Government Overreach and Individual Freedom

• We strongly oppose any mandatory government policies that impose on individual freedom, particularly in healthcare (in particular measures that were brought in regarding Covid, such as mandatory vaccinations).  We would legislate to prevent state-mandated medical procedures.

• Never again should one minister be able to write new laws that affect our human rights and freedoms without any proper consultation from Parliament.  We call for protection from future abuse of power in the shape of new measures to prevent the Government from using any threat of a future health emergency or other type of emergency as a reason to curtail our freedoms or alter their human rights in the name of safety.

• We oppose the bringing in of emergency laws that suspend due process or violate individual rights.

• Government’s primary role should be to protect the inalienable rights of individuals from any interference, whether from the state or other entities.  Limit the role of government to providing basic justice services, including police, courts, and armed services, with minimal intervention in other areas.

• Ensure that individuals are free from state interference in personal and business life, except for necessary regulation such as criminal justice.

• Opposition to rationing and forced top-down allocation of resources such as energy or consumer goods in the name of “saving the planet”.  We object to national resources such as healthcare being run according to a scarcity model.

• We strongly oppose bureaucratic philosophies that limit the choices of the individual: statism, welfarism, corporatism, technocracy - promoting individual responsibility and freedom instead.

• Hold a Public Inquiry into “Common Purpose” membership.

Global Affairs and National Sovereignty

• We oppose rejoining the EU or the UK’s membership of supranational bodies such as the UN, WHO, IMF, WTO etc. that similarly seek bureaucratic regulatory powers over our citizens and businesses without full UK debate and vote.

• We are strongly skeptical of “informal” international alliances that undermine national sovereignty (e.g. the World Economic Forum and Bilderberg group) and would hold a full inquiry into UK government minister involvement.

• Limit the role of the UK military to defence of the realm, avoiding involvement in international conflicts unless the UK was directly attacked.

Democracy and Electoral Reform

• Replace the current first-past-the-post electoral system with a Proportional Representation (PR) system.  We would investigate the system of PR that works best for the UK and, if appropriate, the level of governance in question.  What works for Westminster may not be appropriate for the parish council.

• Reform the Civil Service to ensure neutrality, impartiality, and effectiveness in serving any elected government.

• Restrict the monarchy from involvement in political affairs, particularly in international and supranational matters.

• Recall of Councillors and Mayors similar to the system for MPs if they fail to fulfil their duties.

• Reform of the House of Lords – investigate the most appropriate way(s) to do this.  In particular, revisit Blair’s reforms with a view to removing party apparatchiks from the Lords.

• Limit MPs and councillors to three full terms of office to discourage career politicians and ensure fresh perspectives.

• Significantly reduce state surveillance powers to protect individual privacy.

• Establish a written constitution that enshrines and protects the inalienable rights of citizens such as free speech, ensuring they are not subject to change or removal by the government.  If an emergency is what it takes to suspend individual rights and freedoms, an overreaching government will ensure a steady supply of emergencies.  We saw this during Covid.  Any such constitution should therefore make specific reference to this.

• As a party, we take no specific position on Scottish independence.

Government Waste and Reducing Bureaucracy

• Advocate for a significant reduction in the scale and scope of government by closing or downsizing departments that are seen as obstructing freedom.

• Slim down the Civil Service.

• Advocate for the end of government intervention and regulation in key economic sectors, promoting voluntary contracts and free markets.

• The creation of new government bodies, quangos, watchdogs, etc. to be strictly limited unless their proposed function cannot be instituted any other way.  We would ensure that proposed services come under the remit of existing bodies where there is a clear need for them.

Local Policies for Local People

• To reduce the size of government and to save the public purse, we favour as few layers of bureaucracy as possible.  The last 25 years have seen a proliferation of new levels of government – regional assemblies, elected mayors, devolved assemblies – much of which was instituted as a globalist policy to bypass Westminster and run our cities and regions directly.

• Functions should be handled by the lowest level of governance feasible, e.g. not run by the county council if it can be dealt with by the district council and so on. Strengthen local democracy by transferring significant powers from the central government to local councils.

• More use of direct democracy framework where citizens can initiate referendums or petitions on key issues.

• Reinvigorate local democracy by granting local councils more power to address community-specific issues like antisocial behaviour, dog fouling, and fly-tipping.

Legislation and Regulation

• Avoid "knee-jerk" legislation in response to crises or public pressure, instead emphasising the enforcement of existing laws.

• Oppose unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy, particularly the creation of new government bodies and quangos that increase state power.

• Planning policies should ensure local communities have control over developments, particularly those initiated by outside developers.

Media and Information Control

• We would resist moves to curb freedom of expression, such as the over-regulation of social media done in the name of “safeguarding”.  We oppose technocratic efforts to censor the Internet.

• Abolish Ofcom and remove all government controls over journalism and the media to protect free speech and the press.

• Sell the BBC and allocate the proceeds toward reducing the national debt, promoting a more diverse and independent media landscape.

• Ban government agencies from media advertising, reducing opportunities for government propaganda.

We are not the party of banning things, but the purpose of legislation should be to limit and direct what the government and other powerful bodies such as banks and corporations, rather than the citizenry, can and cannot do.  Government is there to serve the people, not the other way around.  Government should defend the realm and keep vital infrastructure running, not seek to run the lives of the populace.  The balance of power should be brought back to the people.