NATIONAL LIBERALS advocate a return to small nations, environmentally sustainable communities and co-operative private enterprises. We also believe in true democracy, decentralisation, sound money, land reform and animal welfare. We are very much opposed to statism, imperialist wars and global corporations.

We promote these ideas via our various publications, the production of e-posters and by hosting debates. With this in mind, English Voice – the voice of the National Liberal Party in England – is interested in looking at ways in which we govern ourselves. In particular, how can we move away from a system where we are ruled by a professional political class and move towards a system of popular (and truly representative) rule?

To possibly answer this question, our attention was drawn towards an article – https://theswamp.media/how-to-stop-politicians-lying-guillotines-and-localism – by Johnny Vedmore which appeared in The Swamp, which appears to be a online publication which ‘examines the crazy but true world of Politics.’

This article is written from a UK perspective – indeed, the author notes that every ‘UK region must take their power back from London’. However, we feel that it’s particularly applicable to England, as it’s the only nation in the UK that doesn’t have its own Parliament or Assembly.

English Voice invites its readers to carefully examine Mr. Vedmore’s article. Is autonomy and localism the way to go – if so, how do we ensure that those who inhabit the ‘Westminster bubble’ really do relinquish their powers? And even more importantly, how do we dismantle the Capitalist system which they serve?

Let us know what you think. Share your thoughts when this article is reproduced on either of our two Facebook sites – National Liberals https://www.facebook.com/groups/52739504313/ and National Liberal Party https://www.facebook.com/NationalLiberalParty/ It goes without saying that there are no official links between Johnny Vedmore, The Swamp, English Voice and the National Liberal Party.

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How to Stop Politicians Lying! Guillotines and Localism? Every UK region must take their power back from London.

Can Localism really bring power to the people? If so, how do we ensure that those who inhabit the ‘Westminster bubble’ really do relinquish their powers? And even more importantly, how do we dismantle the Capitalist system which they serve?

IF I WERE to describe to you all the feelings that I experience when I watch the UK Conservative party lie to parliament, I would say it is like a burning volcanic eruption inside my rib cage, moving upwards towards my epiglottis. Then, when the Tories are prevented from being called dishonest by the out of touch parliamentary rules, my head explodes and I scream uncontrollably for the return of the guillotine.

I don’t think I’m alone in being angered by how politicians of every party are allowed to tell lies in the House of Commons with impunity. Dishonesty is surely the enemy of a cohesive society, as are guillotines. And as it stands, our society is already officially split approximately 50/50 on all of the most important matters of state. We don’t need dishonesty or guillotines dividing us any further.

We need to have an honest system if we are going to create a better society, and the ability to call out dishonesty is essential if social stability and cultural enlightenment are on our agenda. But that isn’t the system we have. We have a system that rewards dishonesty, one that does not call out shady conduct within our official governmental bodies. Our society is fractured by constant deceitful behaviour.

The reason these officials continue to lie is because no one in political office is held legally responsible for their fraudulent activities. There is a simple way to solve this glaring absence of responsibility; we could make them legally accountable. But, I hear the mob cry, that won’t see any sort of justice for the many decades of lies which have already been told. So maybe what we really need is retroactive legal powers to pursue those who have benefited from lying in political office over the past 50 years. I’m not calling for previous political giants to be guillotined, rather I’m simply suggesting the we should see Tony Blair’s war crimes as a serious breach of office, or Iain Duncan Smith’s systematic abuse of disabled benefit claimants as unthinkable and illegal.

But if we were to remove dishonesty from politics, I truly believe that our governmental systems wouldn’t miraculously morph into some form of political utopia. Instead we would just confirm that humans lie a lot. The system isn’t necessarily responsible for the deceitful behaviour of the people who are part of it. The chaos of the whole is more likely to be a reflection of the character of its constituent pieces, the lying humans. Changing the system won’t stop bad people lying, laws and regulatory bodies won’t stop naughty people fibbing, and even the threat of the guillotine won’t stop the usual suspects from twisting the truth. A liar will lie whatever system we have, or punishment we dole out. There are no possible political formations that will change how human beings have acted since the dawn of time.

The solution? We should turn our backs on large soulless forms of governmental organisations and concentrate on a local compassionate networks of representation. The reason I believe this to be part of the solution is very simple. If you’re close to the people you govern, if you share your life with the humans that you represent, you will be much less likely to deceive them. Well to do folks who are lost inside the Westminster bubble are so detached from the realities of most of the people that they supposedly represent that it becomes almost impossible for them to act honestly. They have the pressures of party loyalty, lobbyists, and antiquated tradition to distract them from their primary objective, which is to represent their local constituents. A modern form of localism may be the best way to bring some sort of accountability and honesty into politics.

So firstly, every region of the United Kingdom must take their sovereignty back from London. This country is different wherever you go. You may find that the high streets of most British cities are almost carbon copies of each other. But when you scratch the surface of any city or town in the UK, you reveal an amazing tapestry of cultures with such startling variety. The Yam Yams of Wolverhampton are different from the YoYos of Birmingham. Scousers and Mancunians almost see themselves as different races, yet they’re barely 40 miles apart. Geordies, Taffy’s, Brizzle folk, Scotsmen, the Cornish are all dying to keep their peoples cultures alive and well. But instead of advancing our own cultures, we are being forced to morph into a version of the English capital, including adopting its crime, its ethics, and its globalistic vision for the future, a vision that could all but destroy local cultural diversity.

We all seem to desire independence from institutions that rule us from afar. Every region of this fantastic country needs to reclaim their independence from London. This isn’t about dividing our country; it’s about rediscovering our local cultures and celebrating our amazingly unique Island.

We are becoming what we’ve consumed for too many years. We have been on a London based diet culturally speaking, and it has left us obese and unsatisfied. We should go local.

• ALSO CHECK OUT

English Voice Debate (1) – Independence For England? http://nationalliberal.org/english-voice-debate-1-%e2%80%93-independence-for-england …

English Voice Debate (2) – Towards An English Parliament? http://nationalliberal.org/english-voice-debate-2-–-towards-an-english-parliament …

• Read English Voice – the voice of the National Liberal Party in England. To get hold of issues 1 and 2 simply e-mail natliberal@aol.com and ask for your FREE pdf copies!