Scottish Libertarians – Where We Are

There are a few big announcements to make and the first is the National Council of Representatives (NCR) for the Scottish Libertarians has been quite busy laying the foundations for the party.

The working draft for the Scottish Libertarians manifesto is now available for reading on-line at the website and it has already created a bit of a storm. The official version has to wait until after the first Annual General Meeting where members can debate, argue, re-write, and finally vote on the final version.

In the meantime, our treasurer John Watson is working through all the legal entanglements to get us registered with the Election Commission and we expect to be official in late June. From there we can start signing-up members. We are looking at a minimum of 150-200 members before announcing the dates for the AGM which will most likely be held in Dundee.

The Scottish Libertarians focus right now is growth. Just as a tree needs soil, water, and sunlight to grow, we need people, education, and money. Meet-up are scheduled to for Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen to set the foundations for chapters to operate in those areas and we look to have university clubs in place in September. The objective for both the chapters and the university club is to build our membership. So tell a friend.

This is where education comes in because politics is one of the five branches of philosophy, but that philosophical dimension is easy to forget in the real world of politics. On the other hand, being too ideologically dogmatic can be detrimental to a political movement. So we need a balance of politics as philosophy and the gritty world of realpolitik. This translates into educating the public on the political philosophy of libertarianism and educating our leaders in the strategies of realpolitik.

In the next few months will be producing brochures, lectures, and articles for both the public and our members to spread the fundamentals of libertarianism. For our leadership in the various chapters and clubs we will be preparing training modules in the real world of politics from how to lead a grassroots movement to media savvy.
So how do we pay for all this? It’s a little known fact that the Chartist Movement of the Nineteenth Century funded itself by producing pornography. Even when the movement collapsed their porn business continued. No, we will not be copying that business model.

Instead, I am pleased to announce that thanks to all the hard work done by Indie Venture, our Communications Officer, that our merchandise stall is now open for business. Here is the address: http://www.cafepress.co.uk/scottishlibertarians.

There you will find our two principle designs going forward. One is the party logo and motto. The logo is the flying hawk representing liberty in traditional Scottish symbolism. The party colours are “buff and blue” to form an historical connection to the Classical Liberal Whigs of the Scottish Enlightenment. As Robert Burn wrote: “It’s guid to support Caledonia’s cause And bide by the Buff and the Blue.” The motto, “Because It’s Your Life”, is in answer to the question “Why the Scottish Libertarians?”Because it is your life, your choices, your money, and your responsibilities and do not let anyone try to take it from you. Your life is your own and we as a party will defend those rights.

The second is primarily for the student crowd and focuses on two characters, The Grim Pirate Rand and a lady pirate called Penny. These two characters will feature in forthcoming comics and animations dealing with libertarian themes. So please visit the shop and purchase items to support our cause.
In addition to the shop, we are of course encouraging donations and look forward to recruiting a fundraiser to spearhead future funding campaigns and to source additional revenue for the party to keep things moving.

So that is where we stand at the moment. It may seem like baby steps, but progress in being made. We hope that when the curtain does go up that you will find a libertarian party that you are proud to support.

With Regards,

Logan

Daniel Logan-Scott
This post was written by
Is a writer from Los Angeles, California and has been living in Glasgow, Scotland for the past fifteen years. His written works focus on the Cultural Philosophy and History of the Romantic Era (1776-1929).

1 Comment on "Scottish Libertarians – Where We Are"

  • Very good stuff. I’ve posted a piece over on Freedom and Whisky. I may be along tomorrow but in the meantime Mrs F&W points out that the strapline needs an apostrophe: “Because it’s your life”!

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