This document, annotated by NO2ID - http://www.no2id.net , relates to the previously-leaked 'NIS Delivery Strategy - Aligning strategy and delivery' PowerPoint presentation. Although an undated printout, this document is therefore likely to reflect official thinking towards the end of 2007, possibly as late as the end of December 2007.   more »

In the wake of the report by by Sir Paul Kennedy, the Interception of Communications Commissioner that 1000 people are now having their telephone tapped per week, that is 1000 PER WEEK, this article from Redpepper sums up the surveillance state that we all live in today.   more »

Teenagers will be made to take up identity cards in order to open bank accounts or qualify for student funding, leaked Government documents disclose report the Telegraph. This led to accusations that ministers are planning to blackmail young people into taking part in the beleaguered ID cards scheme.   more »

The Labour Party has repeatedly failed to declare donations totalling more than £2.8 million to electoral regulators within the legal time limit, it has emerged.   more »

The security of the online computer system used by more than three million people to file tax returns is in doubt after HM Revenue and Customs admitted it was not secure enough to be used by MPs, celebrities and the Royal Family. From this year, anyone wishing to file a self-assessment tax return after October will have to do so online or face stiff penalties.   more »

Tom has been reading Imperium by the late Ryszard Kapuscinski. It is a collection of reportage about Kapuscinski’s journeys in the Soviet Union, and I have to say that it reminds me of the Empire that is now being built across western Europe, and the political and social changes that we all see here in the UK, but alas, some more clearly than others.   more »

Democracy is being snuffed out in England. District Councils are being abolished, elections cancelled, councillors terms terminated. Your right to vote has just been stolen.   more »

When something happens once, you can put it down to error, when it happens twice, we begin to suspect incompetence, but when it happens over and over again, it can only be considered to be deliberate. This latest story of everyday government morons is the latest in a string of data losses that we can only now consider to be deliberate on the part of this overwhelmingly dysfunctional Government.   more »

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't. As Ben Franklin said: "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria."   more »

I am watching story after story unfold of lies, corruption, incompetence and cover up. Well, just look at all the above, see what they have done, see some of what they are planning and you tell me who’s mad.   more »

A Canadian conservative is hauled before "Human Rights" commission His crime? Publishing those "Mohammed" cartoons. The accused, Ezra Levant, delivered a stirring opening statement at his interrogation. Here's an excerpt:   more »

From 22nd September 2007 to 8th January 2008 the EU has passed 452 laws which will impact on the UK.   more »

Prisons minister David Hanson has confirmed that a national computer system to track offenders in prison or on probation will not be installed in the Probation Service. Instead the system, known as C-Nomis, will be rolled out across the Prison Service, replacing its existing case management system. The government underestimated the volume of traffic that the system needed to cope with, and did not factor in having to pay VAT on the contract to EDS.   more »

These countries that ban ownership of firearms are learning a hard truth: criminals don’t need guns to commit crimes…   more »

The Northern Irish Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, and her 3 Ministers for Transport (two of which are Scottish of course) are introducing changes to the rules in England so that variable rates of parking fines can be implemented and to remove the requirement for traffic wardens to physically attach a ticket to a vehicle meaning that tickets can be written out and issued after the offence has occurred or from CCTV images.   more »

Libya moved deeper into the fold of the international community Thursday, taking up the helm of the very same body that had previously sanctioned it as a state-sponsor of terrorism.   more »

When we hear of detention without charge, we think of the governments repeated attempts to impose 14, 28, 52, 90 days detention whilst police put the case together. This has been repeatedly defeated in the House of Commons, but... The Tories answer to this was, continue the investigation after arrest, i.e. arrest someone, then continue the questioning and the investigation. Following on from the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, Tim Worstall writes that you can now expect that they’ll be harmonising the legal systems soon enough and this is the sort of thing which will happen:   more »

Shortly after the second anniversary of 7th July 2005, J7: The July 7th Truth Campaign was contacted by Chris Alcock of the BBC who advised us of plans for a BBC documentary covering the events of 7th July 2005. No detail about the nature of the 'documentary' was provided until five months later, in December 2007, when another BBC employee, Assistant Producer Susan Prichard, advised us by email that the BBC production in question, rather than being a serious documentary effort for which the BBC was once well known, was in fact an episode of BBC2's risible Conspiracy Files series.   more »

The government spins and deceives to tell you its CPI measure of inflation is correct. But over in the private sector no one is fooled. Average wage increases are now at 4% and rising, as off course is inflation.   more »

"Did we miss something here? Their press release stated, ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future.’ What future do the seed bank’s sponsors foresee, that would threaten the global availability of current seeds, almost all of which are already well protected in designated seed banks around the world?" "Anytime Bill Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto and Syngenta get together on a common project, it’s worth digging a bit deeper behind the rocks on Spitsbergen. When we do we find some fascinating things"...   more »

Gordon Brown’s refusal of referendum on E.U. Reform Treaty means only the Queen can now stop it CREC has revived its successful ‘purple postcard’ campaign which was widely credited with helping to persuade Tony Blair in May 2004 to concede a referendum on the E.U. Constitution. 3½ years later, Gordon Brown, on 13 December, signed the E.U. Reform Treaty in Lisbon. We were promised a referendum on it by Tony Blair. Now Gordon Brown is refusing it. He says Parliament alone will decide. We say different.   more »

The Register reports that Judging from a recent patent application, Microsoft hopes to build some sort of "activity monitoring system" that keeps an eye on worker productivity using various "physiological or environmental sensors."   more »

CLAIMS that thousands of people were to shun a Bolton scheme to keep patients' medical records online have been denied by the Government. Well they would, wouldn't they. Reports had suggested around 200,000 people in five pilot areas were set to opt out of the summary care record system which would allow health professionals across the country to access key medical information at the touch of a button, amid concerns over security.   more »

Privacy International, a UK privacy group, and the U.S.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center have put together a world map of surveillance societies, rating various nations for their civil liberties records. Both the U.S. and the UK are colored black for “endemic surveillance,” as are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Russia, China and Malaysia.   more »

A new force in British politics has been born. A new party to work for the interests of the United Kingdom and its people.

The Libertarian Party has its official launch today, and will develop a raft of actions and policies over the next few weeks to roll back the draconian and authoritarian style of Government of the past 10 years.

We will be looking for new members, new party officials, new activists, new party workers who believe that Liberty, Freedom, the privacy of your Property and your Prosperity are the cornerstone of the British way of life.

We will be looking to put the Great back into Britain, the United back into the Kingdom, where the 4 nations of the UK can work together on an equal basis, and where the principles of the freedom of the individual are equally matched with responsibility of the individual.

As libertarians we believe in small Government, to only involve Government where it is needed, and will work to roll back the mighty juggernaut of Statism that the Labour, Conservative and Liberal parties have all promoted through the years.

The current 'state must run everything' mentality will be put to rest. The corruption within politics will be rooted out, and those guilty of abusing their positions of power will be brought to book.

We intend to promote a country that believes in itself, believes in the individual, to restore our ancient rights guaranteed in the Magna Carta, The Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus.

To put a stop to the political indoctrination of our schoolchildren, and to curb the politically correct social engineering so prevalent in our society.

We will oppose any moves, such as the Reform Treaty, to take us into the European Empire. Our stance on Europe will be that 'We love Europe but hate the EU'.

We will work towards working with Europe as a trading partner, (which is all the people of the UK ever signed up for), and to join other nations such as Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, who have strong vibrant economies as trading partners of Europe without the need for full membership.

Our Armed Forces will take a priority in our thinking and our budgets. To restore them in the hearts and minds of the nation as respected and brave, defending our Nation and way of life, and to give them the best tools to do the work that we ask of them.

A land where you and I will politely be referred to as a member of the public, no more to hear the Orwellian use of of the term 'Citizen'. A land where your privacy and independence is paramount, a land where Government has no right to interfere in your lawful business.

To consign to the scrap heap the idea of ID cards, the NIR, the children's register and the other trappings of a totalitarian state, and a tax system that reflects the needs of the public, instead of the greed and dogma of a political ideology.

The official launch of the Libertarian Party is today, but if you have an interest in this new and exciting political alternative to Big Brother government, then keep looking at our web site, as announcements will follow soon.

http://lpuk.org/

They hope to bring you a manifesto as soon as possible.

Should you have an interest in joining us here at the Libertarian Party, or would just like to register your support, please us the contact page on lpuk.org

If, however, you want to get involved in policy-making, general discussion and cat-herding, you can register on the Libertarian Party Forum. This is where most of the exciting stuff is happening, so wander over and introduce yourself...

If you want to know what Libertarianism is all about, see the values of the Libertarian in a nice video format.

The message to the other political parties is clear.
The United Kingdom, its Institutions, its Peoples, its Culture, Constitution and history are not for sale.


A New Year - A New Beginning.

Integrity Returns To British Politics

n.b. Please note that some of the policy aspirations mentioned above are entirely my own and not necessarily those which will appear in the Libertarian Party manifesto.