Libertarian Party Manifesto 2019

2019·1.4 MB·English

by  Libertarian Party (UK)

FREE STATES
LIBERTARIAN PARTY UK MANIFESTO
FOREWORD
TheLibertarianPartybelieves thereisalwayssomeoneelseto wantstoensurethatthiscountry placedtounderstandwhatis
thatweareatacrossroadsin blame. hasaCons�tu�onthatprotects intheirbestinterestthanthe
Bri�shPoli�csinwhichthenext theindividualandtreatsallparts state.
Luckilywearealsoseeingagreat
fewyearswilldecidethedirec�on dealofawarenessinthegeneral ofthecountryinanevenmanner. ■ Thatthosewhohavepower
oftravelfortheforeseeable mustbeheldaccountablefor
publicwhoarestar�ngtosee InthisManifestowewillsetout
future.Thepar�eswhomakeup theirac�ons.
howriggedthesystemisandare ourpoliciesforafuture
theWestminstercabalhave
lookingforanalterna�ve.Weare confedera�onoffreestates ■ Thatpowershouldbe
shownthattheybelievethatthe
thatalterna�ve.Wearetheparty wherepowerisdevolved devolvedsoitisascloseto
peoplearetheretoservethem,
thatputstherightsofthe whereverpossibleandinnova�ve, thepeoplewhoareaffected
nottheotherwayround. individualsaheadoftherightsof modernsolu�onsareusedto byitaspossible.
Weareenteringaperiodinwhich unionsordonors.Wearethe createthegoodinanefficient
Alongsidetheseprincipleswe
thetwomainpar�esare partythatwillremovebarriersto way(inplaceofthatwhichis
havealsocalledonthe
descendingtotheirextremes tradeallowingtheeconomyto belovedbytheotherpar�es:the
experienceofothercountries
whichfortheConserva�veParty standonitsownfeet statusquo).
basingourpolicies,wherever
isin-figh�ng,andchaos,andan unencumberedbyunnecessary
TheManifestooftheLibertarian possible,onsystemsthathave
abandonmentofthefreemarket. regula�ons.Wearethepartythat
Partyhasbeenbuiltonfivebasic beentriedandtestedelsewhere
ForLabouritisapushtotake wantstoremovepoli�cal
principles. andwhichtheevidenceshows
privatepropertybyforce,for interferencefromyoureveryday
workwell.
■ Thattheoveralleffectofall
example,tona�onalisehealthy life,freeingimportantservices
ourpoliciestogethershall ThisManifestoprovidesan
companiesinanideological likeHealthCareandEduca�on
decreasethesizeandpower alterna�vetomoreofthesame,a
shake-downaswellastoaddan frompoli�calpointscoringand
ofthestate. pathwayawayfromthe
everincreasingburdenoftaxa�on pu�ngtheminthehandsofthe
■ Thattherightsofthe Westminsterruleweknowto
onmiddleearnersandfuture serviceprovidersorusers:the
individualareparamountand somewheremoreprosperous,less
genera�ons,yetatthesame�me peoplewhoknowwhatismost
shouldbenurtured. authoritarianandlessdangerous,
stokingclassdivisionstoensure needed.Wearethepartythat
moreprotec�veoftheci�zenand
■ Thattheindividualisbe�er
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lesswillingtobossheraroundfor
herowngoodor,asismore
commonlythecase,toherharm.
Ourrespectforeachindividualis
embodiedintheproceduresof
ourparty,suchasourpolicy
crea�onprocedure,declaredin
thepoliciesinourManifesto
whichfuelsthelampwithwhich
welightthewaytotheplace
wherewehopeyouwillfindyour
poli�calhomeasamember,or
supporter,oftheLibertarianParty
UK.Wearethepartythatwillset
youpersonallyabovethe
collec�veandbydoingsofree
thecountrytobebe�erthanever
before.
AdamBrown
PartyLeader
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CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION FOR BRITAIN
“That government is best TheLibertarianParty’sproposed aswellastodefineits
wri�encons�tu�onembodies delegatedpowers.
thefollowingbasicconcepts,
■ Thereisasepara�onof
which governs least.”
namelythat: powershorizontallybetween
■ TheCons�tu�onbefederal theExecu�ve,Legisla�veand
- attr. Thomas Jefferson innature,witheach Judicialbranches,and
par�cipa�ngStatesovereign ver�callybetweenthe
andwithanequalvoiceinthe generalgovernmentandthe
TheLibertarianPartybelieves: ■ ThattheMonarchyshouldbe compact. States.
permi�edonlyaslongasit
■ Inhavingawri�en
hastheformalapprovalofthe ■ Thepeopleofeachstateare ■ TheCons�tu�onisalegal
Cons�tu�onthatholdsthe
People,andshouldbe theul�matesovereignbody documentwithfixed
Individualtobeabovethe
subordinatetothe ofeachState. meaning,notalivingor
State.
flexibledocumentopento
Cons�tu�on.
■ Allindividualsarepossessed
■ Thatalimitedgovernment interpreta�on.
■ Thatallpublicservantsshould ofinalienablenaturalrightsto
withbothhorizontaland
swearallegiancetoupholding life,liberty, property,andall ■ Allofficersshallbeboundby
ver�calsepara�onofpowers,
theCons�tu�on,andbeliable otherrightsthatderivefrom anoathtotheCons�tu�on,
andvigorouschecksand
inLawformisconductand them. andthatbreachofthatoath
balances,willbestpreserve
beconsideredaserious
fraud.
theLibertyofthePeople. ■ Thepoli�calen�tythis
ma�er.
■ ThattheFirstPastthePost Cons�tu�oncreatesbecalled
■ ThatGreatBritainshouldbea
vo�ngsystemshouldbe theConfedera�onoftheFree ■ TheConfedera�onwillaidin
Confedera�onofFreeStates,
replacedwithaformof StatesofBritain. preserva�onfromexternal
andthatthePeople
a�ackandfromconflict
Propor�onalRepresenta�on.
determinetheirownpoli�es. ■ Thepurposeofthe
betweentheStates.
Cons�tu�onistorestrainand
■ Thatitshouldbeconfirmedin
limitthegeneralgovernment
LawthatthePeopleare
Sovereign.
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■ Thegeneralgovernmentbe electoralcollegesoasto haveasunsetclauseofnot
fundedequallybytheStates. allowthepeopleofeachState morethan10years.
asay,avoiddemagoguery,
■ Thegeneralgovernmentshall ■ Ayearlybudgetbilllist
andkeeptheStatesfrom
consistofabicameral spendingandcostsforthe
beingdisenfranchised.
legislature,aCons�tu�onal year.
Court,andanExecu�ve. ■ TheChiefExecu�vebeFirst
■ TheStatecourtinanystateis
Ambassador,havealine-item
■ TheMonarchycon�nueonly thefinalcourtofappealin
non-blockingvetooverlaws,
inaprivatemanner,subjectto thatState,andthatnocase
andbecommander-in-chiefof
thewillofthepeople. canbeappealedorbroughtto
militaryforcesin�meof
theCons�tu�onalCourt
■ Thelowerhouseofthe declaredwar.
unlessitisstrictlyama�erof
Legisla�vebranchconsistofa
■ Officersbesuscep�bleto afederalnature.
chamberelectedbythe
impeachment;elected
peopleofeachStatetobea ■ Atwo-thirdsvoteofState
officialstoexpulsion;
guardianoftherightsofthe Legislaturescanvetoa
membersoftheupperhouse
people,areflec�onofthe decisionmadebythe
opentorecallbyState
broadrangeofvaluesand Cons�tu�onalCourt;and
legislatures.
a�tudesofthepeople,andto individualsandstatescansue
holdthekeyofthetreasuryof ■ OnlytheLegisla�vebranch forinjunc�vereliefagainst
theConfedera�on. shallhavepowertodeclare lawsdeemed
war. uncons�tu�onal.
■ Theupperhouseofthe
Legislatureconsistofa ■ Militarypowerbethe
chamberelectedbytheState bailiwickoftheStatesandnot
legislaturestobeaguardian thegeneralgovernment.
ofthesovereigntyofthe
■ Thegeneralgovernmenthave
Statesandthepresidingbody
nopowertoborrowmoney.
oftheConfedera�on,
especiallytaskedtothe ■ Thegeneralgovernmenthave
Confedera�onasawholeand nopowertoerect
toforeignma�ers,andof corpora�ons.
approvingappointments
■ Billsrequirepassageinboth
madebytheExecu�ve.
houses,canbevetoedbythe
■ TheChiefExecu�veandhis Execu�ve,mustbeshortand
deputybeelectedbyan pertaintoonesubject,and
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DEFENCE POLICY
“CARDWELL 2.0”
We will make no nation Firstly,aLibertarianGovernment Eachofthethreearmsare
wouldseektoavoidwar,wewill currentlyac�ngasindependent
makenona�onour‘natural forcesbutwewillseekto
our ‘natural enemy’ and
enemy’andwillseekgood integratethem.Thiswillbepart
diploma�crela�onsandtrade ofourrootandbranchre-
will seek good diplomatic withallcountries.However,any appraisalofdefencewhichwecall
poten�alaggressorshouldbein Cardwell2.0a�erthelastmajor
nodoubtofourwillingnessto reform(1868-1874)followingthe
relations and trade with
defendourwayoflifeand debacleoftheCrimeaWar.
freedoms.Therehavebeentoo
ALibertarianGovernmentwill
manyexpensivewarsandlives
all countries. priori�sedefenceinconjunc�on
lostinforeignadventureson
withtheaimofavoidingforeign
behalfof,orinalliancewithother
entanglementexceptinsofaras
Theonlylegi�materoleofthe Yeomanryhavefoughtwith powers.AdirectthreattoBri�sh
requiredbyourmutualdefence
Stateisdefence.Fromthe�meof dis�nc�onwheneverthecountry territoryshouldbethegaugewith
pactwiththeothermembersof
theSaxonKingstheroleofthe hasbeenthreatened.Wearenot whichwedecidetoconsider
NATO,whichhasprovedtobe
peopleinmutualdefenceasthe seekingtoreestablishthedaysof deployingthearmedservices.
theguarantorofpeaceinEurope
‘Fyrd’wasparamount.Toserve Na�onalServicewhichsurvived
Currentlythethreearmed since1945.Aspartypolicyis
wasama�erofhonourandduty. theSecondWorldWar,butto
servicesarecompe�ngfor firmlytoleavetheEuropean
ALibertarianGovernmentwould establishapersonalresponsibility
resourcesleadingtowasteand Union,aLibertarianGovernment
seektore-establishthe todefendourwayoflifeand
misdirectedpriori�es.Wewill wouldnotrequireBri�sh
connec�onbetweentheordinary hard-wonfreedoms.
establishaunifiedBri�shDefence Servicemenbepartofthe
ci�zenandthedefenceofthe
Thiscontroversialpolicywas Forcestar�ngimmediatelywith ‘EuropeanArmy’.
country.
overwhelmingendorsedbythe themostseniorofficers(whowill
Thisisnotanewconcept, membershipoftheLibertarian ceasetobelongtoasingle
‘TraynedBands’,Mili�asand Partyinafreevote. service).
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Thisambi�onisexemplifiedby Tomobilisealargerarmywould
ourmostimportantdefence takemonthsoftrainingand
policy,namely,toestablisha shortagesofequipmentandbasic
Yeomanry. infrastructure.
WetakeasourmodeltheSwiss ALibertariangovernmentwill
DefenceForce. thereforemakedefencecost
effec�ve,andreinforcethe
Switzerlandhasastandingarmy
connec�onbetweendutyand
of60,000.Itcanmobilise20,000
freedom,byestablishinga
airforcereservistswithin48
YeomanryandaCivilDefence
hours,afurther8,000army
Corps.Par�cipants,willbefreeto
reserveswithineightdaysandan
chooseanon-combatrolesuchas
addi�onal35,000withinten.An
FireService,Paramedic,Nursing,
addi�onal1,040,000former
EngineersandCoastGuard.
reservists(aged22to34)canbe
recalled,moreslowly,toamuster
of1.16millionmen.Bycontrast
theUK,withapopula�oneight
�meslarger,canonlymobilisean
armyninetenthssmaller
(115,000).
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1 . YEOMANRY 2. AN INCREASE largelyredundantthoughthese
personnelwouldbeofferedthe
IN THE SIZE
ALibertariangovernmentwill
chancetomovetothecombat
establisha1,056,000strong
OF THE element.
Yeomanryanda430,000strong
BENEFITS
AirYeomanry.Theyeomanrywill PROFESSIONAL
berequiredbylawtoserveonly BystrengtheningtheArmy,
ARMY FROM
onBri�shterritory. rela�vetotheNavyandAirforce,
wewouldtailorourdefenceto
81,000 TO 94 ,000
BENEFITS
themessagethatwearea
AYeomanrywillgiveci�zensthe
ALibertarianGovernmentwill peacefulna�onthoughatthe
opportunitytobecome
increasetheprofessionalregular same�meonebe�erableto
responsiblethroughservice.It
army.Inaddi�on,wewillmake repelenemyinvasionofour
wouldalsofreealargerpor�onof
about7.5%ofthearmysupport shoresandtohonourourmutual
theprofessionalarmedforcesto
forcesroles,inpar�cularthe defencepactwiththeother
serveoverseas.Professionalswill
ceremonialandlegalelement, membersofN.A.T.O.
con�nuetobevolunteers.
NOTES thatoftheSwissMili�a.TheYeomanrywillreceivethirty NOTES
daysofbasictrainingfollowedbythirtydaysofreserve
TheYeomanrywillbecapableofbeingmobilisedwithin ALibertarianGovernmentwill
trainingoverelevenyears.ThiscontrastswiththeSwiss
seventy-twohours.Toachievethisamemberof funda100%increaseinfront
figureof245daysoverfourteenyears.Britainwilltrain
Yeomanryownpersonalequipmentandarmswouldbe linedeployabledivisions(from
itsYeomanrylightlytolimitcostsbutjudgethatits
storedinasealedsteellockableboxattheirhome. onetotwo)plusanaddi�onal
effec�venessanddeterrentpowerwouldnotdiminish
FollowingtheSwissmodel,ammuni�onwouldbekeptin strikebrigadetobeaddedtothe
prorata.
securelocalloca�ons,onlytobeissuedin�mesof RapidReac�onForce.
imminentthreat. Eachci�zenintheagegroupbetween18and22
inclusivewouldbetestedforfitnesstojointhe
TheYeomanrywillbeorganisedintoeightcorps(East
Yeomanryintheyearfollowingtheirsixteenthbirthday.
Anglia,Mercia,London,Northumbria,Wessex,Wales,
NorthernIrelandandScotland)andcomposedofa BothMilitaryandCivilDefenceCorpsindividualswillbe
thousandandfi�y-sixba�legroups(e.g.,1stEssexetc.) paid.Therewillbeahigherrateforserviceinthe
combiningintocountyorganisedbrigades. Yeomanry,recentdifficul�esrecrui�ngfortheTerritorial
VolunteerReservesuggeststhispolicyisright.
ThecostoftheYeomanrypercapitawouldbe25%of
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3. AN
NOTES freethepatrolship’sorganic
ADDITIONAL helicopterforan�-submarine
Alltheoffshorepatrolvessels
opera�ons.
wouldbeupgradedincludingby
OFFSHORE
raisingthecalibreofthemaingun ALibertarianGovernmentwill
(to76mm)andaddingtwover�cal spend£400millionperannumto
PATROL SHIP
takeoffdrones(withatenththe commission,overtenyears,forty
footprintofahelicoptersothey thousand£75,000manportable
EVERY TEN
couldbefi�edontothehelipad miniaturedroneswithcombined
MONTHS FOR alongside,say,aMerlinMark2)to combatandreconnaissanceability
provideover-the-horizon andprovidefortheirmaintenance.
TEN YEARS reconnaissance. Thesedronestobesuppliedto
boththeYeomanryandthe
Theuseofweaponizeddrones
TheLibertarianPartywould wouldbeapriority. ProfessionalArmy.Thisismodest
comparedwithUSspendingof,
financea400%increaseinthe
Thereconnaissancedroneswould includingonopera�ons,circa£6
numberofoffshorepatrolvessels
enableapatrolvesselin�meof billionperannumondrones.
(fromthreetofi�een). conflicttoactasascout,
Wecurrentlyhaveadeficitof
par�cularlyformilitaryopera�ons,
BENEFITS heavyli�helicopters,thelossof
suchasamphibiousopera�onsor
ChinooksontheAtlan�cConveyor
Thispolicywouldincreasethe smalltaskforces,whowould
in1982severelyrestricted
otherwiselackairborneearly
numberofoffshorepatrolvessels
opera�onsintheFalklands
warningcover(andmightnothave
fromsevennow(sixintheBri�sh Conflict,anddidsoagaininthe
accesstosatelliteearlywarning
IslesoneintheFalklands)to IraqWar.
cover).Thescoutdronescouldalso
nineteen.TheHomeFleetwill
takepriorityinNavalexpenditure.
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4 . FIVE 5. REDUCE THE 6 . ESTABLISH
NOTES
ADDITIONAL NUMBER OF CIVIL DEDICATED
TheMinistryofDefence,the
secondlargestlandownerinthe
HUNTER KILLER SERVANTS IN THE MILITARY
UK,willbegivenadutytodraw
uponitsassetstoassistex-
NUCLEAR MINISTRY OF HOSPITALS AND
servicemenfoundtobelivingin
SUBMARINES DEFENCE BY DEDICATED reducedcircumstances.
ALibertarianGovernmentwould
ThiswouldtaketheBri�sh EIGHTY PERCENT MILITARY introduceadedicatedMilitary
nuclearhunterkillersubmarine Pensionforallthosewhohave
PENSION
Onapercapitabasisthiswould servedfortenyearsormore.
inventorytotwelve.
probablyleavetheMinistryof
ALibertarianGovernment Provisionwillalsobemadefor ALibertarianGovernmentwould
DefenceleanerthantheIsraeli
conferci�zenshiponanyforeign
followingadvicefromservingand bedsforovernightvisi�ngfamily
DirectorateofPurchasesand na�onalservingintheBri�sh
re�ringnavalofficers,wouldnot orfriends.Staffwillbeemployed
Produc�onandDefenceMinistry ArmedServicesa�eratenyear
committotheconstruc�onofany tofocusonprovidingsupport perioddischargedwithgood
Combined.
furtheraircra�carriers.The postdischargeforthosewhofall conductstanding.
conceptofaircra�carriers BENEFITS bythewayside.
‘projec�ngpower’isafallacy Making46,000redundantwould BENEFITS
unlessusedagainstafarweaker savecirca£1.5billionperannum.
Byspecialisa�onthestaffwill
opponent.Suchbluewatercapital
becomeasexpertaspossiblein
shipsaddli�letoHomeDefence.
NOTES dealingwiththeinjuriesand
Theyarealsoeasypreytocheap
Eachremainingcivilservantwill disorderspar�culartomilitary
shorebasedan�-shipmissiles.It
haveamilitaryrankandbe casual�es.
hasbeenarguedthattheAircra�
subjecttomilitarydiscipline.The
Carrierconcepthadreachedthe supplyofcheapthirtyandfi�y
endofit’susefullifebytheBa�le calibreammuni�onfromthird
ofMidwayintheSecondWorld worldsourcesthatcon�nually
jammedisascandalthatshould
Waroverseventyyearsago.
neverhappenagain.
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