Constitutional
"And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. So help me God." — from the Oath of Allegiance in the English Bill of Rights, 1689
The Libertarian Party is committed to reassert the primacy of our Bill of Rights and Common Law system over the Napoleonic system that has encroached from the continent in recent years.
Policy
- Law and taxation shall be applied consistently and without favour.
- Repeal Human Rights Act. We will enact a formal Constitution, and reassert the 1689 Bill of Rights to reinforce established freedoms under Common Law.
- We will abolish the compulsory TV License and resolve the status of BBC; options to be investigated include the potential for privatisation.
- Abolish Regional Agencies as a priority in the QUANGO cull.
- We will ensure that the UK does not enter into any binding agreements with supra-national entities that require the imposition of fines or demand policy actions on domestic affairs or those affecting national security including energy policy. Such agencies include the EU and the United Nations.
- Review membership, funding and all obligations towards supra-national bodies.
- Strengthen UK ties with the Commonwealth nations.
- We will ensure that people are free to practice their religion. However, freedom of religion doesn't mean allowing people to commit (or threaten to commit) acts of violence against others using religious texts as any form of justification, merely that all people should be equal in the eyes of the law, regardless of their creed; and that all should be able to worship whatever deity or deities they wish—including worshipping none at all—and to peacefully practice their chosen religion.
Parliament & Politics
- We propose electoral reform towards a Single Transferable Vote system, which retains the ownership and relationship of First Past the Post, but does not suffer from the wasted vote issue. STV avoids the pitfalls of Proportional Representation, which can Balkanise politics and disconnect voters from a specific elected representative.
- Immediate introduction of fixed Parliamentary terms.
- Introduce legislation to bring all party political funding into line with the practice of the Libertarian Party—only donations from individual electors to be acceptable, preventing special interest groups from 'buying' political influence.
- Whilst the member countries of the Union wish to remain within it, ensure that all legislation created and passed within Westminster is 'regionalised', and allow only MPs who represent countries directly affected by that legislation a vote upon it. This will address the infamous 'West Lothian question'.
- Undertake a review of the use of Statutory Instruments in light of the reduced involvement of parliament in the administration of daily life, permitting more time to be spent openly discussing legislation in the House of Commons.