9 thoughts on “A New Libertarian Party”

  1. In the economic rhelm I think they probably need one even more than us.

    Libertarianism is growing. It’s ideas are spreading. The Internet is responsible. We need to keep the regulators away from the web.

  2. indeed. the UK is in the unenviable position of having increased government spending as a % of GDP from 36% to 44% since 2001, despite seven years of economic growth. It puts Costello’s record in some perspective (maintained govt spending at 22%). Not sure what happens if the looming recession hits. Also inflation is rearing its ugly head once again and the housing market looks sick. The UK also has an unhealthy dependance on the CIty for tax revenues and GDP growth.

    net – a good time to be starting a less-government party. will be interesting to see policies as they emerge.

  3. The branding of the party would suggest that they are adopting a rather purist approach. Without preferencial voting they may merely act as a spoiler drawing support away from the most libertarian of the majors and hence making the democratic outcome worse. Electoral systems such as Australia and NZ are better at permitting a role for minor parties. The UK and the US have much more closed political races.

  4. p.s. Although the internal leadership selection process within the major US parties is cleary more transparent and open than here.

  5. That’s always been the argument against setting up a libertarian party in the uk – the ‘first past the post’ electoral system consigns new parties to irrelevance.

  6. The only way to change a FPP system is to get a minor party to be a big enough spoiler threat against the incumbent major. That’s why Labor changed the Victorian Upper House to preferential- the Greens were electing Liberals.

    I support minor parties in FPP systems… Spoilers are the only way to encourage the major parties to change a broken system.

  7. So in the UK instance the Libertarians should highlight and promote the issues on which they are more liberal than the Labour party and on which the Labour party is more liberal than the Tories. Talking about tax cuts would steal votes from the opposition not the incumbant. Maybe then they should focus on drug reform etc.

  8. Terje, from where I’m sitting in the UK the three big parties are all 99% identical. Labour area tad more corrupt and pro-ID cards, the Lib Dems are tad more pro-EU and anti-democracy and the Tories slightly less-worse than the others.

    But none of them are anywhere near Libertarian. UKIP is your best bet, at least they are small government-low tax libertarian, even though the whole “legalise, regulate, tax and educate” approach to drugs, prostitution idea is probably alien to many of its members (but not its senior chaps) on the whole, UKIP are against nonsense like smoking ban, foxhunting ban etc, which is a start.

  9. The Libertarian Party (US) has a new questionnaire out. From the language that is used in the platform planks the results of the last one are being applied. This makes it worthwhile, even at 32 pages.

    I urge any of you who receive it to go to the effort, I am pretty sure it will help.

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