Ex-UKIP MEP joins UK Libertarian Party

Bill Etheridge joins Libertarian Party days after UKIP exit | Express & Star - Annabel Bagdi:

October 8, 2018 - "West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has joined the Libertarian Party just days after quitting UKIP. He has joined as deputy chairman after claiming he could no longer serve under the leadership of UKIP's Gerard Batten.

"His move comes amid his desire to support a system with less government interference, lower taxes and individual empowerment, the party said.

"Mr Etheridge said: 'I have always campaigned on libertarian values. UKIP has turned its back on those values, but I never will. I am excited to get to work with a truly libertarian party and hopefully introduce libertarian ideas to the great debates of our time especially Brexit.'

"The politician brought an end to his seven years with UKIP last week, citing his 'despair' at the extremist direction of the leadership. In his resignation letter to Mr Batten, he claimed the leader had 'changed the party beyond all recognition'....

"[UK Libertarian] Party leader Adam Brown said: 'We are delighted to have Bill join us. We often speak to members of other parties who consider themselves Libertarian and have become increasingly dissatisfied with politics within these parties.... It is great to be able to give this Libertarian a voice in our party and we welcome those from other parties, who consider themselves Libertarians, to do the same'....

"Party chairman Andrew Withers said: 'I see this move as a sea change in our profile and welcome Bill’s campaigning expertise and also thank him for his hospitality in Brussels last month.

"'The Libertarian Party advocate a written constitution similar to that of Switzerland, where state control ends and the rights and responsibilities of citizens begin.'"

Read more: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2018/10/08/bill-etheridge-joins-libertarian-party-days-after-ukip-exit/
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Self-described libertarian UKIP's 1st elected MP

Westminster rocked as Ukip wins first MP in Clacton and comes within grasping distance of Labour stronghold - Matthew Holehouse, The Telegraph:

October 10, 2014 - "Douglas Carswell made history in the early hours of Friday after he triumphed in the Clacton by-election to become Ukip's first elected MP, while the party came within grasping distance of winning a Labour stronghold in a second contest.

"Mr Carswell recorded a resounding victory over his Tory challenger with 59.6 per cent of the vote and an increased majority of 12,404 - six weeks after rocking Westminster by defecting from the Tories."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11152995/Westminster-rocked-as-Ukip-wins-first-MP-in-Clacton-and-comes-within-grasping-distance-of-Labour-stronghold.html

Can Douglas Carswell ride the Ukip tiger? - Matthew Holehouse, The Telegraph:

October 10, 2014 - "Mr Carswell is self-described libertarian, and one of Parliament's most radical thinkers about who has power in Britain, what a Parliament is for, and how the country must change if is to be rich again.

"He says new political parties should be like Uber and Spotify, tearing through markets and disrupting vested interests. He quit the Tories ... because [the party] refused to modernise enough and junked its 2010 manifesto on power of recall. He likes 'iDemocracy' so much he wrote a book on it.

"He loves free markets. He hates corporate cartels. He hates the Old Boys in Westminster who killed off open primaries. He welcomes the free movement of people, but worries about how to create a common British identity with which people can feel British in an age of transient labour and Skype relationships.

"He hails feminism, and says political correctness is just 'good manners'."

Read more: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/matthewholehouse/100289261/can-douglas-carswell-ride-the-ukip-tiger/