New Labour took power in this country two days before my sixteenth birthday; for the part of my life where I’ve cared about such things, they’ve been the party of government.
And, let’s not mince words here, I think they’ve done a fucking awful job of it, in most of the fields I’ve been caring about anyway. Regulation is way up, taxation is way up, jobs-for-the-boys are are rife as ever, personal liberty is way down, state intrusion into every aspect of private life is out of control.
In short, I don’t think too much of the Labour party. And I nearly, nearly fell into the trap of thinking that that made the Conservatives the party for me, because they’re the Opposition, right? And as such, should be opposed to the nonsense that passes for government policy, right?
Er, no so much. Instead of being sensible, and positioning themselves as the party of less regulation, less interference and less taxation, they’re proposing more of each, in this instance in the pursuit of greenism.
Boo-fucking-hiss to that proposal. Included in their proposals are the introduction of VAT on domestic flights (in clear violation of established IDQCT… policy), because it’s so much more reasonable for people to use the train than fly.
Note to Tory dickwads: I cannot get a train from Belfast to London. There is no 10.53 from South Uist to Glasgow, and frankly the service from Shetland to Liverpool is far from comfortable. So shall we all be penalised because we don’t live in GB? If so, you can go and fuck right off.
Following that horseshit policy, they also suggest that higher taxes should be paid by those using less fuel efficient cars. Clearly ignoring the obvious fact that such people already pay more, in the form of (ass-rapingly high) fuel duties for every litre of fuel they buy.
Then there’s the proposal to basically stop any expansion of airports, regardless of any economic necessity. Which gets a giant thumbs down from me. In fact, I may go and hit my thumb with a hammer, just so that the thumbs down motion is big enough to signify my displeasure.
So, the party that could, and should, be the logical choice for those who don’t like having to ask permission before doing anything is in fact just as bad as the fuckers in government. And, if anything, the Liberal Democrats are even worse…
So, what choice is there for those of a classical liberal persuasion? Because I can’t see any on the national front?
Locally, it’s even worse. Not a big picture thinker among the lot of ‘em, and not one that I can think of who would be above demanding state action on any topic…
So, what choice is there for those of a classical liberal persuasion?
Estonia.
OK, I’ll rephrase that:
So, what choice is there for those of a classical liberal persuasion, who are tied down to remaining within this country for the foreseeable future?