Libertarian Party (UK) – Wikipedia
Political party in the United Kingdom
Political party in the United Kingdom
The Libertarian Party, also known as the Libertarian Party UK (LPUK), is a libertarian political party in the United Kingdom.[2][4] Adam Brown has been the party's leader since August 2015.[1][7]
The party was founded in January 2008 under the leadership of Patrick Vessey, having registered the party with the Electoral Commission in November 2007.[2] 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 the new party would reduce the influence of libertarianism.[8]
On 17 September 2008, Vessey resigned as party leader and was replaced by Ian Parker-Joseph.[citation needed] 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".[9] He said the party wanted much smaller government and would initially cut taxation to 10% before removing it altogether.[10]
On 28 November 2010, Andrew Withers was elected as party leader.[11][bettersourceneeded]
Following an internal ballot on 15 August 2015, party members elected Adam Brown as the party leader.[1]
During the 2018 local elections, the party was described as on "the fringes of mainstream British politics".[12]
In October 2018, MEP Bill Etheridge, a former member of the UK Independence Party, joined the party[13] and became its deputy chairman.[14] Etheridge continued as a member of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy parliamentary group in the European Parliament.[15] 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".[11]
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Libertarian Party (UK) - Wikipedia