Libertarian Party (UK)
The Libertarian Party, also known as the Libertarian Party UK, is a libertarian political party in the United Kingdom. Adam Brown has been the party's leader since August 2015.
History
The party was founded in January 2008 under the leadership of Patrick Vessey, having registered the party with the Electoral Commission in November 2007. In May 2008, The Daily Telegraph leader writer Alex Singleton claimed the founders should have set up a pressure group rather than a party. Singleton believed the new party would reduce the influence of libertarianism.On 17 September 2008, Vessey resigned as party leader and was replaced by Ian Parker-Joseph. The party claimed a membership of 1,000 and hoped in the wake of the parliamentary expenses scandal "to establish themselves in the media landscape with a couple of robust performances". He said the party wanted much smaller government and would initially cut taxation to 10% before removing it altogether.
On 28 November 2010, Andrew Withers was elected as party leader.
Following an internal ballot on 15 August 2015, party members elected Adam Brown as the party leader.
During the 2018 local elections, the party was described as on "the fringes of mainstream British politics".
In October 2018, MEP Bill Etheridge, a former member of the UK Independence Party, joined the party and became its deputy chairman. Etheridge continued as a member of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy parliamentary group in the European Parliament. However, he then left to join the Brexit Party in February 2019.
Electoral performance
General elections
The party did not field parliamentary candidates at the 2015 general election, describing it as a "waste of time and funds".| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Basingstoke | Scott Neville | 213 | 0.4 |
| Blaydon | Michael Marchetti | 114 | 0.2 |
| Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | Will Taylor | 67 | 0.2 |
| Portsmouth North | Joe Jenkins | 130 | 0.3 |
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Chichester | Adam Brown | 224 | 0.4 |
| Sevenoaks | Sean Finch | 295 | 0.6 |
| Stroud | Glenville Gogerly | 567 | 0.9 |
| Crewe & Nantwich | Andrew Kinsman | 149 | 0.3 |
| Leicestershire North West | Dan Liddicott | 140 | 0.3 |
By-elections
; 54th Parliament| Election | Candidate | Votes | % of votes | Position |
| Norwich North | Thomas Burridge | 36 | 0.1 | 11th |
; 57th Parliament
| Election | Candidate | Votes | % of votes | Position |
| Lewisham East | Sean Finch | 38 | 0.2 | 11th |