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Libertarian Party (UK)

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The Libertarian Party , also known as the Libertarian Party UK ( LPUK ), is a libertarian political party in the United Kingdom . The party believes in having a written constitution for the UK which "holds the individual to be above the State." Martin Day is the party's leader.

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33-989: The LPUK stands candidates in only England, Wales and Northern Ireland because of a legal agreement with the Scottish Libertarian Party , and was also known as the LPoEWNI (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) so not to mislead voters into thinking it covered the whole of the United Kingdom. According to the agreement, after the Scottish Libertarian Party was statutorily deregistered by the Electoral Commission in November 2022, it could then stand candidates in Scotland. The Scottish Libertarian Party re-registered with

66-646: A no-deal Brexit . On 10 November 2020, the Scottish Libertarian Party announced that Aberdeenshire councillor for Stonehaven and Lower Deeside , Sandy Wallace had joined the party. Cllr Wallace was originally elected as a Conservative at the 2017 Aberdeenshire Council election , but became an independent on 12 December 2018, citing he had no faith in either the Prime Minister or the Conservative controlled Coalition in Aberdeenshire. He became

99-577: A boy. He said that he enjoyed it, but criticising the president, the army and UNIP (the party the President Kenneth Kaunda was leader of) were crimes. He complained that, in time, the situation would be the same in Scotland, comparing it to the boiling frog theory. The party supports Scottish independence , because they say that their policies are impossible to enact under the current political situation. However, unlike most other pro-independence Scottish parties, they are against

132-832: A former member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), joined the party and became its deputy chairman. Etheridge continued as a member of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy parliamentary group in the European Parliament. However, he then left to join the Brexit Party in February 2019. The party did not field parliamentary candidates at the 2015 general election , describing it as a "waste of time and funds". Scottish Libertarian Party The Scottish Libertarian Party , also known as

165-457: A means of achieving the international goals. Should diplomacy fail and the life, liberty, or property of the nation was at stake, then war becomes the only option remaining and will be officially declared through the passage of legislation. The party believes that education is best facilitated by the free market and that schools should be managed locally, arguing it would help achieve greater accountability and parental involvement. They consider

198-402: A monetary system based on gold, silver, or both and denounce the fiat money system and the central banking system that creates inflation." The Scottish Libertarians believe that "there are no groups" when it comes to issues such as gender equality and sexual orientation , instead stating "There are only people and people come individually." On crime and justice, they say that the rights of

231-402: A very liberal stance, and support easy immigration to Scotland. However, they support "reasonable controls... to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health, or property." When it comes to international conflicts and warfare, the party argues for diplomacy as the primary option for resolution and rejects the use of force, either militant or economic, as

264-590: Is for the legalisation of all drugs and would end what they call the costly and ineffective War on drugs . They also support the decriminalisation of prostitution in line with the New Zealand Model , as advocated by Amnesty International . The party is pro- free speech , and oppose restrictions of what the SNP describes as " hate speech ." The party's leader, Tam Laird, wrote once that he lived in Zambia as

297-490: Is the primary means of funding the government, and that until a better alternative is found, it would be reduced to a smaller, flat tax. They also want to abolish corporate welfare , including subsidies and special privileges for big businesses. The party is against all tariffs and supports unilateral free trade with all other countries. On inflation, the party says, "...the Scottish Libertarians advocate

330-640: The 2011 UK Alternative Vote referendum held on the same day as the 2011 Scottish Parliament election . The seat has been held by Angus Robertson of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election . The other eight constituencies of the Lothian region are: Almond Valley , Edinburgh Eastern , Edinburgh Northern and Leith , Edinburgh Pentlands , Edinburgh Southern , Edinburgh Western , Linlithgow and Midlothian North and Musselburgh . The region includes all of

363-719: The City of Edinburgh council area , parts of the East Lothian council area , parts of the Midlothian council area and all of the West Lothian council area . Edinburgh is represented in the Scottish Parliament by six constituencies: Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern , Edinburgh Northern and Leith , Edinburgh Pentlands , Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Western . The Edinburgh Central constituency

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396-785: The Edinburgh Central constituency. The party received its highest percentage of votes in Edinburgh Central with 0.3%, or 119 votes, and received 650 votes in Mid Scotland and Fife, 552 in North East Scotland and 480 in West Scotland, for a total of 1,805 votes in Scotland. In the 2019 general election the party fielded one candidate in the constituency Kilmarnock and Loudoun , Stef Johnstone, then deputy leader, getting 405 votes (0.9% of

429-809: The Scottish Libertarians , is a political party in Scotland that advocates libertarianism . Its current leader is Tam Laird. The party was first founded on 3 January 2012 under the leadership of author Daniel Logan-Scott. It was refused registration by the Electoral Commission due to naming similarities with the Libertarian Party UK . This was resolved when the Libertarian Party UK altered its registration to no longer stand candidates or run in elections in Scotland . Despite organising various events,

462-532: The council area of Edinburgh . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Lothian electoral region , which elects seven additional members , in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole. The constituency

495-440: The current healthcare system to be poorly performing and would heavily reform it, believing that a free market solution would better suit this task. They also would legislate to allow for assisted suicide or 'dignified death'. Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency) Edinburgh Central ( Gaelic : Dùn Èideann Meadhain ) is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood ) covering part of

528-456: The EU , as they claim that re-joining it after independence would "simply be trading one foreign master for another." They are willing to work with the EU for reduction of barriers to trade and movement of people between Scotland and the EU. They are against all tariffs and wish for the country to adopt unilateral free trade. They have voiced support for Liberland . On immigration, the party takes

561-478: The Electoral Commission in January 2023, so once again it can no longer stand candidates in Scotland. The party was founded in January 2008 under the leadership of Patrick Vessey, having registered the party with the Electoral Commission in November 2007. In May 2008, The Daily Telegraph leader writer Alex Singleton claimed the founders should have set up a pressure group rather than a party. Singleton believed

594-538: The Labour Party, with the Liberal Democrats forming the main opposition. From the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 until the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the constituency of Edinburgh Central was represented by Labour's Sarah Boyack. With a re-arrangement of the constituency boundaries in 2011, which would have been won by the Liberal Democrats in 2007, the constituency narrowly returned

627-506: The Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest party in wards covered by the Edinburgh Central constituency. In the 2012 local election , the Conservatives and Scottish National Party formed the two largest parties in the area. The Conservatives were ahead in 6 of the 8 electoral wards covering the Edinburgh Central constituency in the 2017 City of Edinburgh local council election . Traditionally this constituency has been represented by

660-685: The SNP's Marco Biagi, who gained the constituency with a slender majority of 237 votes. In 2016 the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Ruth Davidson, gained the constituency from the SNP with a majority of 610 votes. No candidate has ever won over 40% of the vote in the constituency since its establishment. In the UK Parliament, the Edinburgh Central constituency was represented by the Labour Party almost continuously from

693-432: The constituency is very affluent, covering Victorian suburbs such as Craigleith , Murrayfield , Stockbridge and Orchard Brae, in addition to Edinburgh's well-off West End . There is some deprivation towards the south and east of the constituency around Dalry , Dumbiedykes and in patches of Edinburgh's Old Town, although overall the constituency is very affluent. In the 2007 City of Edinburgh local council election ,

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726-484: The creation of the redrawn Central is split, shared with neighbouring constituencies. The Edinburgh Central constituency is situated in the central-north of the City of Edinburgh. The constituency is a major tourist, financial and retail centre, covering Edinburgh's Old and New Towns, Princes Street , Haymarket , Edinburgh Castle , Holyrood Castle and the Scottish Parliament building itself. The north and west of

759-429: The idea of state ownership , saying, "Every person has a right to their justly earned or created property to use, sell, rent, lend, or dispose of as they choose... What is commonly seen as property ownership in the United Kingdom is in fact property use. The actual owner remains the government." They also advocate for the abolition of all taxes with the exception of income tax . They say that they recognise that income tax

792-480: The new party would reduce the influence of libertarianism. On 17 September 2008, Vessey resigned as party leader and was replaced by Ian Parker-Joseph. The party claimed a membership of 1,000 and hoped in the wake of the parliamentary expenses scandal "to establish themselves in the media landscape with a couple of robust performances". He said the party wanted much smaller government and would initially cut taxation to 10% before removing it altogether. In November 2008

825-569: The party became inactive and stopped updating their blog. After 3 years of inactivity, the Scottish Libertarian Party launched again in December 2015 under new leader Alan Findlay, officially registering with the Electoral Commission in March 2016. In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the party stood in the West Scotland , Mid Scotland and Fife , North East Scotland regions and

858-409: The party sent every sitting MP a copy of George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four , inscribed with the admonition: "this book was a warning, not a blueprint." On 28 November 2010, Andrew Withers was elected as party leader. He was one of the signatories of the agreement with the Scottish Libertarian Party and reluctantly signed despite his displeasure of conceding ground to the new Scottish branch of

891-402: The party's first elected representative at any level of governance in Scotland. In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election for the first time the party fielded candidates in all eight regions and nine constituencies, getting 4,987 votes in the regions (0.2% of the total votes) and 1,913 votes in the constituencies (0.1% of the total votes). In 2022 Stef Johnstone resigned as deputy leader of

924-463: The party, citing the removal of a member from the party as one of the contributing factors. The new deputy leader is Calum "Caz" Paul . The party was statutorily deregistered by the Electoral Commission in November 2022, but re-registered in January 2023. The Scottish Libertarian Party advocates for a free market , opposing the welfare state and would see all sectors of the economy run privately, including education and healthcare. They are against

957-490: The party. Following an internal ballot on 15 August 2015, party members elected Adam Brown as the party leader. During the 2018 local elections , the party was described as on "the fringes of mainstream British politics". A party spokesperson said "This alludes to the fact that this party is the ONLY party to have been constant about the need to reduce taxation and government expenditure." In October 2018, MEP Bill Etheridge ,

990-429: The person accused must never be undermined, such as the rights of due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In their 2016 Scottish Parliament manifesto, they stated that individuals have the right to live how they want to live, as long as they don't harm others. They also said that they would prefer a more restorative justice system. The party

1023-407: The votes cast). However, they said that the reason they were only standing one candidate was because this election was solely about Brexit , and that it would be better to save their money for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election , when they hope to stand candidates in all regions and a few key constituencies. They did, however, advise people to vote for whatever party was the most likely to deliver

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1056-534: Was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999 , with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency . In 2005 , however, Scottish Westminster ( House of Commons ) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies. As part of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries of the constituency were changed before the 2011 Scottish Parliament election . Each electoral ward used in

1089-686: Was created with the name and boundaries of a constituency of the Edinburgh Central UK Parliament constituency. Since 1999, the constituency MSP has been an ex officio member of the board of trustees of the National Library of Scotland . From 1925 until 1999, that role had been taken by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Westminster constituency. The constituency was one of the few areas to vote "Yes" in

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