The LPUK has announced a new leader effective 3rd October. The party register still lists the old guard of Andrew Withers, Nic Coome and Liam Hillman as in control of the entity for at least electoral purposes. This will presumably take a little time to update but must be an urgent priority.

During his stubborn and bizarre – though successful – efforts to steal control of the party in 2011 Mr Withers used this official registration, and a hidden “letter of clarification” from the EC, as a lever against his NCC. Libertarians committed to bringing about effective change in the UK will want to watch this registration is updated to ensure there isn’t an unexpected regression to Mr Withers.

The new leader is named as former Crawley Borough Councillor Adam Brown.

Controversial nationalist David Parry, a friend of Mr Withers, remains in post as press officer. No further changes are mentioned.

Mr Brown must urgently address the institutional needs of the party to ensure they are in place well ahead of the next election. This must include an official acknowledgment that prior officers of the party permitted a serious accounting discrepancy to develop.

The announcement, described as “tongue in cheek” by nominations officer Liam Hillman follows:

Adam Brown is Elected New Party Leader for Libertarians UK Following an internal ballot on 15th August 2015, Libertarians across the country have unanimously elected Adam Brown as their new party leader. A clear and enthusiastic vote of trust by jubilant activists and committed friends of LPUK to the type of inclusive policies defended throughout his campaign. Hailing from Crawley in West Sussex, Adam has impressed party members with the fact he previously served on Crawley Borough Council as Chair of the Licensing Committee, as well as offering Portfolio Support for the Leader of the council. Interestingly, Adam also chaired the “value for money” scrutiny panel in its endeavours to ensure the council could justify everything it was spending. All adding confidence in his skill as an experienced politician with a proven ability to work with micro, as well as macro, issues. After thanking all those who elected him, Adam went on to say, “I am delighted in the faith they have shown in me and am honoured to accept the position of party leader”. Additionally, when asked about his view on the task ahead, he confidently stated, “I have no misconceptions of the difficulty I am faced with. However, these are ideal times for the LPUK to discuss matters pertaining to the protection of personal freedom, reducing state interference generally, and rolling back the nanny state that has permeated into our everyday existence”. Each stance placing Adam in the very mainstream of inherited Libertarian thought. Taking up his duties from Saturday 3rd October 2015, Adam intends to address the party shortly thereafter and table a number of strategies to increase membership, develop further contacts with other advocates of liberty, while raising public awareness of alternatives to “Big Government” in both theory and practice. For further information contact David Parry Press Officer

UPDATE: after the above was posted, the party shared an extract from it’s constitution on Facebook. The following sections are pertinent:

7.10 Party officers shall take office when registered as officers by the Electoral Commission. … 8.3 The NCC shall take office as per para 7.10