, headquarters = 49 John Finnie Street
Kilmarnock
KA1 1NN
, party_articletitle =
, logo =
, leader1_title = Deputy Leader
, leader1_name = Calum “Caz” Paul
, colours = Buff and blue
, seats3_title =
Scottish seats in the House of Commons
, seats3 =
, seats5_title =
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...
, seats5 =
, seats6_title =
Local government in Scotland
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the major ...
, seats6 =
, international =
International Alliance of Libertarian Parties
The International Alliance of Libertarian Parties (IALP) is an alliance of libertarian political parties around the world. Its mission is to promote such libertarian politics internationally.
At the 2014 Libertarian National Convention in the ...
, country = Scotland
, chairperson = Alan Findlay
, political position =
The Scottish Libertarian Party, also known as the Scottish Libertarians, is a
political party in Scotland that advocates
libertarianism
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
. Its current leader is
Tam Laird
Tam Laird is the current Leader of the Scottish Libertarian Party; he is a Founding member of the party, and previously served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Libertarians. Laird was an infantry soldier in the British Army, with which he served ...
.
History
The party was first founded on 3 January 2012 under the leadership of author Daniel Logan-Scott. It was refused registration by the
Electoral Commission due to naming similarities with the
Libertarian Party UK
The Libertarian Party, also known as the Libertarian Party UK (LPUK), is a Libertarianism, libertarian political party in the United Kingdom. Adam Brown has been the party's leader since August 2015. . This was resolved when the Libertarian Party UK altered its registration to no longer stand candidates or run in
elections in Scotland
Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, local councils and community councils. Before the United Kingdom left the European Union, Scotland elected members to the European Parliament.
Sco ...
. Despite organising various events, the party became inactive and stopped updating their blog.
After 3 years of inactivity, the Scottish Libertarian Party launched again in December 2015 under new leader Alan Findlay,
officially registering with the Electoral Commission in March 2016.
In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electio ...
the party stood in the
West Scotland,
Mid Scotland and Fife,
North East Scotland regions and the
Edinburgh Central constituency. The party received its highest percentage of votes in Edinburgh Central with 0.3%, or 119 votes, and received 650 votes in Mid Scotland and Fife, 552 in North East Scotland and 480 in West Scotland, for a total of 1,805 votes in Scotland.
In the
2019 general election the party fielded one candidate in the constituency
Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Stef Johnstone, then deputy leader, getting 405 votes (0.9% of the votes cast).
However, they said that the reason they were only standing one candidate was because this election was solely about
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...
, and that it would be better to save their money for the
2021 Scottish Parliament election
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The e ...
, when they hope to stand candidates in all regions and a few key constituencies. They did, however, advise people to vote for whatever party was the most likely to deliver a
no-deal Brexit.
On 10 November 2020, the Scottish Libertarian Party announced that Aberdeenshire councillor for
Stonehaven and Lower Deeside, Sandy Wallace had joined the party. Cllr Wallace was originally elected as a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
at the
2017 Aberdeenshire Council election
The Aberdeenshire Council election of 2017 was held on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election will use the 19 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ...
, but became an independent on 12 December 2018, citing he had no faith in either the Prime Minister or the Conservative controlled Coalition in Aberdeenshire. He became the party’s first elected representative at any level of governance in Scotland.
In the
2021 Scottish Parliament election
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The e ...
for the first time the party fielded candidates in all eight regions and nine constituencies, getting 4,987 votes in the regions (0.2% of the total votes) and 1,913 votes in the constituencies (0.1% of the total votes).
In 2022 Stef Johnstone resigned as deputy leader of the party citing the removal of a member from the party as one of the contributing factors. The new deputy leader i
Calum “Caz” Paul
Policies
Economic policy
The Scottish Libertarian Party advocates for a free market, opposing the idea of the
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
and would like to see all sectors of the economy run privately, including education and healthcare. They are against the idea of
state ownership
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public owners ...
, saying, "Every person has a right to their justly earned or created property to use, sell, rent, lend, or dispose of as they choose... What is commonly seen as property ownership in the United Kingdom is in fact property use. The actual owner remains the government." They also advocate for the abolition of all taxes with the exception of
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Ta ...
. They say that they recognise that income tax is the primary means of funding the government, and that until a better alternative is found, it would be reduced to a smaller, flat tax.
They also want to abolish
corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a phrase used to describe a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment for corporations.
The definition of corporate welfare is sometimes restricted to direct government subsidie ...
, including subsidies and special privileges for big businesses.
The party is against all tariffs and supports the idea of unilateral free trade with all other countries.
On inflation, the party says, "...the Scottish Libertarians advocate a monetary system based on gold, silver, or both and denounce the fiat money system and the central banking system that creates inflation."
Social policy
The Scottish Libertarians believe that "there are no groups" when it comes to issues such as gender equality and sexual orientation, instead stating "There are only people and people come individually."
On crime and justice, they say that the rights of the person accused must never be undermined, such as the rights of due process, a speedy trial, legal counsel, trial by jury, and the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In their
2016 Scottish Parliament manifesto, they stated that individuals have the right to live how they want to live, as long as they don't harm others. They also said that they would prefer a more restorative justice system.
The party is for the legalisation of all drugs and would end what they call the costly and ineffective
War on drugs
The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...
. They also support the decriminalisation of prostitution in line with the
New Zealand Model, as advocated by
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
.
The party is pro-
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
, and oppose restrictions of what the
SNP describes as "
hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
." The party's leader, Tam Laird, wrote once that he lived in Zambia as a boy. He said that he enjoyed it, but criticising the president, the army and
UNIP
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 ...
(the party the President
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...
was leader of) were crimes. He complained that, in time, the situation would be the same in Scotland, comparing it to the
boiling frog
The boiling frog is an apologue describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it wil ...
theory.
Foreign policy
The party supports
Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
...
, because they say that their policies are impossible to enact under the current political situation. However, unlike most other pro-independence Scottish parties, they are
against the EU, as they claim that re-joining it after independence would "simply be trading one foreign master for another." They are willing to work with the EU for reduction of barriers to trade and movement of people between Scotland and the EU. They are against all tariffs and wish for the country to adopt unilateral free trade.
They have voiced support for
Liberland.
On immigration, the party takes a very liberal stance, and support easy immigration to Scotland. However, they support "reasonable controls... to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health, or property."
When it comes to international conflicts and warfare, the party argues for diplomacy as the primary option for resolution and rejects the use of force, either militant or economic, as a means of achieving the international goals. Should diplomacy fail and the life, liberty, or property of the nation was at stake, then war becomes the only option remaining and will be officially declared through the passage of legislation.
Education and healthcare
The party believes that education is best facilitated by the free market and that schools should be managed locally, arguing it would help achieve greater accountability and parental involvement.
They consider the
current healthcare system to be poorly performing and would heavily reform it, believing that a free market solution would better suit this task.
Scottish Libertarian Manifesto Online Version 2021
/ref> They also would legislate to allow for assisted suicide or 'dignified death'.
Electoral performance
Scottish Parliament elections
Scottish local elections
References
External links
Official website
Electoral Commission
current state
{{Political parties in Scotland
Libertarian parties
Libertarian parties in the United Kingdom
2012 establishments in Scotland
Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom
Political parties established in 2012
Political parties in Scotland
Scottish independence