Hi from a Centre-Right Libertarian ( Minarchist )

jason phillips · 11-12-2007, 12:22 AM

Hi I'm 32 ( nearly ) & a Centre-Right Libertarian from Worcester.
I got into Politics from a very young age & by the time I was 16, I knew I was a Libertarian. While studying A Level Philosophy & Politics at 16, I began to read a lot of books by Robert Anton Wilson, Ayn Rand & Robert Nozick. It was Wilsons books that first got me interested in Libertarianism & then I got into the less deep but more dry books by Freidman & Hayek.
I voted for Conservatives when old enough to vote, despite disliking their Authoritarian approach to Civil Liberties.
In 2001 I read Libertarian book ' Saturns Children' by Alan Duncan MP & when Portillo stood as candidate for Leader I joined The Conservative Party. Shortly after IDS became Leader I realised that the Party wasn't Libertarian enough or Eurosceptic enough for me.
In 2004 I voted UKIP for the 1st time & got more interested in their policies but got put off by Kilroy. I eventually joined the party & stood in Worcester City Council elections.
After meeting lots of UKIP members who I found to be Thatcherite Authoritarian Social Conservative, I started to doubt if it was the party for me. Their was a small Minarchist element in the party but they were out numbered by the Thatcherites.
In October I went to the Libdem conference in Brighton to support Nigel Farage who was debating with Chris Davies MEP. I managed to speak to David Laws MP & despite reading ' The Orange Book ', I hadn't realised how close to being a Libertarian he really was. Libdems had dropped their 50% top rate of income Tax, pledged to hold a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU & were campaigning hard against ID cards. I had a lot more in common with them than I realised. A few weeks later Nick Clegg was on news saying he would rather go to prison that have an ID card & then said he was standing for Leader of the Party. With Nick Clegg being a Centre-Right Liberal & David Laws a right wing Liberal, I joined the Party.
Shortly after joining the Libdems however, I read of the launch of the new Libertarian Party of the United Kingdom in January. I will be actively involved in this Party but it may take some time to get candidates in place. During this time I will support a Party that has Nick Clegg as its Leader & David Laws as Shadow Chancellor.
Following Robert Anton Wilsons influence years ago, I got into NLP. I now work as a NLP Practioner & Ericksonian Hypnotherapist.

Independent UKIP · 11-12-2007, 12:43 AM

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry you decided to leave UKIP. If you don't know already I think you will find that most, though not all, UKIP supporters on this forum are of a libertarian leaning.

I see that you were the only UKIP candidate in Worcester this year with no UKIP candidates last year. I don't know if many of the 'thatcherites' you have in mind are from UKIP Worcester but if so or not I wonder why it was only you who was willing to stand for the local council. (I have never contested a local election so cannot criticise anyone for not doing so.)

If you don't know already the Lib Dems are not widely admired on this forum so the sooner you help get the new Libertarian Party launched the better.

Anthony Butcher · 11-12-2007, 12:51 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Smidgey · 11-12-2007, 01:07 AM

Hello and welcome.

I read on another post that you made that you studied philosophy and politics at university. I currently study philosophy with the hope of doing the conversion course into law once I complete my degree (most people currently in the law profession never actually did a law degree). Just out of curiosity, which moral theory do you accept? As you can probably tell, I'm rather Kantian with influences from Hume and Locke.

Thanks.

jason phillips · 11-12-2007, 01:26 AM

LOL thankyou for the advice. It is only Nick Clegg & David Laws I support, the majority of them are Social Democrats.
If all UKIP members were like Chris Mounsey, Greg Beaman, MKpdavies & Nigel Farage it might be different.
There were several things about UKIP that I didn't like as I learned more about them, like David Abbott being a BNP Doner. I hate Political Correctness but certain MEPs were using vile racist, sexist & homophobic language. I'm a big lover of sick Chubby Brown jokes but theres a time & place for everything.
There were only a few members in Worcester City & 1 other guy did stand a few months ago but he is 73. At 31 I was by far the youngest member out of any of the Local Parties when I stood in election. What with the Kilroy incident & loads of bad publicity, it was hard to be a UKIP member & be optimistic. I'd love the Libertarian wing of the Party to get together with other Libertarians to form one big party.

jason phillips · 11-12-2007, 01:39 AM

Nietzsche - my ultimate goal in life is to become the ' Ubermensch ', with a bit of Hume & Locke.
I work as a NLP Practioner & Erickson Hypnotherapist to take away Phobias & addictions. By taking them away I give them Freedom & so Libertarianism is my whole lifes Philosophy & not just Politics.
If your stuck in a dead end job, I can help you get more Freedom by helping you find the resources to do something which doesn't feel like work. My biggest influence was Libertarian Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson.

Michael Heaver · 11-12-2007, 08:45 AM

Personally Jason, I think you'll be rejoining the Party soon. UKIP's libertarian voice is growing bit by bit and I think the libertarian policies we're going to get across in the 2009 General Election off the back of European Election publicity is truly going to be the making of us.

arden forester · 11-12-2007, 10:33 AM

Hello, Jason, welcome to the forum, which incidentally is probably the best on the net! By the way, is a Minarchist the same as that Scottish MP Gordon Bean, who I saw fawning at the feet of the Queen in the BBC programme last night?

If this new Libertarian Party is well organised it might get some support, otherwise it's a no-go. Sorry! I'm beginnining to think that the British electorate has to have three things in place before they will consider voting for a party.

1. Have a really decent website (plus blogs) that is updated regularly and is above all informative.
2. Hammer away at an issue that gets people "pub talking"!!
3. Have leaders who look as if they might have a sporting chance of making it as a leader.

Get any one of the three wrong and you are into the cesspit of politics.

Look at our illustrious PM. Vincent Cable (not original though) likened him to Mr.Bean. Now he is in dire straights as far as leadership is concerned.

UKIP have a fairly decent website, fall down on number two, and have only just got a leader that looks like a leader.

That's what your Libertarian Party needs.

mkpdavies · 11-12-2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

If all UKIP members were like Chris Mounsey, Greg Beaman, MKpdavies & Nigel Farage it might be different.

We'd probably be carted off to the nut house!

Welcome aboard. Glad to hear there are some reasonable people in the Lib Dems after all. Good luck changing them from a Communist party.

tito · 11-12-2007, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Heaver

Personally Jason, I think you'll be rejoining the Party soon. UKIP's libertarian voice is growing bit by bit and I think the libertarian policies we're going to get across in the 2009 General Election off the back of European Election publicity is truly going to be the making of us.

This libertarian is also leaving for the Libertarian Party.

11-12-2007, 12:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
jason phillips Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Worcester Posts: 23	Hi from a Centre-Right Libertarian ( Minarchist ) Hi I'm 32 ( nearly ) & a Centre-Right Libertarian from Worcester. I got into Politics from a very young age & by the time I was 16, I knew I was a Libertarian. While studying A Level Philosophy & Politics at 16, I began to read a lot of books by Robert Anton Wilson, Ayn Rand & Robert Nozick. It was Wilsons books that first got me interested in Libertarianism & then I got into the less deep but more dry books by Freidman & Hayek. I voted for Conservatives when old enough to vote, despite disliking their Authoritarian approach to Civil Liberties. In 2001 I read Libertarian book ' Saturns Children' by Alan Duncan MP & when Portillo stood as candidate for Leader I joined The Conservative Party. Shortly after IDS became Leader I realised that the Party wasn't Libertarian enough or Eurosceptic enough for me. In 2004 I voted UKIP for the 1st time & got more interested in their policies but got put off by Kilroy. I eventually joined the party & stood in Worcester City Council elections. After meeting lots of UKIP members who I found to be Thatcherite Authoritarian Social Conservative, I started to doubt if it was the party for me. Their was a small Minarchist element in the party but they were out numbered by the Thatcherites. In October I went to the Libdem conference in Brighton to support Nigel Farage who was debating with Chris Davies MEP. I managed to speak to David Laws MP & despite reading ' The Orange Book ', I hadn't realised how close to being a Libertarian he really was. Libdems had dropped their 50% top rate of income Tax, pledged to hold a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU & were campaigning hard against ID cards. I had a lot more in common with them than I realised. A few weeks later Nick Clegg was on news saying he would rather go to prison that have an ID card & then said he was standing for Leader of the Party. With Nick Clegg being a Centre-Right Liberal & David Laws a right wing Liberal, I joined the Party. Shortly after joining the Libdems however, I read of the launch of the new Libertarian Party of the United Kingdom in January. I will be actively involved in this Party but it may take some time to get candidates in place. During this time I will support a Party that has Nick Clegg as its Leader & David Laws as Shadow Chancellor. Following Robert Anton Wilsons influence years ago, I got into NLP. I now work as a NLP Practioner & Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. __________________ ' For Life, Liberty & Prosperity ' The Libertarian Party of The United Kingdom WWW.lpuk.org www.LibertarianUK.net

11-12-2007, 12:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Long Ashton, Bristol Posts: 9,425 Party: None	Welcome to the forum. __________________ If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled! Label My Food - http://www.labelmyfood.org.uk

11-12-2007, 01:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Smidgey Uber Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 2,010 Party: Libertarian Party	Hello and welcome. I read on another post that you made that you studied philosophy and politics at university. I currently study philosophy with the hope of doing the conversion course into law once I complete my degree (most people currently in the law profession never actually did a law degree). Just out of curiosity, which moral theory do you accept? As you can probably tell, I'm rather Kantian with influences from Hume and Locke. Thanks. __________________ How vain is man, who boasts in fight the valour of gigantic might! -Georg Friedrich Händel

11-12-2007, 01:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
jason phillips Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Worcester Posts: 23	LOL thankyou for the advice. It is only Nick Clegg & David Laws I support, the majority of them are Social Democrats. If all UKIP members were like Chris Mounsey, Greg Beaman, MKpdavies & Nigel Farage it might be different. There were several things about UKIP that I didn't like as I learned more about them, like David Abbott being a BNP Doner. I hate Political Correctness but certain MEPs were using vile racist, sexist & homophobic language. I'm a big lover of sick Chubby Brown jokes but theres a time & place for everything. There were only a few members in Worcester City & 1 other guy did stand a few months ago but he is 73. At 31 I was by far the youngest member out of any of the Local Parties when I stood in election. What with the Kilroy incident & loads of bad publicity, it was hard to be a UKIP member & be optimistic. I'd love the Libertarian wing of the Party to get together with other Libertarians to form one big party. __________________ ' For Life, Liberty & Prosperity ' The Libertarian Party of The United Kingdom WWW.lpuk.org www.LibertarianUK.net

11-12-2007, 01:39 AM	#6 (permalink)
jason phillips Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Worcester Posts: 23	Nietzsche - my ultimate goal in life is to become the ' Ubermensch ', with a bit of Hume & Locke. I work as a NLP Practioner & Erickson Hypnotherapist to take away Phobias & addictions. By taking them away I give them Freedom & so Libertarianism is my whole lifes Philosophy & not just Politics. If your stuck in a dead end job, I can help you get more Freedom by helping you find the resources to do something which doesn't feel like work. My biggest influence was Libertarian Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson. __________________ ' For Life, Liberty & Prosperity ' The Libertarian Party of The United Kingdom WWW.lpuk.org www.LibertarianUK.net

11-12-2007, 12:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Independent UKIP Uber Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: London Posts: 2,133	Welcome to the forum. I am sorry you decided to leave UKIP. If you don't know already I think you will find that most, though not all, UKIP supporters on this forum are of a libertarian leaning. I see that you were the only UKIP candidate in Worcester this year with no UKIP candidates last year. I don't know if many of the 'thatcherites' you have in mind are from UKIP Worcester but if so or not I wonder why it was only you who was willing to stand for the local council. (I have never contested a local election so cannot criticise anyone for not doing so.) If you don't know already the Lib Dems are not widely admired on this forum so the sooner you help get the new Libertarian Party launched the better.

11-12-2007, 08:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Michael Heaver Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 373 Party: UKIP	Personally Jason, I think you'll be rejoining the Party soon. UKIP's libertarian voice is growing bit by bit and I think the libertarian policies we're going to get across in the 2009 General Election off the back of European Election publicity is truly going to be the making of us. __________________ "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something".

11-12-2007, 10:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
arden forester Uber Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solihull, in The Forest of Arden, Warwickshire! Posts: 2,633 Party: None	Liberating the Libertarians!! Hello, Jason, welcome to the forum, which incidentally is probably the best on the net! By the way, is a Minarchist the same as that Scottish MP Gordon Bean, who I saw fawning at the feet of the Queen in the BBC programme last night? If this new Libertarian Party is well organised it might get some support, otherwise it's a no-go. Sorry! I'm beginnining to think that the British electorate has to have three things in place before they will consider voting for a party. 1. Have a really decent website (plus blogs) that is updated regularly and is above all informative. 2. Hammer away at an issue that gets people "pub talking"!! 3. Have leaders who look as if they might have a sporting chance of making it as a leader. Get any one of the three wrong and you are into the cesspit of politics. Look at our illustrious PM. Vincent Cable (not original though) likened him to Mr.Bean. Now he is in dire straights as far as leadership is concerned. UKIP have a fairly decent website, fall down on number two, and have only just got a leader that looks like a leader. That's what your Libertarian Party needs. __________________ www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

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