Cameron still not a libertarian shock!
Following on from Cameron's wilful smear of libertarianism, The Appalling Strangeness issues a rallying cry to counter the protestations of the alien-voters, like Jackart.
But what then, should Libertarians do? Well, some will vote for Cameron's Tories at the next election, on what I am calling the "Barbary Ape Principle"* and that I can understand. Get Labour out, by all means; but there is something else that you can do.
LPUK currently boasts a little over 300 members, scattered around the country. Tiny, insignificant and just learning to get to grips with this politics thing: we are not natural politicians—after all, our aim is to make the state so fucking tiny that almost doesn't matter who wins a general election. Perhaps we will never make it—honesty has never been a successful trait in those running for government.
But that doesn't mean that we won't give it a shot anyway, and you can help. Join the party online, or donate some money or time (it doesn't matter how much or how little) and help shape policy in our forum (yes, you do have a direct say).
We are currently organising our first conference (or AGM, or whatever you want to call it) and, having progressed through the first year (albeit quietly), we are now ready to move to the next stage.
I shall, as usual, attempt to remain my usual non-partisan self, but the opportunity to vote for something that I actually believe in—rather than voting for the party that I loathe the least—is an exciting one.
Wouldn't you like to discuss how you voted and not have to apologise for this policy and those loonies: wouldn't you like to stand tall and justify your choice without a twinge of guilt? Wouldn't you like to be able to say, "I'm a libertarian and I believe in personal freedom: and so I voted for the UK Libertarian Party and I am proud to have done so"?
I'm looking forward to it, I can tell you...
UPDATE: as Manic notes, I have yet to blog about the Fringe session that I took part in. However, we did inevitably discuss whether right-wing blogs would be less vociferous once the Tories got into government. Everyone vigourously denied this, of course, although my reply was something like this...
I don't think that there is any danger of that.
* Coined by Pater Devil. As in "I would vote for a Barbary Ape to get these Labour shits out of government."
And even in this era of political mendacity and duplicity, it must be pretty clear to everyone that Cameron is a Tory. Look at all of the little of signals he has sent out that would indicate that he is a Conservative. Like joining the Tory Party. And working for a former Tory Minister. And then becoming a Tory MP. Before becoming the Conservative Party leader. Let's be honest, he is a Conservative through and through.
And as a result, if you are a Libertarian, you are wasting your time if you support Cameron. In fact, and at the risk of repeating myself, if you are a Libertarian who supports the Conservative, you are part of the problem, not the solution. Seriously, the Conservatives are not that different from the Labour party. As soon as the shit hits the fan after they become the government, the Tories will show their socially conservative ways. Deep down they are no more Libertarian that the Labour party - it is just that their disregard for freedom takes on a different tone to that of the Labour party.
But what then, should Libertarians do? Well, some will vote for Cameron's Tories at the next election, on what I am calling the "Barbary Ape Principle"* and that I can understand. Get Labour out, by all means; but there is something else that you can do.
There is an alternative. Yes, LPUK is a tiny party with a long way to go before they get anywhere near being a real political force in this country. Yes, it make take years - if not decades - before they are in a position to form a government. And yeah, there is no chance of them being the opposition (let alone the government) after Brown finally concedes to go to the electorate in 2010. But you know what, if you a Libertarian and support the Libertarian party you have just as much chance of their being a Libertarian government after the next election as you do if you support the Tories - precisely zero. However, if you support LPUK you have the chance for a real Libertarian party in the future. Whereas if you support the Tories, you can guarantee two things - the crushing disappointment of the social conservatism of the Tories combined with the maintenance of the statues quo.
LPUK currently boasts a little over 300 members, scattered around the country. Tiny, insignificant and just learning to get to grips with this politics thing: we are not natural politicians—after all, our aim is to make the state so fucking tiny that almost doesn't matter who wins a general election. Perhaps we will never make it—honesty has never been a successful trait in those running for government.
But that doesn't mean that we won't give it a shot anyway, and you can help. Join the party online, or donate some money or time (it doesn't matter how much or how little) and help shape policy in our forum (yes, you do have a direct say).
We are currently organising our first conference (or AGM, or whatever you want to call it) and, having progressed through the first year (albeit quietly), we are now ready to move to the next stage.
I shall, as usual, attempt to remain my usual non-partisan self, but the opportunity to vote for something that I actually believe in—rather than voting for the party that I loathe the least—is an exciting one.
Wouldn't you like to discuss how you voted and not have to apologise for this policy and those loonies: wouldn't you like to stand tall and justify your choice without a twinge of guilt? Wouldn't you like to be able to say, "I'm a libertarian and I believe in personal freedom: and so I voted for the UK Libertarian Party and I am proud to have done so"?
I'm looking forward to it, I can tell you...
UPDATE: as Manic notes, I have yet to blog about the Fringe session that I took part in. However, we did inevitably discuss whether right-wing blogs would be less vociferous once the Tories got into government. Everyone vigourously denied this, of course, although my reply was something like this...
The only reason that I would be in trouble is if Cameron and the Tories started doing good things.
I don't think that there is any danger of that.
* Coined by Pater Devil. As in "I would vote for a Barbary Ape to get these Labour shits out of government."
Labels: good deeds, libertarianism, UK Libertarian Party
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10 Blogger Comments:
Fuck, if the LPUK still hasn't got a single mention in the MSM by the time I hit 40, I'll still fucking be a member.
As for the whole "right wing blogs when tories rule" thing, don't those people understand there are more sides to politics than just left v right? Obviously not.
You keep asking for people's money and encouraging them to join (difficult when the membership department is 100% dormant), but you never, ever, EVER say what they're joining and donating for.
Try reading the manifesto, maybe?
Fuck, if you read this blog that you're on right now, you'll have a half decent idea.
Also, DK, why don't you come back to the forum? You haven't posted since we changed the access rules.
"Try reading the manifesto, maybe?
Fuck, if you read this blog that you're on right now, you'll have a half decent idea."
Great.
Reads like a think tank pamphlet- but without the research.
Now fucking what?
Well, generally, political parties try to get around to standing for election. That might just possibly be our next move.
Any ideas on how we might best achieve that, Hayek? Or are you just going to do a Democracy Forum and snipe from the sidelines?
We have three hundred members: that's a tiny amount. We have a few people runnning the party who are busy trying to earn a living whilst learning how to run a political party within a very convoluted system.
There really isn't an awful lot of space for people to sit at the sidelines, doing nothing and waiting for the desired outcome whilst contributing nothing.
Let us take the money aspect: I reckon that we could just about fight an election on £4,000. To a small party (indeed, to those of us in it), £4k is a lot of money.
So, if you want to see us fight an election, our members are going to have to donate some money. Some already do, of course, and that is helping to build up the coffers (because we don't spend very much).
Do you understand this concept of needing money to fight an election?
Let us say that we wanted to fight every seat in the next GE, at that putative and tiny level of funding -- now we need at least £2,584,000.
And there aren't many economies of scale, since the leaflets in every constituency have to be personalised for that constituency (you have to have the registered office and promoter on them, y'see).
So, should we try and fight an election completely pointlessly on £2k, effectively spunking that money up the wall, or should we go for a half-decent campaign?
I mean, even £4k won't get us very far, but it would at least allow us a stab at it.
Do feel free to give me some insight into your strategy...
DK
Well, generally, political parties try to get around to standing for election. That might just possibly be our next move.
Can I respectfully suggest that that standing for election would be a ludicrous idea. ASH never fought an election but they have been successful in achieving many of their aims.
The LP should be about fighting for our freedom, not fighting elections. We despise politicians- why would we want to try to be one?
There are many better paths to follow.
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NQH,
"That's the first time I've seen you mention it."
Really? Obviously you haven't been reading this blog for very long then.
"Well I can't exactly do it from within the party, no matter how hard I try to join, eh?"
Joining isn't very difficult, NQH. You've seen the policies that we espouse: if you don't agree with them (or are unwilling to offer credible alternatives) then don't bother joining.
"What you've just explained there is that you're in a far better position than a sizeable chunk of Conservative associations and Labour and Lib Dem constituency parties across the UK. And yes, they have members and campaigners have to earn a living, too."
The point is that that is 300 members over the entire country, not just in a local association, i.e. a far more limited geographical area.
"I would like to see a libertarian party in a position to establish its base and garner some credibility."
Good. Now, how?
"No. Please explain it to me. All of the previous campaigns I've been involved with have run on fresh air and free love. What is this 'money' you speak of?"
We'll start with the £500 deposit for a GE candidate and move on from there...
"Why bother? In between drunken posts on behalf of the party and insulting and alienating potential supporters, it sounds like you've pretty much got it all worked out."
On behalf of the party? Hardly. You seem to be under the misapprehension that the Devil's Kitchen is the official party blog and that I am the party: it isn't and I'm not.
Anyway, have fun, NQH: do feel free to drop by and criticise any time you like...
DK
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