Currently, the most explicitly libertarian party in the United Kingdom is the Libertarian Party.[according to whom?] However, there has also been a long-standing right-libertarian faction of the mainstream Conservative Party that espouses Thatcherism.[2] UK voters have tended to vote more in line with their position along the traditional 'left-right’ division rather than along libertarian-authoritarian lines, and so libertarians in the United Kingdom have supported parties across the political spectrum.[3]
Libertarianism, and particularly right-libertarianism, became more prominent in British politics after the promotion of neoliberalism and economic liberalism under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher.[1] Since the 1980s, a number of Conservative MPs have been considered to have libertarian leanings,[2][6] and libertarian groups have been perceived to exert considerable influence over the Party.[7]
However, in her first Conservative Party conference speech as leader, Theresa May attacked the "libertarian right" and argued for a more pro-state communitarian conservatism.[8][9][10][11][12] In recent years, Conservative Party policy has appeared to move further away from libertarianism,
[13][14] and a smaller proportion of their support has come from voters with libertarian attitudes.[3]
Relationship with the Green Party of England and Walesedit
Sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party took "the left-libertarian" vote,[15] while Dennison and Goodwin characterised it as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values".[16] The party wants an end to big government – which they see as hindering open and transparent democracy – and want to limit the power of big business – which, they argue, upholds the unsustainable trend of globalisation, and is detrimental to local trade and economies.[17] There have been allegations of factionalism and infighting in the Green Party between liberal, socialist, and anarchist factions.[18]
UKIP's original activist base was largely "libertarian", supporting an economically liberal approach.[22] Its "economic libertarian" views have been influenced by classical liberalism and Thatcherism, with Thatcher representing a key influence on UKIP's thought.[23] Farage has characterised UKIP as "the true inheritors" of Thatcher, claiming that the party never would have formed had Thatcher remained Prime Minister of the UK throughout the 1990s.[23] Winlow, Hall, and Treadwell suggested that a UKIP government would pursue "hard-core Thatcherism" on economic policy.[24] UKIP presents itself as a "libertarian party",[25] and the political scientists David Deacon and Dominic Wring described it as articulating "a potent brand of libertarian populism".[26] However, commentators writing in The Spectator, The Independent, and the New Statesman have all challenged the description of UKIP as libertarian, highlighting its socially conservative and economically protectionist policies as being contrary to a libertarian ethos.[27][28][29]
^ abWalsh, Jason (7 April 2006). "Libertarianism limited". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
^ abHeppell, Timothy (June 2002). "The ideological composition of the Parliamentary Conservative Party 1992–97". British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 4 (2): 299–324. doi:10.1111/1467-856X.t01-1-00006. S2CID 144304577.
^ abCurtice, John; Simpson, Ian. "British Social Attitudes 35: Voting: The 2017 Election: New divides in British politics?" (PDF). NatCen Social Research. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^"Home Page". Libertarian Party UK. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
^"Registration summary – Scottish Libertarian Party [De-registered 04/11/15]". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^Wallace, Mark (11 Feb 2014). "Are 2010 intake MPs really more libertarian than their predecessors?". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Lawrence, Felicity; Evans, Rob; Pegg, David; Barr, Caelainn; Duncan, Pamela (29 Nov 2019). "How the right's radical thinktanks reshaped the Conservative party". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^"Full text: Theresa May's conference speech". The Spectator. 5 Oct 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^"Leader: Against the Brexit libertarians". New Statesman. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Cowley, Jason (29 May 2019). "Theresa May was a 1950s Conservative: resolute but charmless, and will be remembered for failure". New Statesman. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Shackleton, Len (6 Oct 2016). "The 'libertarian right', Mrs May? What 'libertarian right'?". Institute of Economic Affairs. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Asthana, Anushka; Stewart, Heather (5 Oct 2016). "Theresa May draws line under Cameron era with return to small-c conservatism". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Norris, Pippa (13 Nov 2019). "On dealigning and realigning elections: Is Britain about to experience a Westminster earthquake?". LSE British Politics and Policy Blog. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Timothy, Nick (24 Nov 2019). "The Tory manifesto is a first step on the road to political realignment". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Hanif, Faisal (15 January 2015). "What are the Green party's policies?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
^Harris, John (15 December 2013). "Have the Greens blown it in Brighton?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
^"Chris Tame". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 April 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
^"Clacton by-election: 12 facts about Ukip's new MP Douglas Carswell". The Independent. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
^"David Davis: British 'intellectually lazy' about defending liberty". theguardian.com. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
Bibliographyedit
Robinson, Chris (2010). Electoral Systems and Voting in United Kingdom. Politics Study Guides. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748627509.
Woodward, Will (11 April 2007). "UKIP trebles candidates for local elections". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
Rootes, Chris (1995). "Britain: Greens in a Cold Climate". The Green Challenge: The Development of Green Parties in Europe. Dick Richardson and Chris Rootes. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 66–90.
Dennison, James; Goodwin, Matthew (2015). "Immigration, Issue Ownership and the Rise of UKIP". Parliamentary Affairs. 68: 168–187. doi:10.1093/pa/gsv034.
Tournier-Sol, Karine (2015). "Reworking the Eurosceptic and Conservative Traditions into a Populist Narrative: UKIP's Winning Formula?". Journal of Common Market Studies. 53 (1): 140–156. doi:10.1111/jcms.12208. S2CID 142738345.
Lynch, Philip; Whitaker, Richard (2013). "Rivalry on the Right: The Conservatives, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the EU Issue". British Politics. 8 (3): 285–312. doi:10.1057/bp.2012.29. hdl:2381/31946. S2CID 154926119.
Winlow, Simon; Hall, Steve; Treadwell, James (2017). The Rise of the Right: English Nationalism and the Transformation of Working-Class Politics. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1447328483.
Deacon, David; Wring, Dominic (2016). "The UK Independence Party, Populism and the British News Media: Competition, Collaboration or Containment?". European Journal of Communication (Submitted manuscript). 31 (2): 169–184. doi:10.1177/0267323115612215. S2CID 147206873.
Ford, Robert; Goodwin, Matthew (2014). Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66150-8.