Libertarianism in the United Kingdom

The Libertarian Party is the main libertarian party within the United Kingdom describing itself as being a "Classically Liberal, Regionalist and Minarchist organisation".[4] The Liberal Party was formed in 1989 from those opposed to the merger between the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Scottish Libertarian Party was formed as a separate party in 2012 and officially registered in 2014.[5]

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.[15]

Sociologist Chris Rootes stated that the Green Party took "the left-libertarian" vote,[16] while Dennison and Goodwin characterised it as reflecting "libertarian-universalistic values".[17] 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.[18] There have been allegations of factionalism and infighting in the Green Party between liberal, socialist, and anarchist factions.[19]

As leader of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage sought to broaden the public perception of the UKIP beyond being a party solely seeking to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union to one of being a party broadly standing for libertarian values and reductions in government bureaucracy.[20][21] The party describes itself as a "libertarian, non-racist Eurosceptic party".[22]

UKIP's original activist base was largely "libertarian", supporting an economically liberal approach.[23] Its "economic libertarian" views have been influenced by classical liberalism and Thatcherism, with Thatcher representing a key influence on UKIP's thought.[24] 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.[24] Winlow, Hall, and Treadwell suggested that a UKIP government would pursue "hard-core Thatcherism" on economic policy.[25] UKIP presents itself as a "libertarian party",[26] and the political scientists David Deacon and Dominic Wring described it as articulating "a potent brand of libertarian populism".[27] 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.[28][29][30]

While Farage denied in 2007 that the party's strategy was "targeting David Cameron as such",[21] political scientist Chris Robinson opines in 2010 that Farage may well have been hoping that this expansion of the party platform would attract voters disenchanted with Cameron premiership and thinking him "too Tony Blair-like".[20]

In 2010, the UKIP's call to ban the burkha in public places was criticised by Shami Chakrabarti as contrary to libertarianism.[31]

The Libertarian Alliance was the oldest and most explicitly libertarian think tank, existing until 2017 "[to explain] the benefits of political and economic freedom and of toleration in the sense put forth by such philosophers as John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill, F.A. von Hayek, Karl Popper, and many others in the British liberal tradition".[32] Politically neutral, it has united classical liberals, minarchists, anarcho-capitalists and even social anarchists. The Libertarian Alliance's founder Chris Tame was also the director of FOREST, the smokers' rights organisation. The more conservative Society for Individual Freedom from which the Libertarian Alliance originally split was its sister organisation.

The Institute of Economic Affairs is the oldest pro-free-market think tank in the United Kingdom and a progenitor of a large network of neoliberal think tanks around the world as well as greatly shaping the Thatcher government's economic policies.

The Centre for Policy Studies was set up by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph for the purpose of advancing classical liberalism while the Adam Smith Institute largely promotes free-market regulatory and welfare reforms.

There are a few libertarian student societies at British universities, including Cardiff University, Queen Mary University of London (Liberty Society), Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics (the Hayek Society), University College London, King's College London, St Andrews, York, Sheffield, Loughborough and Durham.

Students for Liberty UK is part of European Students for Liberty (an offshoot of the American charity Students for Liberty) which run conferences, workshops and leadership training for students and promote liberty across Europe.