[Lnc-business] UKIP becomes a major party in the United Kingdom

[Scott L.]

"The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the
government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the
broadcasting, telecommunications and postal
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail>  industries of the United Kingdom."

 

 

Just last week, this quasi-governmental authority ruled that the UKIP is a
major party for the purposes of the May 2015 elections in the UK:

 

 

From
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/major-parties-15/sta
tement/Major_Parties_Statement.pdf

 

"The PPRB Rules prescribe the minimum number of party election broadcasts
("PEBs") that must be afforded to certain parties by public service
broadcasters.  Parties with a minimum number of candidates standing in the
General Election will receive at least one PEB, whereas the major parties
must be offered at least two PEBs.

 

 

Our Decision

 

1.12

 

Having undertaken an assessment of the relevant evidence, and following
consideration of responses to our consultation proposals, we have decided
that: 

 

[the existing major parties across Great Britain and in each of Scotland,
Wales  and Northern Ireland, should remain on the list:

 

UK:  Conservative Party; the Labour Party; and the Liberal Democrats.

 

In addition, major parties in Scotland and Wales respectively are the
Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.

 

The major parties in Northern Ireland are: the Alliance Party; the
Democratic Unionist Party; Sinn Fein; the Social Democratic and Labour
Party; and the Ulster Unionist Party]

 

 

in addition, we have added the UK Independence Party to the list of major
parties in England and Wales for the purposes of the General Election and
English local (and mayoral) election s being held on 7 May 2015; and we have
decided that the Green Party (including the Scottish Green Party) and
Traditional Unionist Voice should not be added to the list of major parties
on this occasion"

 

 

 

Why am I posting this?

 

I am not offering any opinion on the "libertarian purity" of the UKIP.  In
fact, from what I have read this morning, UKIP started out as left-of-center
party, then went right-of-center, and has just recently become centrist.

 

My point is that even in a system that has many "first-past-the-post"
elections
(http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/voting-systems/), a
third party in the UK has been able to become successful enough to be
considered a major party for the purpose of media coverage.

 

 

The Libertarian Party is just as capable of doing that.  The problem is that
our members, National Convention Delegates, and National Committee, must
have the desire to become a major party, and all 3 of those groups must
focus exclusively on that goal, to the exclusion of all other goals.

 

And please don't use my assertion that the UKIP's Platform seems to be
chameleon-like as an excuse for their success.  The LP has elected many
hundreds of candidates to local offices over the years, and I don't get the
sense that a majority of them have moved public policy in the anti-freedom
direction.  The LP can become a successful major party in the United States
while still having the overwhelming majority of its elected officials moving
public policy in the libertarian direction during their terms of office.


  Scott Lieberman

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