Letter to the Times (again!)

Sir,

I find it fascinating that in today’s Times, you publish David Cameron’s speech where once more he has appropriated Libertas’s policies and is pushing them as his own ideas. He does, however, confuse some of the issues. He seems to hint that “judges” - by which I assume that he means the European Court of Human Rights - are part of the EU when really it is nothing to do with the EU. We signed up, quite rightly, to the European Convention on Human Rights and therefore can expect to have rulings on it influencing our laws. After all it is the job of any independent judiciary to rule on the law. Is he proposing that we no longer accept these rulings?

What I think he is trying to say, and he will need to read our policies a little more closely, is that the European Court of Justice should also operate as an independent judiciary and not create any law, as they are not accountable to the electorate.

He also states that he will “pass a law requiring a referendum to approve any further of transfer of power to the EU” . I’m afraid this is another empty promise as, if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by the time he comes to power, there is a very convenient article – article 48 – which effectively makes the Lisbon Treaty self amending. Anyway, as 80% of our laws will come from Brussels, we will have no power left to transfer. I would be interested to know what the Conservative policy on the Lisbon Treaty actually is: will they have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty whether it has been ratified or not?

Incidentally, as one of the MP’s caught up in the expenses scandal is also a Times Journalist, will you be practising what you preach and taking disciplinary action against Mr Gove?

Regards

Nick Coke

Letter to the Times

Sir

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery but David Cameron seems to be talking it to extremes with his “new” policies which are, in fact, old Libertas policies.

- Referendum on the Lisbon treaty – Libertas Policy since we started.

- Full disclosure of expenses - Libertas Policy since we started.

- “take power away from the political elite and hand it to the man and woman in the street” - Libertas Policy since we started.

- “decentralisation, transparency and accountability” - Libertas Policy since we started.

We have many more, and I will watch with some interest which others he will hijack in the absence of any fresh ideas from his own party. I suspect he will not be hijacking our pan-European approach as he is powerless to do so or our Pro-European approach because his party is too divided to let him.

Regards

Nick Coke

Nicholas Sherman

Nicholas is not a politician but, frustrated by the waste and mismanagement in which the EU community indulges, he can no longer stand on the touchline and criticise without actively trying to do something to stop it. While recognising that root and branch reform will be an uphill struggle, he nevertheless sees Libertas as a catalyst for change at last.

Trained as a lawyer, his commercial background has been in senior IT management all over the World. Nicholas (62) speaks German and French fluently, shares his life between homes in the UK and France, has close family ties with Germany, and his wife, Rosemary is Canadian. Together they brought up a severely disabled daughter, in the course of which they have been heavily involved in charitable work.

One of Nicholas’s proudest achievements was leading a group of national charities to persuade 450 Members of Parliament to spend a day with a disabled person in the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981), an initiative which lead to far greater awareness of disability in Parliament.

Never read the Lisbon Treaty?

There was a very good article in the Times today by Camilla Cavendish.

In it she mentions the Lisbon Treaty and I have copied out the quote below

“The readiness of politicians to relinquish power amazes me. Take the European constitution, now rebranded as the Lisbon treaty. I read all the drafts of that document, spoke to lawyers and became convinced that its calculated opacity was a charter for the creeping takeover of national policy by bureaucrats and judges. There were brilliant MPs who could debate every inch of the detail - David Miliband, Gisela Stuart, David Heathcoat-Amory, Chris Huhne. But I met others who hadn't even read the document and looked incredulous that I had."

"I once ran a construction company. I didn't sign contracts that I didn't understand, especially when they involved other people's money. So I could not believe that on an issue of such consequence - for their own role as well as for the nation - MPs had not done their homework. When the annual EU membership fee is £6.5 billion, when EU directives have driven almost half of the regulations passed here since 1998, and when implementing those regulations has cost £106 billion (according to a recent study by Open Europe), it is not surprising that people ask what MPs are doing. “

I hope Caroline Flint reads this article and is thoroughly ashamed by her admission that she has never read the Lisbon Treaty but it is gratifying to note that, even though the Times seems to be a Party Political Broadcast for the Conservative these days, at least some of their journalists seem to be singing the Libertas tune. Hopefully, as a result, more people will realise that the only way of stopping the Lisbon Treaty is to vote Libertas.

Nick Coke

UKIPOCRISY

In a video sent around Europe today, Libertas exposes the hypocrisy of the UK Independence party.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

UKIP’s message of cleaning up Brussels is in direct contrast to how its members operate. Instead of fixing the problem, UKIP has become the problem. During the past European parliamentary term, a full quarter, 25%, of UKIP MEPs were either convicted of fraud, expelled for the same reason, or resigned in disgrace.

Nigel Farage can't stop the sleaze because he employs his wife, they refuse to publish even the most basic details of their expenses and UKIP has the laziest MEPs in Britain, attending just 60% of votes over the last five years.

DON'T judge UKIP on what they say but on HOW they behave. UKIP cannot change anything in Brussels - Libertas is the ONLY party that can change what is happening and stop the gravy train that is pouring out of Brussels. UKIP are NOT the answer, Libertas is.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses

Under pressure from Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley, former Labour Minister Denis MacShane MP admitted on television that Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses claims in advance of the European election on the 4th June. Labour MEPs just weeks ago voted to keep their expenses hidden from view.

Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics Show, Mr MacShane also said that Libertas' campaign to put Europe back in the hands of the people, 'sounds terrific'.

Chairman, Declan Ganley said, "it's easy to make promises and conjure up soundbites on television, when the Brussels reality is completely different. On 12th March, Labour MEPs voted to keep their taxpayer-funded expenses a secret."

"We will be watching the British Labour Party closely on behalf of voters over the next three weeks, to ensure that - this time at least - they stick to their word."

The Great European Rip-Off

Best selling author David Craig made an impassioned plea today to voters to send an unequivocal “enough is enough” message to our politicians in Westminster and Brussels.

“You may think that most of our MPs at Westminster are crooks, but their stealing and thieving is petty cash compared to what’s happening in the European Union” claimed the author.

The vast scale of corruption and waste in Brussels is exposed in his latest book “The Great European Rip-Off”. David Craig is a candidate for Libertas in the South East region in the European elections on 4th June.

“Libertas has a mission to stop the waste, end the corruption and put democracy into the heart of Brussels. I want to do everything I can to assist that mission.”

David Craig previously caused a political storm when he released “Squandered – How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money”, exposing the shocking amounts of money wasted under New Labour.

Robin Matthews

Born in 1964, Robin Matthews was educated at Westminster School, Woking 6th Form College and Kent University, where he read English and History. He joined the Army in 1986 and is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He also attended the Army Staff College and holds an MA in Military Studies from Cranfield University.

With the Army he trained in America, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Germany, and saw service in Cyprus, Bosnia and Sierra Leone. During 2005 he commanded The Light Dragoons, a British Cavalry Regiment, on operations in Iraq.

Prior to leaving the Army, he worked in the Directorate of Corporate Communications in the Ministry of Defence (MOD). During the final months of service he was seconded as the Strategic Communications Advisor to 16 (Air Assault) Brigade, Helmand Province, Afghanistan and acted as the spokesman for all British Forces during a particularly difficult period.

He is married with 3 children and lives in Bath where he will be running as a candidate for Libertas in the South West of England.

Peter Morgan-Barnes

Hello, my name is Peter Morgan Barnes and I am one of the Libertas candidates for the South West of England. Libertas is a pan European party dedicated to the constitutional reform of the European Union. I am originally from Wales but have lived in Northern Ireland for much of the last 20 years. I have seen, and played a part in, the transformation of society there from one of endemic civil conflict to one of shaky but slowly strengthening peace. My interest in constitutional politics stems from my experience of this 30 year political disaster.

At present the European Commission exercises a de facto monopoly on legislation. The European Parliament is not primarily a law making body. Consequently our elected representatives do not form the executive; instead this role is performed by unelected appointees. Representatives but not legislators, our MEP’s sit in a disempowered parliament. The current constitution reflects a compromise between those who feared losing national sovereignty and those who wished to see an integrated European Union.

I believe this is an arrangement whose time has passed. Libertas is a pro-European party, but believes in urgent and thorough reform. European legislation is a huge factor in all our lives. Under normal circumstances a democratic society allows its citizens to elect its legislators directly. In the current Europe, citizens elect their national legislators who then appoint the European legislators. This is democracy at one remove. It is particularly shameful as the system is given a veneer of democracy through our electing a hamstrung parliament every 5 years.

Libertas wishes to see a European executive which is directly elected by the people, directly accountable to the electorate and transparent in its governing.

As a party we see our demand for reform as being in the tradition of the reform acts of the 19th century which secured the vote for ordinary people, and created accountable government. Since the success of the Women’s Suffrage Movement there has been an assumption that the battle for democracy has long been won and we can rest easy on that assurance. We can’t. We have a duty on July 4th. It is the same duty that our ancestors faced when the Great Reform Act secured them the vote: to pass on that democratic right, undiminished, to our children. As someone who has just become a father, I feel this very keenly.

Libertas demands that every European citizen be given the right to vote for their legislators. We are a suffragist party.

Chloe Gwynne

I am fighting in this election mainly because of my utter dismay at the on-going, soon-to-be irreversible and grossly deceitful hand-over of our sovereignty to a body that is absolutely unaccountable to the people it is supposed to serve, the very opposite of transparent in every way, and so undemocratic that, if it were to apply to be a member of itself, it would fail to meet every single condition that it requires of those who apply to join it.

What is happening, as just outlined above, must be STOPPED before it is too late, to the terrible cost to ourselves and all future generations. And I am hoping that Libertas will provide the best possible opportunity and means of doing this and of providing the solutions that are so desperately needed.

I myself am a trained teacher, naturopath and herbalist, born and bred in Gloucestershire.

As to politics, for me my most important activity was when I played an active role in the -- thrillingly successful -- opposition to the Lisbon Treaty referendum in Ireland last year, circulating documents and doing my best to persuade countless people in the streets.

And Libertas’ and my priorities?

-- First and foremost, “to put the fire out.” That is to say, to put an urgent and immediate STOP to the encroachment on the rights and liberties of all ordinary people that is taking place at “landslide” speed.

-- To work flat-out to make all governments we are subject to PROPERLY ACCOUNTABLE, which they now haven’t been for too long, and as of now are becoming ever-increasingly less so.

-- Perhaps I can sum it up best by simply saying: -- to get done what all ordinary, normal people WANT to have done, fully recognising the frightening fact that at present such people at present have no Political Party which genuinely represents them and their common-sense interests.

Yes, it is truly urgent. And I hope you will be voting for me and Libertas on June 4th.

Chloe Gwynne

Nick Coke

Nick first came to politics from a position of dissatisfaction with the current political establishment and also as a Pro-European with no party that accurately reflected his views. He could not ally himself with the unrealistic “See no evil” approach of the Liberal Democrats, felt betrayed by Brown’s failure to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and could not understand what the conservative’s position was. He did not fundamentally believe in UKIP’s position that we are “better off out” and felt that nor did most of his generation. As he had been working in the construction industry for 5 years, he had seen the benefits of the EU at first hand with a construction boom that utilised available skilled labour from all over Europe.

He is standing as he believes that the time has come for the average citizen to stop complaining, to stop being apathetic and to make the unconnected political elite wake up and listen to the people they are meant to be representing. He is a strong believer in democracy and feels that a turnout of a third of the population for an election that affects 80% of our laws is a damning indictment of the current system. He believes that Libertas are the one party that can breathe fresh life into a moribund stale process and believes the time for change is now.

Chris Charnock

Hello, my name is Chris Charnock and I’m the Libertas candidate for the South West Region in the European elections on June 4th this year. I thought I should tell you a bit about myself to help you make an informed decision when you vote.

I’m fighting in this election because I’ve become increasingly concerned in the last ten years about the hand-over of sovereignty to the European Union; to a body that is unelected, and run by civil servants who cannot be held to account by voters in the United Kingdom. I believe in Europe. There are many good ideas that have sprung from the increased collaboration between the countries in Europe. However, it is time that we – the people – should take back control over this institution.

I am married, with a daughter at University, and I have lived in a rural part of Gloucestershire for over thirty years. I have seen the changes to the rural economy that have been brought about in no small part by the way our farming industry has been affected by the Common Agricultural Policy.

I am a businessman who has worked in various industries over the years, most recently in the fields of Information Technology and Travel. This experience of working in and running small businesses (the powerhouse of the British economy) has let me find out first hand how laws thought up in Brussels and simply rubber-stamped by our MP’s in London can have a drastic effect on an enterprise in England.

So what are Libertas’ and my priorities?

Because I believe that democracy is a common thread running through all the nations in the EU, Libertas will make the EU open and accountable as never before, so you can see how decisions are made and who makes them, so we can make Europe work for us.

Because the EU spend over £100 billion of our money each year, Libertas will ensure that EVERY penny spent will be used efficiently, and also will be accounted for accurately. We need to do this, especially in times of economic crisis like the present, to safeguard the financial security of our children.

Because Europe has been run by an unelected elite, most of whose names we don’t know, and who we cannot remove even if they perform badly, I want to be part of a grass-roots movement that gives Europe back to its people.

That is why I ask you to vote for me and the new, pan-European party, Libertas, on June 4th.

Thank you.

Chris Charnock

Cameron the great leader?

I find it very amusing that David Cameron is suddenly being lauded as a great leader on the back of his reaction to the expenses scandal. As an ex-military man, I have been shown enough examples of good leaders to recognise one and I’m afraid I don’t see David Cameron in that light. I will freely admit that he has shown more leadership than Messrs Brown and Clegg, but that is akin to getting a good result in a football match against the Long John Silver impersonators. A good leader is one who sets the agenda and leads, rather than one whose greatest attribute is that they react quickest to the latest disaster. A good leader anticipates problems, sets trends and, in the case of politics, has policies that are ahead of their time.

My point is best illustrated by the two policies that the Tories have come up with recently. The first was to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty – a thoroughly laudable policy even if it will be too late by the time they can come to power. However, this has been a Libertas Policy since we started, so is hardly ground-breaking stuff. The second is that Mr Cameron wants all expenses to be published – another policy that Libertas have always had.

So where does this leave us? It leaves us with only one Party that genuinely represents progress and leadership and I am proud to be one of its candidates.
Nick Coke

Trust in politicians is dead. They are traitors to their country.

This has been the darkest point in the history of British politics. Trust in politicians is dead.

Politicians right across the board have been exposed with their fingers in the till, and all they can say is that it was the system at fault. It’s disgusting. We should be able to trust our politicians enough to give them a suitcase full of used notes and say ‘just take what you think is right’. We shouldn’t have to implement a system of detailed controls to check that they aren’t fiddling the system!

Politicians are the guardians of our society. If we can’t trust them not to rob from us, then we certainly can’t trust them to run the economy, to handle massive business contracts, to run the NHS, to look after our personal information and so on.

These people are traitors to their country. They have irreparably damaged the entire political system. Full disclosure is the only way that we can drag the political class out of its current depression. That’s why this week we have made a series of ground-breaking pledges about how we will behave if elected. I strongly urge all other parties to follow suit.

It’s no longer simply a case of making sure that this doesn’t happen again. Too much damage has been caused. Our party leaders need to take a strong lead on this and completely rethink the way they do politics. If Libertas can make these promises, why can’t they?

-Robin Matthews

The most undeserved political rise in history

UKIP’s sudden boost in the polls is the most undeserved political rise in the history of Britain. The expense scandal has led to a massive 12% protest swing to UKIP in the latest poll, boosting them to 19% from their previous position on 7%. I am shocked.

There is no party that could deserve public support less if people are angry over expenses. UKIP lost two of its twelve MEPs to fraud charges, both Nigel Farage and Robert Kilroy-Silk employed their wives, they refuse to publish their expenses and UKIP’s MEPs are the laziest in Brussels, voting just 60% of the time. They have done nothing to deserve public support over expenses.

UKIP were well on their way to losing most of their seats in this election, having dropped 9% in the polls from their 2004 high point of 16%. They’ve done nothing for five years, apart from waste tax payers’ money on their lavish lifestyles in Brussels.

I am livid that in the same week that Libertas has launched a series of sleaze-busting pledges designed to stamp out sleaze in Britain, UKIP is gaining by default from this current scandal having done absolutely nothing to earn it. Bitter? You bet I am.

- Robin Matthews

It’s Stamp Out Sleaze Week!

Following a weekend dominated by MPs’ expense scandals, I am proud to announce that Libertas is today leading the charge to Stamp Out Sleaze.

The party is launching five pledges this week, one each day, designed to tackle the root cause of sleaze.

Our first Stamp Out Sleaze pledge is a promise from all Libertas candidates that, if elected, they will publish their expenses in detail, including receipts and explanations of what the purchase was for. Tax payers have a right to see how their cash is being spent and whether they are getting value for money.

We want to lead by example. Politics doesn’t have to be dirty. Our politicians should be people that we can trust to look after our money both wisely and frugally. That’s why we are today promising to be completely open about how we spend tax payers’ money, and I invite all the other parties to sign up to this pledge too, and together we can rebuild trust in our politicians.

The EU is broken, but Libertas can fix it.

- Robin Matthews

The downward spiral of trust in politicians

As everyone will have seen, the news in the UK this weekend has been dominated with the expense abuse by UK MPs from all sides. While the Labour party have been claiming expenses for sink plugs and films, the Conservatives have let the taxpayer foot the bill for their dog food and light bulbs. I wonder, where is the party of integrity? where are the politicians who seek to represent their people as best they can? rather than bleed them dry and let them pick up the tab for all manner of trivialities.

It is no wonder that people distrust politicians when they are ripping off the public left right and centre.

Now, I know there are some that genuinely want to help their constituents, and who do possess the moral fibre to use their expense accounts legitimately and responsibly, but they should not be the exception, they should be the rule.

The fact is, it is a poorly organised system, which is easily abused because of its lack of transparency and openness. If there was a system of full disclosure of expenses (as advocated by Libertas), then none of this would happen.

I notice David Cameron has told MPs to "say sorry" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8043057.stm) to the public for essentially stealing their money - using it to line their pockets and subsidise their already well paid positions instead of putting it into underfunded public services.

The same thing is happening in Brussels, but people in the UK feel so disengaged with European politics that it is largely unnoticed. The Taxpayers' alliance published an eye-opening report on how easily expenses can be abused in Brussels, and how MEPs can become millionaires in one 5 year term. It's been around a while but for those that are yet to see it, it can be found here - http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/files/meppay-1.pdf

Is an apology enough? Does that absolve these rip-off merchants?

The answer is to introduce full disclosure and openness for all expenses, so that people can see exactly where their hard earned money is going in the UK and in Europe.

Libertas has always been committed to democracy accountability and transparency.

With turnout so low in the UK for the European elections it plays into the hands of the mainstream national parties, who have now been exposed as untrustworthy expense cheats, who are only apologising now they have been caught out. This has been going on for far too long, and they have known exactly what they have been doing.

To usher in a new era of openness and politicians you can trust vote for Libertas on June 4th. To keep upto date with all of the Libertas news including candidate launches across Europe sign up to the Libertas mailing list at www.libertas.eu and encourage your friends to do the same...

Deaf Ear to Democracy

In an incredible display of arrogance and disrespect for the will of the people, members of the European Parliament will have a lengthy debate tonight on the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. That’s right, the Lisbon Treaty, the same Treaty that Libertas defeated in Ireland and - according to the EU's own rules - is now dead.

Apparently, the bureaucrats in Brussels don’t care what the people think. And the truth is, they don’t need to. Because, right now there is no one to hold them to account.

That’s why the movement you are building right now is so important. It’s up to you whether or not Europe will be accountable to its people. Libertas is our last chance - our only chance - to make sure we have democracy at the heart of the European Union.

The European Elections are only 29 days away. Please email everyone in your contact book. Ask your friends. And get ONE more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The MEPs will debate a total of five different reports for this anti-democratic debate, including the Parliament’s new role and responsibilities in implementing the Lisbon Treaty. This discussion is a perfect example of the inherent disrespect the EU has for the democratic views of European citizens, and the lack of accountability to which we are strongly opposed.

This morning Libertas Chairman, and leader of the winning “No” campaign in the 2008 Irish referendum, Declan Ganley said, “Members of the European Parliament are completely out of touch with reality. Instead of debating real issues like how to solve the economic crisis, they are spending resources on something which does not exist because it has been rejected by the people who were allowed a vote on it.

This displays their arrogance, their disrespect for democracy and their waste of taxpayers’ money".

No wonder multiple newspapers across Europe have now confirmed that Brussels is living in fear of our movement, the Libertas movement. What those bureaucrats fear most is a movement of the people. Because they know that if millions of us act together, as Europeans, we will create a new hope for the future – a Europe where Brussels is efficient, focused on creating jobs and restoring our economy, and is overseen by the people.

Please email everyone in your contact list. Ask your friends. And get one more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The Libertas movement is gaining tremendous momentum across Europe. We have united the leading figures of the “No” campaigns in France, Ireland and the Netherlands (Declan Ganley, Philippe de Villiers and Eline van den Broek) who worked tirelessly to make sure that the people in their countries were given a vote.

But, now, we need YOU. Our movement is in your hands. You are it. The new hope for Europe will live or die based on what you do now.

So, if you want a strong Europe, a democratic Europe where only elected leaders make the law; if you want a referendum on any Constitution; if you want a real solution to the economic crisis; if you want to hold Brussels to account; if you want to renew the hope that we all had for Europe, then help build the first true party of Europe. A party dedicated to openness, accountability, transparency and democracy.

There are millions of others like you who want a new Europe – they are your friends, your work colleagues, your family members, your neighbours, and members of your community and now we need you to get them to join our cause.