martin Cullip to stand in Sutton & Cheam

2010-04-12T10:33:00.001+01:00

Martin's website will be going live shortly.

Death Of A Democratic Liberal Nation

2010-04-09T09:09:00.001+01:00

General Election Turnout

1992 77.7%
1997 71.4%
2001 59.4%
2005 61.4%

Source UKPolitical Info

Percentage share of the Total Electorate that voted Labour in 2005 21%

Source Railings & Thrasher

Labour Party 35.3% of the Vote 356 seats 55% of total seats
Conservative 32.3% of the Vote 198 seats 31% of total seats
Lib Dems 22.0% of the Vote 62 seats 9% of total seats
Other 8.0% of the Vote 30seats 5% of total seats

Nearly 40% of our fellow citizens are not likely to vote in 2010 because of apathy,ignorance or they are disenfranchised.

If you live in a 'safe' seat and your vote is largely an irrelevance.

These depressing statistics show that we cannot pretend to be a democratic nation, we are an oligarchy. Yesterday Clegg came to Bristol. Big Poster on a truck, swarm of journalists, not one voter! He said with a straight face that he expected to be in No 10 to an open mouthed BBC reporter.

He is lying to himself, to the camera and to the voters and he should hang his head in shame. He knows he will never march into Whitehall under FTP because it is rigged in favour of the big two.
Clegg does not understand the zeitgeist and is weaker for it. He has already flunked his historic destiny for himself and his party.

Stop pretending that the Lib Dems are anything other than 'kingmakers' and set out your stall for proportional representation and an end to this squalid excuse of a gerrymandered 'Representative Democracy', these opportunities only come along once every forty years. Ashdown was conned by Blair, and Clegg has clearly learned nothing from the experience.

All three parties are quibbling over Tax, the real issue is Constitutional Reform, I have never seen such depression in the public and the minor parties, knowing that no matter how hard they try and how much money is spent it will make very little difference to the Political Elite. The Rotten Parliament is about to be replaced by the squalid Parliament, full of party placemen, and with precious little mandate and legitimacy from the Electorate.

Libertarian Party Endorsed Candidate Surges To Third Place In The Betting Stakes

2010-04-08T10:42:00.000+01:00

Ladbrokes comprehensive betting on the General Election website for many constituencies and they appear to be giving David Kirwan the best odds for any Independent or fringe Party. They are consistently giving UKIP, Greens & BNP throughout the 649 constituencies 100/1. In both Wirral South & Wallasey UKIP is on 100/1.

David Kirwan is an independent endorsed by the Libertarian Party

In Wirral West the betting is….

Conservatives 1/10

Labour 5/1

DSK 50/1

Liberal Democrats 100/1

UKIP 100/1

Jury Team 100/1

David appears to be the only Independent or fringe Party etc ahead of the Liberal Democrats anywhere? This is a great opportunity to break the political mould and elect an Independent.

David Kirwan's website is www.davidkirwan.co.uk

2010-04-07T23:03:00.001+01:00

Send Us Your ******* Money !

2010-03-18T08:29:00.001Z

To Quote Saint Bob Send Us Your ******* Money!

We are looking to open a permanent office and employ a part time paid member of staff

We doubled our income in 2009, and I would like to see if we can do this again in 2010.

Two donors that have agreed to underwrite the costs, which will take the admin load off

the volunteer members of the NCC and ensure a friendly voice at the end of the

telephone for members, supporters and voters.

Please email donate@lpuk.org for a Standing Order Form or

pay direct to

Sort code 40-28-20 A/c 92635313 giving your membership number as a reference, as Donation- (number)

If you are are Supporter- just put Supporter.

Cheques can be sent to Libertarian Party, 33 Castle Road, Walton St Mary, Clevedon BS21 7DA .

Get Off Our Backs- LPUK Campaign Slogan

2010-03-14T10:47:00.001Z

Whilst the Conservatives have 'Time for a change' (yawn- I can see no radical change a coming, just more of the same, Labour want a fairer Britain ( what as opposed to a vast interfering state run and financed by UNITE) and the Social Democrats want a change to a fairer Britain (puh-lease !)

The Libertarian Party has one simple message, GET OF OUR BACKS this applies to all members of the two and a half party State.

Stop taxing us to death, stop passing laws every ten minutes creating more criminal offences, replace 'Parliamentary Democracy' with a Referenda based local democracy. Let us decide the best way to spend our money,live our lives Not you

Nick Hogan Released -Official

2010-03-10T16:58:00.000Z

It took the blogosphere just four days to raise
the near £10 000 to secure the release of Nick Hogan, imprisoned for
six months for flouting the smoking ban in his own premises and failing
to act as the States unofficial Policeman.

It took a further five days to convince Paypal
that the money collected was not part of some International Money
Laundering, Drugs and Sex trafficking Ring, and for the cash to be
released by a High Street Bank under the Money Laundering
'Regulations', during which time Nick continued to languish in Jail.
This in an age when Billions can be rocketed from London to Tokyo in
seconds by our trusted and well beloved Banking industry.

This was always a Libertarian issue, a civil rights issue rather than a
Public Health issue. The hypocrisy of taxing tobacco and punishing its
users beggars belief. If I choose to inhale noxious substances on my
own property, that is my own decision. If members of the public do not
like it do not come onto my private property, go somewhere else to
drink your own brand of poison (until it is banned next of course)

In an age of political parties queuing up to 'do something' which usually means banning something the Libertarian Party was pleased to support Old Holborn and Anna Raccoon with cash and what publicity and support it could muster. However we were more pleased that this attracted support and money from across the political spectrum and across the world.

We do not have to put up with this, we are the people not this Stasi inclined State

Just Do Something To Fight Back- This Is A Libertarian Issue

2010-03-01T17:17:00.000Z

This is a Libertarian issue if there ever was one, for the sake of £1, you can get a man released from prison. Old Holborn is running a campaign to raise £10 000 to get his fine paid.

As of 16.00 Hrs Monday the amount raised was £3144.00

There has been a fair amount of comment in the blogosphere regarding the six month jail sentence given to Nick Hogan for flouting the 'no-smoking ban'.

Outrage has been duly expressed, here, there, and everywhere. Perhaps we can do better than just express outrage?

Nick was actually jailed for non-payment of the fine originally imposed for a 'mass smoke-in' on the day the ban came into force in 2007 in his pub, the 'Swan and Barristers' in Bolton. He no longer has that pub. He was fined again when council inspectors walked into his present pub and discovered a group of customers smoking - Nick wasn't even on the premises.

His wife, Denise, is now managing their present pub in Chorley herself. Their trade is so low that they don't even bother to open the downstairs bar. Nick is bankrupt, and had gone to court intending to argue that he could not afford the £500 a month payments demanded by the council towards their £11,600 bill for prosecuting him. He has already paid off £1,600. The court gave him a six month sentence instead, and he is currently in Forest Bank prison in Pendlebury, unable to help to earn the money which would ensure his release.

Denise has not even been able to speak to him since he was sentenced. She has merely been told to phone the prison on Monday to enquire when she might see him. She is confused, frightened, and feeling very lonely.

If all the people who disagree with the no-smoking ban contributed a few coppers, then Nick would be released. If you can't afford £1, then at least drop Nick a line and let him know he is not forgotten - not surprisingly, he is feeling very depressed.

Denise has just said to me 'all the people who disagree with the ban - where are they now? - and my Nick is in prison'. Quite.

Denise has no idea how to use the Internet, she has no idea how many of us are against the no-smoking ban. Let's show her.

£1 each - just 10,000 of you - let's see if the blogosphere can do more than merely rant in unison. Once the amount received totals the outstanding fine, they have to release Nick.

Nick's address is:

HMP & YOI Forest Bank
Agecroft Road
Pendlebury
Manchester
M27 8FB

OH UPDATE: Under the health act of 2006, it is the responsibility of the owner or the controller of "smoke free" space to uphold the law. It is not illegal to smoke in a shop or on a train. It is illegal for the owner or controller of the space to allow you to smoke.

Reprinted from the OH site

THE DONATE BUTTON IS ON THE OH SITE TOP RIGHT

The Libertarian Party is utterly opposed to people going to jail for offences such as this.

Be careful what you wish for

2010-02-14T14:47:00.002Z

Banks, like any other business, try to attract the best talent available by offering the best conditions, usually the higher pay and bonus. By limiting the bonus they can pay to their employees, the Government limits the talent they can attract and makes it difficult for the banks to repay government money.

Bonuses is a flammable subject and the Government is trying to get some votes out of it but the politics of envy are hard to manage: you cannot generate just the "right" level of anger before everything gets out of control. And anger spreads quickly.

Banks should be able to pay whatever bonuses they want. The problem is that they should have never been bail-out in the first place. Socialising the loses and privatising the profits generates envy, and envy takes us one step closer to socialism. Norther Rock and RBS should have never been rescued by the taxpayers. The consequences of that are only now starting to appear.

Fly you fools !

2010-02-07T20:17:00.002Z

Most Europeans governments denied the 2007 economic crash hoping that consumers would keep spending and thus averting most of the disaster. In the meantime, businessmen close to the governments and highly-paid bureaucrats were cashing their shares and running like a Balrog was chasing them. Treating citizens like idiots is a characteristic of deficient democracies.

Britain seems to be in a "back to normal" mood, now that the economy grew 0.1% last quarter. It took the largest economic stimuli in history, including the printing of £200 billion pounds, a near 30% devaluation of the Pound and a budget deficit close to 12% to grow 0.1%. Now, the media and the Labour government try to make us believe that the depression is over. They hope that Britons will carry on buying things they do not need with money they do not have.

Listening to what the government and the media say is close to economic suicide. House prices, no matter what you read on the tabloids, will not grow 10% this year. There is a £170 billion hole in the public finances and guess who is going to cover it. Investors tread UK debt as toilet paper.

The 2007 crash was only the beginning. The bureaucrats know it, the lobbyist know it, the government knows it. And, despite what they might thing, we know it.

We are not as stupid as they think.

Follow the Byzantines

2010-01-31T21:12:00.002Z

The Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire's economy was based on agriculture but it offered two peculiarities: it had a very strict Gold Standard and the successive Emperors respected free trade. The "solidus" was the medieval Dollar for nearly six hundred years and helped to turn Byzantium into the most advanced, prosperous and wealthy state on Earth with a capital city ten times larger than any other European metropolis.

Debasing the currency is the oldest trick in the book. The Romans did it in the 3rd century to pay for their civil wars. Even the Byzantines did it in early 11th century (yes, more civil wars), marking the beginning of the end of their glory. We all know what happened to Germany after the monetary chaos of the 1920s. As Ron Paul put it in his book "End the Fed", no great civilization has ever survive after abandoning the gold standard. I guess the sorry current state of the West is just another sad example.

One for the Euro

2010-01-24T21:04:00.002Z

This might sound politically incorrect, but I do not think the Euro is such a bad thing. Granted, had the UK joined it in 2001, our housing/financial bubble would have been even worse (interest rates in Euroland were lower), but now we would have no other choice but to do what Ireland is doing. Instead of printing money and inflate our way out of the crisis through inflation, we would need to live within our means and cut expenses.

The European Central Bank has no such wide powers as the Bank of England to create money out of thin air. It can provide "liquidity schemes" and devalue the Euro of course, but with so many countries nobody agrees on anything so the currency is left largely untouched.

Besides, the Euro is based on a German-Standard, by which a country's risk of default is measured against Germany's. It isn't a Gold Standard, but it is something. No wonder Russia has 50% of its foreign reserves in Euro, a currency that did not exist just a few years ago, and barely nothing in centuries-old Sterling.

As long as the EU do not rescue Greece and its members are forced to maintain some level of fiscal discipline, Euroland countries will avoid the currency crisis we suffer here every 15 years or so.

First Authoritarian Outing Of Tory Party Policy

2010-01-20T09:47:00.000Z

A Prisoners Earnings to Be Taxed
and the money used to fund Rape Crisis Centres

Fabian social control using the Tax system, how novel !

Strengthening Police stop and Search powers, and 'grounding' orders

The Police will love that, and abuse it the same way they did the Terrorism Act

Anybody caught carrying a knife should expect to go to jail

That's me buggered then, I had better start practicing gnawing through stuff as an alternative to carrying a tool to do the job.

Allow Police to use surveillance powers in routine cases without need for authorisation

The Stasi Charter, the DDR did this they bugged and followed people and completedly missed the 1989 revolution. Do CCHQ not watch films like the 'Lives of Others' or read books like '1989, The Berlin Wall, My Part In Its Downfall' by Peter Millar.

The Police will love this

Replace Police Authorities with Elected Police Commissioners.

No No No, Elected Chief Constables. In Swindon when the Authority said they were going to rip out speed cameras, the Chief Constable just said he was not accepting that, and would put more mobile units on the street. The Chief Constable should set out his Policing Priorities in his manifesto, not drafted by the likes of Jack Straw.

VOTE TORY, VOTE FOR AN AUTHORITARIAN POLICE STATE

This crap comes out the same day the Met was chastised for allowing a taxi Driver sexually assault forty women, because they basically could not give a toss.

Let's print some quids

2010-01-17T17:05:00.005Z

I was first told about the Gold Standard in school, when I was around 8 years old. The teacher told us that, before the Spanish Civil War, we could take our "pesetas" notes to the Central Bank and they would give us a bit of gold (I never put that to the test, though). Now, the teacher said, the value of money was based on the amount of it, and the amount of it depends on the Central Bank. The system, the teacher said, was now based on "trust".

The "trust" he referred to was the hope that the Central Bank and the Government will not mess everything up (I am way too old to believe in "independent" Central Banks). The Bank could print money to pay for Government debts, because the debts were fixed ("hey, you owe me a trillion pounds") but the value of money was not ("yeah, I'll print them out for you!").

It is the equivalent to pay for a £500 new TV by getting cash from a cash machine with your Visa Electron (you've got to have the money in you account), or use your Visa Credit Card instead (you create money out of nothing although you'll have to pay it back in the future).

Credit Cards create an illusion of wealth because one can afford a lot of things "now" and pay "later". The same happens with the Government. The Government can get a lot of things now (hospitals, benefits, wars) and pay later. Or, better still, don't pay at all and simply print the money, which causes its value and the value of the debts to fall. One cannot print gold or create it out of nothing, that's why Governments don't like it. Paper money isn't good for the lender but quite nice for whoever owes the money.

The guy who invented the fiat currency, or paper money, system was quite clever. And he definitely owed money to someone.

How "fair" is that?

2010-01-10T17:56:00.003Z

"Fairness" is one those words that sound really good and mean very little. "Fair Trade" is assumed to be good, thus progressives buy "Fair Trade Coffee" thinking that they are saving the world. That is only wishful thinking.

"Fairness" cannot be measured. Is £0.50 extra on the price of the coffee "fair" enough? or £0.63? paying an extra premium to selected farmers in poor countries only damage their competitive edge against other farmers which will eventually bankrupt them: free money does little to incentive better production.

It is equally absurd to try to "help" poor farmers whilst the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) uses nearly 50% of the EU budget in trying to keep poor countries' agriculture out of European supermarkets by protecting rich French farmers. Should the CAP be lifted, poor farmers in Africa would be able to sell their products in the EU and earn an honest living.

"Fair trade" is like "global warming" and "organic food": just nice words to make some wishful thinkers in the West feel better about themselves and add some meaning to their lives (saving the African farmers or, think big, the Planet). It is also a very damaging to Third World economies.

Exciting Times Cost Money

2010-01-06T14:25:00.001Z

Things should start getting a bit more exciting for the LPUK in the next few weeks, the NCC have been pondering the publicity blackout enforced by the Main stream Media. Not ones to don spidermen outfits and dangle from the House of Commons roof or a nearby bridges, we needed a cost effective alternative. Chris Mounsey our new leader has this now in hand, and when the go is given, LPUK members will be the first to know.

My job as treasurer is however to prepare for the upswing. At the the Conference I said I hoped that we could open a permanent office staffed by at least one part time official and backed up by volunteers. My target date for this is May 2010. To do this I am relying on a core of donors to guarantee the wage bill and other running costs.

However we will need office equipment of all descriptions, if you think you can donate that Louis XIV desk please let us know asap.

In the meantime we still need to up our donation rate, so please give generously as a member or as one of the LPUK's supporters. Monthly Standing order forms can be quickly set up to our account so please contact us at donate@lpuk.org

Ultima-Online economics

2010-01-03T19:20:00.004Z

I played Ultima Online years ago, an online role-playing game similar to today's World of Warcraft. It was a fantastic game but also a clear example of economic mess-up.

One of the highlights of the game was the possibility to buy your in-game house. It was not too expensive at the beginning but things changed when more players joined. Because the game allowed only a limited number of houses due to server limitations, prices started to rise and most new players could not afford them.

The programers tried to sort that out by "quantitative easing" or printing money. Killing monsters suddenly offered twice as much money. They thought that would allow new players to buy houses but instead it created massive inflation: the money became less valuable because there was more of it available, destroying the players' savings and ruining all the fun. It must be the Government's favourite game.

World of Warcraft has 11 million players. As long as they keep their in-game currency strong, things will go well. Otherwise it will become some sort of Ultima-on-Britain.

Mr. T's pearl of wisdom

2009-12-21T19:07:00.003Z

My prediction for 2010 is in line with what Mr. T stated in Rocky III regarding his fight with Rocky Balboa: "pain". In turbulent times, Mr. T offers comforting honesty.

The third year of the (Second) Great Depression - the Year of Our Lord 2010-, will feel like receiving a credit card bill we had forgotten about. Instead of tackling the economic problems like the Irish have done, the Labour Government has simply asked for an overdraft.

In 2010 we will realise at last that the Government simply cannot bail out every failed business and every greedy borrower who took on a 125 per cent mortgage from Northern Rock. Like every addiction, the addiction to Government will not be easy to beat but beat it we must. If we understand that freedom retreads when the Government expands, we will be able to build a better future for our children. If not, the only thing we will leave them will be a trillion-pound bill for our stupidity and a country on the road to serfdom.

Mr. T's "pain" might sound tough. But the longer we delay it, the more it will hurt.

Rewarding failure

2009-12-13T15:38:00.002Z

The problem we face is our short memory. The economy grows for a reason, because free enterprise have enough space to develop and success is rewarded with better jobs and lives for our families. Once we remove the conditions for economic growth, surprise, the economy stops growing and will not start growing again until we resume those conditions.

Too many people believe money can be created out of thin air (or out of credit cards) and work is only an optional nuisance. We assume that the economy will continue growing forever, no matter how big government becomes and how much we tax honest citizens to subsidize those who are lazy and selfish.

We pay so much money to "help the poor" that we have locked millions of people in the cold, soulless machinery of the state and rewarded failure to such extend that it is no longer worth working or studying hard. Why work when "the poor" get a salary and a house for life and the hard-working taxpayers who create wealth and jobs are taxed to death? Is it not just better to aspire to be poor?

Once we have taxed to exhaustion all the bankers, entrepreneurs, businessmen and anybody earning an honest living, there will be nobody left to create jobs and prosperity. That moment is approaching worryingly fast.

Another one bites the (desert) dust

2009-12-06T14:19:00.002Z

Dubai has joined the Scottish Premier Alex Salmond's 2006 "Arch of Prosperity", with fellow bankrupt members Iceland and Ireland. Sheikh Mohammed’s, the emirate's alpha male, building spree ended badly when Dubai failed to back "Dubai World", the umbrella company behind all those nice hotels, because there is not enough money.

To cut it short: a teenager (Sheik Mohammed) took his dad's credit card and went on a shopping spree expecting the dad (Abu Dhabi, the Emirate with oil and gas) to pay the bill. The problem is the dad was already upset about the whole business and the uncles (Emirates Central Bank and the international credit markets) couldn't keep cheating the creditors by giving away Monopoly notes and borrowing for ever and ever.

The Dubai crisis offers some relief for the cynical: at least it was your neighbour's house burning and not yours. Next in line in Greece. And printing money and depending too much on foreign funding sounds worryingly like Britain.

Dedicated to our fellow spender Sheikh Mohammed !

No insurance is the best insurance (really)

2009-11-29T14:00:00.003Z

Sounds surprising but uninsured drivers are less likely to have an accident: they drive carefully because they know nobody will pay for their car's repair. The same principle should apply to banks but it does not because the government guarantees up to £50,000 per saver and institution in the event of a bank going burst. No wonder the less solvent banks usually top the best savings rankings and savers are happy to trust them their cash: no matter what happens, they will get their money back, courtesy of fellow taxpayers.

That incentives risk-taking. Banks lend irresponsibly without worrying about the consequences or caring for their customers' money because the government will always step in to save the folk's savings. Without that guarantee, banks would think twice before trying to become the next Intergalactic Empire (RBS buying the Dutch lender ABN AMRO in 2007, the Force was not so strong after all) and savers would deposit their hard-earned cash into solvent institutions.

Nationwide: run, baby,run !

2009-11-22T15:55:00.004Z

Graham Beale, [Nationwide's] chief executive, also warned of a renewed fall in
house prices next year as more people lost their jobs and unemployment rose. -
Via FT.com

The government is hoping that the low interest rates will generate a new property bubble to take the country out of recession - at least until the next election. That is not going to happen because:

1- Britons cannot even save £200 for a new TV under the "buy now, pay later" culture, let alone saving 30k for a house deposit.

2-Nobody has 30k anyway: Britain has one of the world's highest debt-to-GDP ratios. The average Brit owes £9,191 according to Credit Action, a charity, and that excludes mortgages.

3- House prices skyrocketed until 2007 because cheap credit created bubble-jobs and illusion of wealth, not for sound fundamentals (work hard and save, wow, revolutionary).

4- Homeowners are losing their jobs, with unemployment set to reach 10pc next year. The government is trying to bail-out everybody but sooner or later it will become obvious that there is not enough money to save that many debtors. Homeowners will be forced to put their properties into the market as the only way to pay their debts. That will keep prices down.

5- Inflation is the government's favourite choice to pay for the debts by reducing the real value of money. Do not let it: get some good-old Inflation-Beating savings from NS&I and Swiss Francs. .And some Swiss chocolate.

Peter Schiff was right... now it's time to run

2009-11-15T15:23:00.004Z

Granted, Peter Schiff - a Libertarian economic guru- was right about gold in 2006. But, when everybody in your local pub and their grandma is talking about buying something, it is time to sell like it happened with Internet stocks in 2000. Gold will continue rallying as long as the US Central Bank - the Federal Reserve- feels comfortable with a weak dollar to boost exports and generates just enough inflation to reduce the real value of the 12 trillion dollars national debt.

The problem is the dollar cannot keep going down for ever and ever, with the Chinese watching how their dollar holdings become worthless. Sooner or later, Ben Bernanke - Chairman of the Federal Reserve - will be forced to say the magic words: "we prefer a strong dollar". Then it will be too late for those who are going crazy buying gold.

Chinese democracy

2009-11-12T20:14:00.004Z

The problem about lying is that one always gets caught. China can only lie as long as get-rich-quick investors and anti-West lobbyists want to believe her, like they believed Japan in the 1980s, but the truth is that a dictatorship with barely any respect for law and property trying to run an economy based on semi-slave labour cannot succeed unless it cheats the numbers. State-owned banks have been lending outrageous amounts of money to inefficient state-owned companies, in a sort of "creative accounting" to produce unreal GDP growth figures (see the excellent articles on the subject by Vitaliy N. Katsenelson) .

Government-planned economies never work, no matter how Chinese they are, and still remains the question of how a corrupt and despotic government will cope with several hundreds of millions of hungry unemployed once the bubble bursts.

Chris Mounsey LPUK At Libertarian Alliance

2009-11-11T07:55:00.001Z

LAConf09, Chris Mounsey: "The UK Libertarian Party" from Sean Gabb on Vimeo.

The nation's credit card

2009-11-07T13:42:00.004Z

Contrary to what Labour might say, a "stimulus plan" does not solve any problems but delay them. The "car scrappage" scheme or the 15pc VAT cannot last forever because even the nation's credit card (called National Debt) has a limit. The stimulus creates a false sentiment of prosperity by printing money out of thin air - the Bank of England takes care of that- and putting devalued pounds in people's pockets to encourage them to spend. That buys time to the Government to create a new asset bubble that will create some bubble-jobs and, they hope, buy enough votes to win another election.

But sooner or later we will have to face the fact that the Government is broke and we all have to pay the credit card bill. What we need is sound economics based on low taxes, small government and a bit of common sense. Spending money we do not have in "stimulus" plans only stimulates our future ruin.

LPUK Conference 28th November 2009

2009-10-21T10:15:00.001+01:00

The Annual AGM/Conference will be held at the Gladiator Room, Gloucestershire Cricket Club, Nevil Road, Bristol BS7 9EJ 10.30am- 4pm November 28th 2009

The Conference will deal with matters of policy and constitutional matters to be put forward by members via their regional coordinators, and the election of officers for 2010, plus party organisation, aims and objectives

A business meeting dealing with end of year accounts and hand over to the new NCC will be held in January.

We need to know numbers attending by November 2nd. There will be a £5 charge to defray costs on registration so please help us by registering early, and as ever Donations will be happily received.

Contact members@lpuk.org

The Sportsman Pub is nearby where I understand the usual fare can be obtained.

There is carparking available for 100 vehicles.

Directions

By Road

From the North:

Exit Junction 19 on M4 onto M32 to Bristol

Exit at Junction 2

Take the 3rd exit off the roundabout, keep in right hand lane and follow brown
tourist signs to County Ground. Continue on Muller Road for approx.1 mile.

Turn left into Ralph Road, opposite Bus Depot.

At T junction, turn left and then take first right into Kennington Avenue.
At top of road, turn left (signposted) into Nevil Road and drive through the Grace Gates into the ground.

From Central Bristol :

From St. James Barton roundabout in the City Centre, take exit marked Horfield (A38)
Continue along Stokes Croft Road and onto Gloucester Road

After approx. 1.5 miles turn right into Nevil Road (Signposted)
The Grace Gates are at the end of Nevil Road

By Rail :

Bristol Temple Meads is in the centre of Bristol, approx. 2 miles from The County Ground
Bus no. 8 or 9 will take you from the station to the bus station and then take any of the buses as below

Bristol Parkway is on the northern side of the City and approx 4 miles from The County Ground

By Bus :

The Bus Station is located in the centre of Bristol.

Outside the Bus Station from The Travel Inn, services, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 and 77 will take you along the Gloucester Road. The stop is Nevil Road, which is within 100yds from the Ground.

Something To Be Really Worried About On May 6th 2010.

2009-09-29T10:41:00.000+01:00

I listened to Radio 4 this morning, to Austin Mitchell after his fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference yesterday. Eight people turned up at his meeting, and one of those was his wife.

I saw the empty seats, the closed off areas at Brighton

I saw the photographs of half dead, half asleep Lib Dem supporters whilst Cleggy gave his all at the Lib Dem Conference.

UKIP and BNP are in dire straits financially; the LPUK is examining the pointlessness of contesting seats at Westminster in favour of building a grass roots local authority base.

Next week I am going to be watching the glassy eyed adoration of no policies Cameron and the Conservatives.

Basically Party Politics has collapsed in this Country, dwindling party memberships, over centralisation into Westminster, the recession, the expenses scandal etc has traduced democratic politics that has taken four hundred years to build up in less than twenty years.

The Public know it’s a fix, the Public want Radical Change and a New settlement, that was evident at the Forum on Modern Liberty, but that clamour for real progress has been stymied by the big three parties, and the growth of smaller Parties and pressure groups will never have a voice under this Electoral system. The British just don't do the 'Summer of Rage'

The Public has withdrawn from even voting, because ‘the Government’ always gets in. This has produced the bizarre situation where corrupt faux aristocrats lead the Labour Party. Has it really got to the point where Mandelson is the saviour of the Socialist Left? Is there nobody left in the Labour Party that can see what a travesty this is. We have now got a situation were Esther Ranzten and a baggage handler from Glasgow, are now seen as the authentic voice of politics. Don’t get me wrong anybody who takes on somebody who is trying to explode a car bomb has physical courage, but I am not sure that I want my politics to be along the lines of ‘fisticuff’ Prescott. A man who can barely string a coherent sentence together.

Politics is dead, the only option on offer is Mandelson’s ‘post democratic’ age. This is just an Oligarchy by another name with the rest of us condemned to the role of exploited serfs.

Unless the Radical smaller Parties start to coalesce around the concept of a new constitution, a new settlement and a new voting system, we are going to see the gradual sapping of the life blood in our democratic institutions, with the Police and the EU taking up the slack and running the country by default. The Army is now a degraded institution, loved and respected by the people. Hated and kept short of funds by the political classes and sent to fight illegal wars and to occupy foreign countries, the police on the other hand seem to have no shortage of equipment and helicopters, because the political classes see them as the only thing between us and them.

I spent the weekend as a Libertarian, with a Socialist, a near BNP supporter two Tories and a Liberal Democrat. We discussed politics we all had strong points of view that we could never agree on, but we had a forum to discuss politics because we had respect for each other and ‘ground rules’ that everybody was entitled to their say. What we did agree on that this was not replicated at either National or Local level. There is no forum. If nobody is prepared to listen to my point of view, why the hell should I listen or engage to somebody who wants to talk ‘at’ me about their politics.

That is the position that the Public now have with the current political structure.
There may be only 646 of them and sixty million of us, but nobody is listening to the sixty million, only to the 646, and pretending that this the body politic.

Personally the prospect of a Cameron Government on May 6th fills me with dread, as it will not be any different to Blair/Brown.

Irrespective of each of our political standpoint, we have to fight for a New Constitution, one that comes from below not imposed from above.

Our Politics are Moribund, and worse still has absolutely no mandate from the people of this Country.

2009-07-19T14:45:00.001+01:00

I don't know what the answer is, but this isn't it.

2009-07-15T03:31:00.005+01:00

From Times Online: (Full article).

"Seizing children’s mobile phones and bicycles could deter them from getting into trouble, according to Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary."

Well, if by "could deter them from getting into trouble", Chris Grayling means "will magnify young people's already considerable distrust of 'law' and 'justice' and foster a generation whose principle attitude with respect to law is 'how do I not get caught, next time'?", then he is probably right.

I'm old enough to remember a time when teachers had such power over pupils: powers that they could use without any justification, and without fear of challenge. That's how it was: they were despots and the 'establishment' (which included most parents) supported and indeed encouraged that form of 'discipline.' How effective was this, frankly, authoritarian approach? Well, this is how it was for me:

It generated a feeling of contempt for petty authority that has persisted to this day. I simply despise anyone who assumes the right to interfere with my life in some meddlesome kind of way. I fight those fuckers tooth and nail. This of course is a good thing but it is not the 'good thing' that teachers were hoping for.

What is not a good thing is that this was probably not the general response. From what I see now, it seems that many people seem to have regarded that approach as exemplary - if you don't like the way people behave, rob them.

There were a number of comments to the article when I read it, and most of them made sense to me, but they all missed a crucial point. It is the junior version of 'behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace'. That is: it is a catch-all which can be used to justify any kind of interference in your activities. I simply do not like 'offences' which depend on someone's opinion of a person's behaviour. The capacity for injustice is just too great.

Crime doesn't pay ... unless you are the Government

2009-07-11T06:05:00.004+01:00

Extracts from a recent Home Office press release (June 24th).

A new pilot fund has been launched to give local people a direct say on how the ill-gotten gains of criminals can be used to benefit their communities.

Ah hah! The money fraudulently obtained by thieving MPs as 'expenses' is to be returned to its rightful owners, then?

The £4m Community Cashback scheme will be funded by money and assets seized from wealthy criminal kingpins.

'Kingpin'? [A word last used some time back in the 18th century - means someone with a flashy car.]

The public will be able to choose which worthwhile community projects are funded by feeding in their views to a new dedicated website, neighbourhood policing meetings or through Citizens Panels.

That's what we need! More security cameras!

Until now money recovered from criminals has been split between frontline services, such as the police and Government departments involved with the criminal justice system. This is the first time a portion of that money is being paid back into communities.

Whoa! Hold on a minute: (a) Since when were "Government departments involved with the criminal justice system" frontline services? (b) How long have our Police forces been partially funded from the proceeds of crime? and (c) Shouldn't money recovered from criminals be returned to the victims of crime, rather than the community at large?

Statement from the government's Crime and Justice Adviser, Louise Casey: 'It is only right that the public should have a say on how cash from criminals is spent in their community. This sends a strong message to the public that the criminal justice system cares about what they think and is on their side. This in turn might encourage more members of the public to help in the fight against crime - to pick up the phone to report a crime, stand up in court to give evidence and support others to do the same.

Ah! 'It is only right' I suppose that makes it all right, then.

OK, let me see if I have got this right ... The reason that more people didn't stand up in court to give evidence against knife-wielding maniacs (who were back on the street faster than the witnesses were) is ... they didn't have a say in how to spend the robbers' money? I suppose if that's what the government says it must be correct ...

Statement from the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw: 'I want people to have full confidence in the justice system and an important part of this is ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done.
...
Today’s announcement is the next step in increasing the influence of local people in delivering justice in their villages, towns and cities.'

'Delivering justice,' is it? 'Sharing out the spoils' is what it sounds like to me. So, how much ... ?

Home Office figures show the value of assets recovered from criminals this year has risen to an all time high of £148m for 08/09. This is up from last year’s £136m.

And the 'cashback' for the community is £4 million ...

The figures also show that a total £23.6m recovered between January and April 2009 will be paid back to frontline services, with a total £7m to be shared between all police forces in England and Wales.

By my reckoning, that leaves about £114 million going to the 'frontline services' like Jack Straw's department.

Press Release 7th July 2009

2009-07-07T17:45:00.001+01:00

NEWS RELEASE

Libertarian Party fields
youngest ever parliamentary candidate
at Norwich North

Thomas Burridge, aged 18, is the Libertarian Party candidate for the upcoming Norwich North by-election, and is set to make history as the youngest person ever to contest a Westminster seat. Thomas was accepted offically by the Returning Officer today.

Thomas is aware that his age may raise a few eyebrows. “People may ask what can I possibly know about anything at my age? Well, one thing I do know is that Labour excesses have left my generation with a massive debt that will take generations to pay off.” “It’s all the more painful because we were not given any say in the decisions that have forced us to spend the rest of our lives in debt.”

“Currently, the Tories and Labour are squabbling about cutting state spending by a pathetic 5 per cent. Whereas, the Libertarian Party want to scrap the whole rotten system. A system that has given us high personal taxes, squalid services and a corrupt parliament.” “I may not win this time, but I will be back in five years, and in another five years, if necessary. By which time, the guilty ones will be wallowing in their generous pensions – while my generation – The Debt Generation – will still be paying back the money that was squandered.”

The Libertarian Party believes in individual liberty, personal responsibility and freedom from government. Its most prominent policy is to scrap income tax, and transfer taxes to non-essential goods, leaving items such as food, heating and rent tax-free.

ENDS

For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact the Libertarian Party Norwich North Campaign Office on 01603 850573 or the media enquiries mobile on 07505 228618.

Further details are available on our campaign website: http://www.thomasburridge.com
Alternatively, visit the Libertarian Party website: http://www.lpuk.org

2009-07-02T19:38:00.001+01:00

And Then He Goes And Ruins It By Saying Restore The Authority Of Parliamemt

2009-06-11T09:48:00.002+01:00

As much as I find Hague amusing and erudite, making Cameron look the twit he is, Hague ruins a perfectly good speech by saying we must restore the Authority of Parliament by having a General Election.

Two points Billy Boy, the People have the Authority in this setup, not Parliament. Parliament is only loaned Sovereignity by the electorate, that is the bit the 646 always forget, this sustains their arrogance and their theft. It sustains their view that only they can provide 'essential services'. Secondly it betrays that the Tory Party is still deeply Authoritarian at its heart and will never give way to Electoral Reform.

The two major parties have been caught with their collective hand in the Taxpayer's wallet.

Devolving all power apart from Defence and Foreign affairs away from Westmister is the only way forward, only when power is devolved closer to the electorate, will things ever change.

There is no service that is essential that cannot be done better and cheaper by anybody than by the corrupt,bloated inefficient State.

Westminster does not know how to do anything different to the way it is doing it now, until the 646 are brought to heel, nothing will improve or change.

We Still Need Your Donations

2009-06-03T07:39:00.000+01:00

This Darien Government is now in freefall, an Election is sooner rather than later. We are hoping to put ten candidates forward in the South-East alone, and other are throwing their name in the ring.

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

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

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

Make your pledge at donate@lpuk.org

Take the Shirt off your Back Campaign

2009-04-22T21:07:00.000+01:00

Its started off on Old Holborn's site Don't just sit there and accept this crap budget designed to bail out this corrupt Government and its Banker friends.

Dig out that old shirt and send it to 10 Downing Street with a note of what you really think of this budget- let us know that you have done it on 1984@lpuk.org

Gordon Brown
10, Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA.

Invitation for blog authors

2009-01-30T23:32:00.003Z

This blog welcomes contributors from the LPUK who live or work in the region. It is currently on hold until a critical mass of Members is achieved. If you wish to post here, please email to ian-at-iangrey-dot-org.

In the meantime, check out Yorkshire Libertarians

Why your Post Offices are really disappearing

2008-12-16T23:33:00.000Z

(From Ian PJ)

It was back in 2006
the EU commissioner for the internal market who was then the Irish
Charlie McCreevy told Member State governments across the European
Union that they must scrap their monopoly on delivering letters by 2009.

That
is the real story behind the Lord Mandelson spin today. The report by
Richard Hooper describing the current Royal Mail as "untenable" and
that it is under threat without modernisation.

Really means it is untenable because the European Union says so.

Read more Here

and then click on image below

Never stand behind an elephant
Anoneumouse

So more duplicity by the politicians in Westminster. Pretending to campaign to save the Post Offices whilst all the time giving you Smoke and Mirrors served up with a liberal dose of bullshit.

Ask your MP why they do this in such an underhand way, why they need to lie to you, because it only reinforces that the EU really does have something to hide, and we do have something to fear.

Ask your Tory and LibDem candidate at the next election why they have participated in and gone along with this duplicity and fraud.

Hattip Anglo Saxon Chronicle