The LPUK website has had a refresh and lists the following:

Simon Walmsley – Acting Chairman

Well hello Simon, but wait – no Guy Montrose? Enquiries on Facebook show Guy is taking a “break from politics”.

Since Guy joined LPUK notably more had been done, but I always said he was driving down a dead end in which the party would be unable to accept TV interviews or rise to any degree of prominence. I was recently proved right on that, and perhaps the effect has been to put Guy off spending time on Andrew Withers’ ego-project.

And what of Andrew? His new letter retains a trace of class by thanking “all the members of the NCC past and present that have kept us moving forward and the activists who devote so much time and energy”. I will have more on those activists later in the week. Meanwhile, Andrew can’t help another dig at so called “keyboard warriors” seeking to differentiate himself as a leader focused on “building a presence on the ground with the public” while his list of activities mentions only his interactions with foreign libertarians outside the UK and with Guy’s project the International Alliance of Libertarian Parties. It is unclear how Andrew has helped to reach out to either the UK libertarian grassroots or to the general public. Indeed it was unclear at election time whether anyone at LPUK had a clear picture of where their candidates had chosen to stand, let alone what help and support they needed.

In a move that sums up Andrew, at a time when he was supposed to be resigning he has added to his job title “IALP Representative”. Of course he is not a representative of the IALP, if anything he is a representative of himself to the IALP, not the other way around. This seems intended to protect his right to be taken seriously at FreedomFest, where people will not know him and he can wear whatever airs and pretences he desires. I have a feeling he will be the only Libertarian Party leader there choosing to introduce himself with that job title, because the others will have more substantial things to say about themselves.

It seems to me that Guy was the best hope of a decent new leader for LPUK. Andrew is supposed to have resigned, the second time he has done so. If Guy thought that was true, why has he chosen to go now?