Libertarianism in the United Kingdom

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Libertarianism in the United Kingdom can either refer to a political movement synonymous with anarchism, left-libertarianism and libertarian socialism, or to a political movement concerned with the pursuit of propertarian right-libertarian ideals in the United Kingdom which emerged and became more prominent in British politics after the 1980s neoliberalism and the economic liberalism of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, albeit not as prominent as libertarianism in the United States in the 1970s and the presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.^[1]

Currently, the most explicitly libertarian party in the United Kingdom is the Libertarian Party.^{[according to whom?]} However, there has also been a long-standing right-libertarian faction of the mainstream Conservative Party that espouses Thatcherism.^[2] UK voters have tended to vote more in line with their position along the traditional 'left-right’ division rather than along libertarian-authoritarian lines, and so libertarians in the United Kingdom have supported parties across the political spectrum.^[3]

Political parties[]

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Libertarian parties[]

The Libertarian Party is the main libertarian party within the United Kingdom describing itself as being a "Classically Liberal, Regionalist and Minarchist organisation".^[4] The Liberal Party was formed in 1989 from those opposed to the merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Scottish Libertarian Party was formed as a separate party in 2012 and officially registered in 2014.^[5]

Relationship with the Conservative Party[]

Libertarianism, and particularly right-libertarianism, became more prominent in British politics after the promotion of neoliberalism and economic liberalism under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher.^[1] Since the 1980s, a number of Conservative MPs have been considered to have libertarian leanings,^[2][6] and libertarian groups have been perceived to exert considerable influence over the Party.^[7]

However, in her first Conservative Party conference speech as leader, Theresa May attacked the "libertarian right" and argued for a more pro-state communitarian conservatism.^{[8][9][10][11][12]} In recent years, Conservative Party policy has appeared to move further away from libertarianism, ^[13][14] and a smaller proportion of their support has come from voters with libertarian attitudes.^[15]

Relationship with the Green Party of England and Wales[]

Sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party took "the left-libertarian" vote,^[16] while Dennison and Goodwin characterised it as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values".^[17] The party wants an end to big government – which they see as hindering open and transparent democracy – and want to limit the power of big business – which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend of globalisation, and is detrimental to local trade and economies.^[18] There have been allegations of factionalism and infighting in the Green Party between liberal, socialist, and anarchist factions.^[19]

Relationship with the UK Independence Party[]

As leader of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage sought to broaden the public perception of the UKIP beyond being a party solely seeking to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union to one of being a party broadly standing for libertarian values and reductions in government bureaucracy.^[20][21] The party describes itself as a "libertarian, non-racist Eurosceptic party".^[22]

Criticism[]

UKIP's original activist base was largely "libertarian", supporting an economically liberal approach.^[23] Its "economic libertarian" views have been influenced by classical liberalism and Thatcherism, with Thatcher representing a key influence on UKIP's thought.^[24] Farage has characterised UKIP as "the true inheritors" of Thatcher, claiming that the party never would have formed had Thatcher remained Prime Minister of the UK throughout the 1990s.^[24] Winlow, Hall, and Treadwell suggested that a UKIP government would pursue "hard-core Thatcherism" on economic policy.^[25] UKIP presents itself as a "libertarian party",^[26] and the political scientists David Deacon and Dominic Wring described it as articulating "a potent brand of libertarian populism".^[27] However, commentators writing in The Spectator, The Independent, and the New Statesman have all challenged the description of UKIP as libertarian, highlighting its socially conservative and economically protectionist policies as being contrary to a libertarian ethos.^[28][29][30]

While Farage denied in 2007 that the party's strategy was "targeting David Cameron as such",^[21] political scientist Chris Robinson opines in 2010 that Farage may well have been hoping that this expansion of the party platform would attract voters disenchanted with Cameron premiership and thinking him "too Tony Blair-like".^[20]

In 2010, the UKIP's call to ban the burkha in public places was criticised by Shami Chakrabarti as contrary to libertarianism.^[31]

Libertarian think tanks[]

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Libertarian Alliance[]

The Libertarian Alliance was the oldest^{[attribution needed]} and most explicitly libertarian think tank^[opinion], existing until 2017 "[to explain] the benefits of political and economic freedom and of toleration in the sense put forth by such philosophers as John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, F.A. von Hayek, Karl Popper, and many others in the British liberal tradition".^[32] Politically neutral, it has united classical liberals, minarchists, anarcho-capitalists and even social anarchists. The Libertarian Alliance's founder Chris Tame was also the director of FOREST, the smokers' rights organisation. The more conservative Society for Individual Freedom from which the Libertarian Alliance originally split was its sister organisation.

Institute of Economic Affairs[]

The Institute of Economic Affairs is the oldest pro-free-market think tank in the United Kingdom^{[attribution needed]} and a progenitor of a large network of neoliberal think tanks around the world as well as greatly shaping^[opinion] the Thatcher government's economic policies.^{[citation needed]}

Other organisations[]

The Centre for Policy Studies was set up by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph for the purpose of advancing classical liberalism while the Adam Smith Institute largely promotes free-market regulatory and welfare reforms.^{[citation needed]}

Student societies[]

There are a few^[vague] libertarian student societies at British universities, including Cardiff University, Queen Mary University of London (Liberty Society), Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics (the Hayek Society), University College London, King's College London, St Andrews, York, Sheffield, Loughborough and Durham.^{[citation needed]}

Students for Liberty UK[]

Students for Liberty UK is part of European Students for Liberty (an offshoot of the American charity Students for Liberty) which run conferences, workshops and leadership training for students and promote liberty across Europe.^[33]

Prominent libertarians[]

Prominent British libertarians have included:

• Bill Etheridge (born 1970) defected from the UK Independence Party to the Libertarian Party in 2018, becoming Deputy Chair,^[34] before defecting to the Brexit Party in 2019
• Sean Gabb (born 1960) director of the Libertarian Alliance from 2006–2017
• Peter Thomas Bauer (1915–2002), developmental economist and 2002 winner of the Cato Institute's Milton Friedman Prize^[35]
• Alan Duncan (born 1957), Conservative politician^[36]
• Daniel Hannan (born 1971), Conservative politician^{[citation needed]}
• Andrew Marr (born 1959), journalist and political commentator^[37]
• Friedrich Hayek (1899–1992), economist and author^[38]
• Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), philosopher^[39]
• Chris Tame (1949–2006), co-founder of the Libertarian Alliance^[40]
• Douglas Carswell (born 1971), UK Independence Party politician^[41]
• David Davis (born 1948), Brexit Secretary and Conservative politician^[42]

See also[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Tournier-Sol, Karine (2015). "Reworking the Eurosceptic and Conservative Traditions into a Populist Narrative: UKIP's Winning Formula?". Journal of Common Market Studies. 53 (1): 140–56. doi:10.1111/jcms.12208. S2CID 142738345.
• Lynch, Philip; Whitaker, Richard (2013). "Rivalry on the Right: The Conservatives, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the EU Issue". British Politics. 8 (3): 285–312. doi:10.1057/bp.2012.29. hdl:2381/31946. S2CID 154926119.
• Winlow, Simon; Hall, Steve; Treadwell, James (2017). The Rise of the Right: English Nationalism and the Transformation of Working-Class Politics. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1447328483.
• Deacon, David; Wring, Dominic (2016). "The UK Independence Party, Populism and the British News Media: Competition, Collaboration or Containment?". European Journal of Communication (Submitted manuscript). 31 (2): 169–84. doi:10.1177/0267323115612215. S2CID 147206873.
• Ford, Robert; Goodwin, Matthew (2014). Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66150-8.