THE FREE NATION October 2018 News and views from The Freedom Association Free Nation or Vassal State?
THE FREE NATION
Forget Brexit - independence is what we want I don’t know about you, but the longer the seemingly endless Brexit negotiations go on the more I have come to detest the very word, ‘Brexit’. It is not that the case for leaving the EU is no longer valid - in fact, the success of the British economy since the referendum, combined with the hostility that the EU has shown towards us, added to its continued drive to annihilate the last vestiges of the nation state have all added weight to the vital importance of escaping its clutches without delay. The case for Britain leaving the EU has never been stronger, but the hostility of almost the entire political class has sullied the word ‘Brexit’ beyond repair. But, despite the worst efforts of anti-democratic Remainers, the wish of the British people to regain control of their own lives and their own country cannot easily be extinguished. It is time for us to reclaim the high ground and to fly the flag for independence: not just independence from the European Union but independence from an overmighty, interfering, bullying state too. It looks as though Theresa May’s inept handling of negotiations means that we shall obtain a far worse deal when we leave the EU than we could so easily have achieved had she not been in thrall to Tony Blair’s Europhile pal, Olly Robbins. The Freedom Association and its Better Off Out campaign has fought - and continues to fight - every inch of the way against the Prime Minister’s Chequers sell-out. The length of this fight has exhausted our limited resources so, whilst I know that so many of you have already been exceptionally generous in helping to fund our struggle against the Remainers, any additional help that you feel you might be able to give at this stage would be greatly appreciated in order to keep up the fight against our vastly wealthier opponents, backed by Soros, Branson, Heseltine, Blair and other kleptocrats. For all the failings of our politicians, we must celebrate 29th March next year as an historic step towards regaining our nation’s independence. As Winston Churchill said of Montgomery’s great victory at El Alamein, ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’ You have played a noble part in helping to get this far, so I hope that you will join me in marking that on 29th March. Simon Richards Chief Executive, The Freedom Association
THE FREE NATION is The Freedom Association’s newsletter for Members only. Additional copies are available at £5 each, including U.K. postage. Either call us to pay by credit/debit card or send a cheque, payable to “The Freedom Association”, remembering to include your name and address. Please send any letters, articles, news etc. (by email or post) to Simon Richards: 500 words maximum. Copy deadline for the next (November) issue is Monday 29th October. If you have any queries re your subscription, please call our office. For contact details, see the foot of this page:
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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The law of unintended consequences In each issue, I include an extract from ‘Take Upon Retiring’, an anthology by our Patron, Lord Vinson (right), because I think that its contents deserve a wider audience. Here, quoting Friedrich von Hayek, the great Austrian-British economist and philosopher, Lord Vinson notes that ‘Government policies in particular seldom work out the way they are meant to. Mostly they are perfect examples of the law of unintended consequences:
‘Is there a greater tragedy imaginable than that in our endeavour consciously to shape our future in accordance with high ideals we should in fact unwittingly produce the very opposite of what we have been striving for?’ F. A. von Hayek CH, FBA (1899-1992)
The wit and wisdom of Jacob Rees-Mogg Contrary to suggestions that young people would not vote for a Conservative Party led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, he is a big draw on university campuses around the country, despite leftist attempts to silence him. Earlier this month, Christian Calgie reported for the student newspaper, The Tab Hull on Jacob’s recent visit to the University of Hull that ‘the high profile Conservative M.P. accused those who believe Yorkshire to be better than Somerset as “somewhat eccentric”. The comment came as Rees-Mogg countered the ‘little Englander’ jibe levelled at Brexit supporters; explaining he thinks of himself primarily as ‘British’ over ‘English’, but specifically that his loyalty is to North East Somerset - his parliamentary seat: “I hear some people here believe that Yorkshire is even better than Somerset which I believe is a rather eccentric position”, raising laughter from the audience.’ The report added that ‘the 100+ audience comprising of predominantly non-Conservative-supporting students later expressed mass support with a big round of applause when the M.P. spoke out against the silencing of free speech at universities in recent years.’ The Tab Hull report continued, ‘Recently at the University of West England, Rees-Mogg was involved in a fracas between Bristol ‘anti-fascists’ and his audience supporters. He further told students that one university’s politics society was charged £600 for the event’s security which he believes was "a disgrace". He informed Hull students that since the string of incidents he has resolutely undertaken more events at universities across the country prompting mass applause. The report went on to note that, ‘after the 2-hour event, Rees-Mogg stayed to take photos with the many students who wanted to . . . and ‘a self-professed campaigner for a second EU referendum- said that she had found much of what Rees-Mogg said to have been “very compelling”.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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Peter Mullen writes: Come on sweetheart - how about a bit of love crime? Lord Pearson has repeatedly asked a question in the House of Lords: “Can we talk about Islam?” He has been told by officials in that place that, if he asks the same question again, he will be charged with having committed something called “a hate crime.” As a student of the English language, I’ve never been entirely at home with this phrase “hate crime.” What does it mean? Aren’t all crimes manifestations of hatred to some degree – as the criminal, by his very action, shows contempt for the person against whom his crime is perpetrated? We could ask what sort of thing a “love crime” might be. It’s strange too to find that someone could be considered guilty of a hate crime – or of any sort of crime – for merely asking a question. I can understand how a statement can easily amount to a criminal act. For instance, if I say to someone, “You are a liar and a thief,” that would be a defamatory slander unless I could offer proof of his guilt. But a question accuses no one of anything. A question is not a statement of any fact or alleged fact. A question is a request for clarification, for further information. Therefore, when Lord Pearson is told that, should he ask his question again, he will be guilty of a crime, he is thereby made the victim of politicised irrationalists – actually bigots and it is his freedom of speech which is being denied him. The fact that this is being done in the House of Lords, a part of parliament – a “parliament” meaning a place where people attempt to talk to some purpose – it is Lord Pearson’s freedom of speech which is being disallowed. Of course it is wrong – and perhaps even a crime – gratuitously to fling insults about. We must have regard for the dignity and feelings of others, and I can easily imagine that an insulting accusation might be a crime, even a so-called “hate crime.” But usually when someone is accused of hate crime, it means merely that someone else has taken offence at what has been said. We must draw a careful distinction here: there is no such thing as a right not to be offended. I am offended every day by the sheer fact of the publication of The Guardian newspaper and. Of course, by the BBC’s lefty flagship Today. I merely shrug, smile and take another sip of my beverage whose contents depend only on the time of day and my emollient – or not – disposition. Unfortunately, some people’s ticklish dislike of being offended has turned litigious and so they insist that, because they don’t like something that someone says, then that person is guilty of a crime. This sort of thing gets everywhere. There are some very fragile and hypersensitive university students – they have been referred to as “snowflakes” – who disapprove of statues to empire builders such as Cecil Rhodes. Do they exercise their freedom of speech and express their disapproval in a university debate or write a letter to the newspaper? Assuredly, they do not. Instead, they clamour for the statues to be torn down and removed. This is tyranny. They never pause to consider the feelings of those who approve of such statues. Approval (as well as disapproval) of the statues is an instance of free speech. To demand that
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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the statues be torn down is therefore an unreasonable and vicious denial of free speech. It has all got past ridiculousness. Some students objected to other students wearing sombreros in a fancy dress – because the wearers were not Mexicans. The fancy dress party-goers were accused of something weird called “cultural appropriation.” Barmy, or what? If you have to be who you’re dressing up as, no one could ever play Hamlet. If such strictures were implanted, the whole world of the theatrical arts would disappear overnight. All this is bad enough, but it gets much worse. This business of taking offence and wanting to criminalise those whose views you find distasteful is all so very selective. Gay Pride marchers, for example, are assumed to be perfectly within their rights to be offended by those who object to such marches, calling them blatantly lewd. But those who object to the lewdness are not accorded a similar right to be offended. It is all so one-sided. There is a politically correct agenda and this has hardened into a tyrannical orthodoxy. Again an example: this orthodoxy declares that a woman has a perfect right to abort her foetus, even if the foetus is developing normally and its coming to term presents no danger to the mother’s life or health. Astonishingly, abortion has got to be so popular that there are 200,000 performed every year in Britain. This is equivalent to twice the population of York. All those human lives destroyed usually only because so many people are sexually incontinent and too lazy to avail themselves of the myriad forms of effective contraception – provided free of charge. But those who object to what they see as a horrible slaughter must not be allowed to issue their protests near the abortion clinics, in case abortionists are offended by their protests. Freedom of speech is a priceless social value because, when it is something available to everyone and all points of view, it creates and maintains a tolerant society. There are provisos. This freedom must be employed non-violently and, so far as possible, within the law. And when governments pass laws which individuals and groups within society regard as unreasonable and unjust, then peaceful protestation against the law’s enactment must be allowed also. You may think this is all very untidy with lots of loose ends. But the only alternative to the practical virtue of freedom of speech is the tyranny of the gulag. Sadly our descent into this tyranny is proceeding apace. Rev. Dr. Peter Mullen Peter’s blog, All Things Considered, is at www.revpetermullen.com
QUOTE TO NOTE “You are always complaining of melancholy and I conclude from those complaints that you are fond of it. No man talks of that which he is desirous to conceal and every man desires to conceal that of which he is ashamed. Make it an invariable and obligatory law never to mention your own mental diseases. If you are never to speak of them, you will think of them but little. And if you think little of them, they will molest you rarely. When you talk of them, it is plain that you want either praise or pity. For praise there is no room and pity will do you no good. Therefore, from this hour think no more about them. Sir, you have but two topics, yourself and me; and I am sick of both.” Dr. Samuel Johnson, spoken to his friend and biographer, James Boswell (What an improvement there would be in our newspapers and broadcast media today if only celebs were not paid so much to write about themselves, their feelings and their woes!)
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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National Parliamentary Democracy and the Brexit Debate The Freedom Association exists to defend and promote the eight principles of a free society, principles for which hundreds of thousands have laid down their lives for this country. These principles are all important, but during the debate about Brexit one of them - National Parliamentary Democracy - is supremely so. The reason is simple: at the end of the day the fundamental question in this debate is not whether the UK will be materially better or worse off if we leave the EU but whether or not we will remain a sovereign, democratic country. It is sad that in the frenzied debate that has taken place over the past few years this crucial issue has frequently been ignored. Democracy – a word derived directly from the Greek because the Athenians first created such a system in the sixth century BC – means ‘rule of (or by) the people’. Or, as Abraham Lincoln put it in his famous speech at Gettysburg in 1863 ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’. It goes hand in hand with freedom because those who cannot sack their government through regular elections cannot be genuinely free. And it requires that ‘the people’ have broadly common aims and a common culture because if those characteristics are not present, democracy is not just difficult, it is impossible. Herein lies the basic flaw in the make-up of the European Union, which was constructed in an undemocratic way by the political elite of some continental countries with the unelected Commission as its supreme governing body. The EU has never had the general approval of the people of its member states, it doesn’t have it now, and it never will have it because there is no European ‘demos’. In contrast to the USA, a nation of immigrants who went there in search of a better life, the glory of Europe is its diversity, with the laid-back Greeks and southern Italians having little in common with the austere Germans and other northern Europeans. The consequence is that as the unelected members of the EU Commission and the supporting, overpaid technocrats in Brussels press for an ever closer political union to achieve their dream of a United States of Europe, the tectonic, political plates start grinding together and produce the nightmare of the extreme political parties which are now gaining momentum in so many member states. But what about the UK? What the EU referendum showed all too clearly was that too many of our MPs and an even larger proportion of the members of the House of Lords have completely lost touch with the ordinary people - the demos - in their own country. The referendum was a wake-up call for our representatives at Westminster, a call which some of them have continued to ignore by treating the voters with contempt and regarding the call as a gross impertinence. No-one knows what the outcome of this unhappy situation will be, but what can be said with some certainty is that if we are to preserve our infinitely precious national parliamentary democracy, the result of the referendum must be fully respected. And if Theresa May can’t deliver that very soon, she must be replaced by a leader who can. Dr. Charles Hanson Freedom Association Council Member
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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FREE PRESS:ANDREW ALLISON ON MEDIA MATTERS IN THE TELEGRAPH: The best Brexit coverage, without a doubt, can be found in The Telegraph. I was therefore delighted when the newspaper accepted my invitation to join us on one of our ‘Chuck Chequers Canal Cruises’. They recorded the two speeches delivered by Andrea Jenkyns MP and Steven Woolfe MEP. I also gave an interview at the start of proceedings and towards the end of the cruise they recorded vox pops with some of those onboard. If you would like to watch the four-minute package on the Telegraph’s website, search for “chuck chequers telegraph freedom association” and you will find it at the top of the page. I also gave an interview to a Danish television crew inside the secure zone. I didn’t hold back in telling Danish viewers what I thought of the Prime Minister’s current Brexit proposals. BBC BREXIT BIAS: A not so delightful sight when I arrived at the canal boat with Andrea Jenkyns and her staff was a BBC film crew. They were unexpected visitors and in true BBC fashion did their best to make us all look and sound like nutters. I haven’t seen what was broadcast, but I was grateful when they said that they couldn’t stay for the duration of the cruise. Talking about the BBC, the Guido Fawkes blog has been doing some number crunching in a bid to see if the BBC does have a Brexit bias. It won’t surprise you to read that it does. Guido looked at three BBC flagship panel shows: Question Time, Politics Live, and Any Questions. Here is what he found: “Since the start of the political season in September, 72% of the official panel guests across the three shows have been Remainers, while a mere 28% have been Leavers. A whopping 87% of the panels had a Remainer majority - only 13% of shows had a panel equally balanced between Leavers and Remainers. Not once have Leavers outnumbered Remainers. “Eight shows since the start of September have seen Brexiteers outnumbered 4 to 1 by Remainers, while two shows in the last two weeks managed to feature four Remainers and no Brexiteers at all.” I am sure that the BBC will say that it does everything it can to ensure its panels are balanced when it comes to their overall views, but it is clear that when it comes to Brexit it doesn’t even try. ONE OF US: I managed to grab a quick chat with Grant Tucker outside the Hyatt Hotel in Birmingham. Grant will be well known to many of you. He first came on my radar when Iain Dale appointed him as his personal assistant. He then went to work for the IEA before taking up a role as The Times’s Deputy Diary Editor. It was announced a few weeks ago that he has been appointed The Sunday Times’s new Media & Entertainment Editor. That is a substantial promotion for someone so young, but richly deserved. I haven’t spoken to anyone who has a bad word to say about Grant. He is one of those genuinely lovely people who can strike up a conversation with just about anyone. A few years ago he told me about his first encounter with Margaret Thatcher. After he
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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was introduced to her he told her that he came from a working class, Labour area of South Wales. As he was describing his family’s political background, he said that he could see the colour draining away in the great lady’s face. No doubt she was wondering why he was introduced to her. Realising this, Grant said, “Don’t worry, I’m one of you”. “You’re one of us?” “Yes”. Lady Thatcher then replied, “Get him a drink!” Andrew Allison Head of Campaigns, The Freedom Association
BOOK NOW FOR OUR WESTMINSTER CHRISTMAS PUB QUIZ WITH QUIZMASTERS JACOB REES-MOGG MP AND MARK WALLACE There are still a small number of places available for our Westminster Christmas Pub Quiz on Tuesday 11th December. ★ It’s great fun, with the one and only Jacob Rees-Mogg and Mark Wallace, Executive Editor of Conservative Home, presiding. Mark is a serious quiz buff, having represented the University of Durham on University Challenge, won ITV’s The Chase and captained the Beekeepers team through to the quarter-finals of BBC’s Only Connect. ★ Come along on your own, or with friends/family - just join others on the night to make up an impromptu team, or, if you prefer, buy 6 tickets for the price of 5. ★ It’s even better value this year - and there’ll be more pub grub and more prizes. ★ There’ll be Santa hats and Christmas crackers to help get you in festive mood.
Tuesday 11 December, 6 p.m. Barley Mow, 104 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2EE Tickets are just £29 each or £145 for 6, including a drink and pub grub. DON’T DELAY: BOOK TODAY! See Calendar of Future Events on page 11 for full details of how to secure your place/s.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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‘Up Yours Delors Farewell to the EU’ Dinner: Strasbourg The Freedom Association and its Better Off Out campaign has played an honourable part in the long struggle to regain our independence from the European Union. We all know that, because of the worst efforts of our elected politicians, we shall not get everything that we want on 29th March, but it is vital that we do all that we can to celebrate all the same, to make it more difficult for the Remainers to go back on the British people’s decision to leave the EU. Friday 29th March 2019 will be an historic day for freedom, for democracy and for our United Kingdom - an important step on the long road to regaining the freedom and independence that generations of politicians have stolen from us. This is how we intend to mark this historic week:
★ Following the success of our In Freedom’s Footsteps trip to Brussels, Wipers, Waterloo and Agincourt in 2015, we shall return to ‘the belly of the beast’ - this time to Strasbourg, the principal home of the European ‘Parliament’, for an Up Yours Delors Farewell to the EU trip. Our visit will be hosted by our very own RUPERT MATTHEWS MEP, for whom 29th March will be the culmination of his work as Manager of our Better Off Out campaign. ★ In Strasbourg, Rupert, together with other pro-Brexit MEPs, will host a Dinner on Wednesday 27th March for all Freedom Association Members who wish to attend. This will be a memorable occasion and an opportunity for us to share an historic victory with our many pro-Brexit MEP friends. ★ Rupert will lead a tour of the European Parliament (which is in full plenary session that week) and (along with me) will also lead tours of the beautiful and historic cathedral city of Strasbourg. ★ I shall provide everybody attending the dinner, in advance, with a Simon Says guide to the best places to visit in the city. ★ The dinner and all of the tours will be complimentary, but, if you are interested in attending, you will need to advise us in advance (as soon as possible, please) so that we can plan catering arrangements etc. ★ Because Strasbourg does not easily lend itself to a coach tour from the UK, we shall follow the same arrangement we used at our Victory Weekend in Portsmouth last year, with you making your own travel and accommodation arrangements, while we arrange the dinner and tours. ★ I shall be happy to advise re travel to Strasbourg and accommodation there, but will leave the bookings to you. This has the advantage of your being able to book a method of travel (train, plane or car) that best suits you, as well as accommodation to suit your tastes and pocket. You will still be able to join in all of our activities in Strasbourg and to meet up with other Freedom Association Members as and when you please. ★ If you are interested in attending the complimentary Celebration Dinner in Strasbourg on Wednesday 27th March please contact The Freedom Association office (contact details at the foot of this page) as soon as possible. This will not commit you to anything at this stage, but will secure your place/s in the event of the dinner being oversubscribed. Once you have advised us of your interest you will be contacted with information on travel, accommodation etc.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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UK Independence Day River Boat Party: Westminster Friday 29th March 2019 Don’t miss the boat! Our nation has, throughout history, left things until the 11th hour, so it is perhaps appropriate that it will be at eleven o’clock on the evening of Friday 29th March 2019 that the United Kingdom will, at long last, regain some measure of its freedom and independence after over 46 years of subjugation to the European Union. Such an historic occasion - despite all the excessive concessions made by our political leaders - deserves to be commemorated, if possible, within sight and sound of the Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. Our Independence Day Boat Party on the River Thames at Westminster will do just that.
★ Our boat, which bears the appropriate name of MV Golden Star, will depart from Westminster Pier at 8:00 pm (embarking from 7:45 p.m.) returning at 11:45 pm on Friday 29th March. ★ The boat has glazing all around, so you’ll have great views of London and all the famous buildings along the river at night. With the London Underground now running all night long, you should have no difficulty getting back to wherever you live or are staying. ★ There will be VIP guests and speeches from MPs, MEPs and leading Better Off Out supporters. ★ Tickets are £46.24 - a pound for every year under the EU yoke, with 24 pence for the pre-Brexit portion of 2019. ★ You will receive a welcome glass of Prosecco (in tribute to Italy’s Eurosceptic Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini!) when you board. There will be a cash bar on board. ★ The food (included in the ticket price) will have a retro ‘back to the 70s’ theme. ★ There will be patriotic music for you to join in singing and a flag ceremony to match those enjoyed by those countries who gained independence from British rule - but this time, the Union Jack will be raised, not lowered. ★ To secure your place/s for this once-in-a-lifetime historic occasion please see the form on the reverse of this page (page 10). You may book by post or over the phone. ★ If you also wish to attend the Up Yours Delors Dinner in Strasbourg on Wednesday 27th March, you will have plenty of time to return to London in time to attend the Independence Day River Boat Party on Friday 29th March.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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How to secure your place/s on our Independence Day Westminster River Boat Party Friday 29th March 2019 You can book in any of the following ways: ● OVER THE PHONE, paying by credit or debit card, on 01242 235333. If booking by phone, we suggest that you complete this form beforehand. ● BY POST. Simply complete this form and send it to The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW with a cheque, payable to “The Freedom Association”. If you have any queries, please call us on 01242 235333.
WHAT’S INCLUDED: ★ Boat trip on the River Thames aboard MV Golden Star ★ Glass of Prosecco when you board the boat ★ Back to the Seventies themed food ★ Speeches by VIP Brexiteer guests ★ Patriotic music and sing-songs ★ Flag lowering and raising ceremony ★ Commemorative programme, songsheet and goodie bag
★ I would like ...... tickets @ £46.24 each TOTAL ......
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The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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CALENDAR OF FUTURE EVENTS ★ Friday 26th October 10:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (tea/coffee with home-baked snacks and fruit, from 10:45 a.m., soup and sandwich lunch from 12:30 p.m.) Freedom Forum: Chester. Guest speaker: RUTH LEA C.B.E. Chairman: Simon Richards. The Egerton Suite, Macdonald New Blossoms Hotel, St. John Street, Chester CH1 1HL. Admission by invitation only. ★ November 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. (coffee available from 11:30 a.m.) Date to be confirmed. Freedom Forum: with Andrew Allison (location and venue TBC). ★ Tuesday 11th December 6:00 p.m. onwards. Westminster Christmas Pub Quiz. Quizmasters: THE HON. JACOB REES-MOGG M.P. and MARK WALLACE (Editor, Conservative Home) The Barley Mow, 104 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2EE. Tickets are £29 each or £145 for 6 tickets (6 for the price of 5) and may be purchased by post (cheque/s should be made payable to “The Freedom Association”) or by telephone (Mastercard or Visa). For all contact details, see the foot of this page. Ticket prices include a drink and pub grub. ★ January 2019 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. (coffee available from 11:30 a.m.) Date and venue to be confirmed. Freedom Forum: Cardiff. Guest speaker: NEIL HAMILTON A.M. Chairman: Simon Richards. Members with CF, LD, NP and SA postcodes will be sent an invitation. Others: please contact us if you would like to be sent an invitation. ★ February 2019 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. Date to be confirmed. Freedom Forum: with Andrew Allison (location and venue to be confirmed). ★ Monday 25th March to Thursday 28th March 2019 Up Yours Delors Farewell to the EU trip to Strasbourg. Tours of the European ‘Parliament’ and the city of Strasbourg led by RUPERT MATTHEWS MEP and Simon Richards. See page 8 for details. ★ Wednesday 27th March 2019 Better Off Out Farewell to the EU Dinner, Strasbourg. Hosted by RUPERT MATTHEWS MEP and other pro-Brexit MEPs. See page 8 for details. ★ Friday 29th March 2019 7:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. UK Independence Day River Boat Party, Westminster Pier. Tickets £46.24. See pages 9 and 10 for details. ★ April 2019 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. Date to be confirmed. Freedom Forum: with Andrew Allison (location and venue to be confirmed). ★ May 2019 12 noon to 3:00 p.m. (coffee available from 11:30 a.m.) Date and venue to be confirmed. Freedom Forum: Douglas, Isle of Man with Simon Richards. Members with an IM postcode will be sent an invitation. Others: please contact us if you would like to be sent an invitation. ★ June 2019 Second Jillian Becker Annual Lecture. Date, location etc. to be confirmed.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
12 of 16 The Freedom Association’s Eight ‘Principles of a Free Society’ 1. Individual Freedom 2. Personal and Family Responsibility 3. The Rule of Law 4. Limited Government 5. Free Market Economy 6. National Parliamentary Democracy 7. Strong National Defences
8. A Free Press and other media
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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Theresa May’s speech: a triumph of rhetoric over reality I am writing this on the train back from the Conservative Party Conference. In keeping with a tradition I have observed for many years, I did not hang around the conference centre to sit through the leader’s speech. I haven’t even watched it on television or listened to it on the radio. I have read it, though. And I have also read some gushing tributes about the speech from those whom I think ought to have known better, but as they were in the main hall to witness the spectacle, I can forgive them for getting caught up with the emotion of it all. Hopefully they will eventually calm down and return to their senses. We have a Prime Minister who wants to bring the Conservative Party together to take the fight to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. This is the same Prime Minister who went behind David Davis’s back and deliberately undermined him. The same Prime Minister who locked the cabinet away at Chequers, removed their mobile phones, and gave them the telephone number of a local taxi firm if they rejected her proposals and felt the need to resign. The same Prime Minister who has steadfastly refused to compromise on her Brexit White Paper. She is only interested in unity when it suits her. Some will say that I am being unkind and a tad jaundiced. She did, according to some, make a speech that will go down in the annals of history as one of the greats. She has, some people have said, simultaneously managed to knock both Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson out of the park. Quite a feat if true. So let’s look at the facts. During her speech she started waxing lyrical about freedom and free markets. Will she become a member? She told me to my face two years ago that the values I hold are the same as hers. She then, two days later, told a packed conference hall that my classically liberal views are not welcome in the Conservative Party. What is it, Prime Minister? Should I stay or should I go? With Theresa May there is always a caveat. When she spoke about the power of free markets, she said it was the “power of a well-regulated free market”. Not a free market that is regulated to ensure that consumers are not ripped off. Not a free market that has a small amount of regulation, but not too much because we don’t want to stifle entrepreneurial flair and creativity. No, Theresa May wants a well-regulated free market that ensures people who want to buy a milkshake from McDonald’s have to pay 25p more because they don’t have a reusable cup. A well-regulated free market that forces supermarkets to remove sweets at tills. One that slaps additional taxes on a range of consumer products because the state regards them as “unhealthy”. This is a Government that never uses the tax system to incentivise - only punish. A Government that wants to micro-manage numerous parts of our lives to ensure that we make the “right decisions”. A Government that is determined to plough ahead with
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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Chequers, telling us all with a straight face that we will be free to sign trade deals with other countries around the world, knowing full well that although this is technically possible, the reality is different. Other countries, as Stewart Jackson told us on one of our canal cruises, will never sign trade deals just on services. It would give the UK an unfair advantage. They want comprehensive trade deals on both goods and services. This will never happen under Chequers, although senior ministers don’t even think that Chequers will be agreed. A cabinet source told me in Birmingham that it was dead. We have heard fine words from Theresa May before. Do you remember her speech on the steps of Number 10 when she became Prime Minister? And what about all those promises that Brexit means Brexit? Her closing speech at this year’s Conservative Party Conference was hot air - a triumph of rhetoric over reality and deeds. But that will be her final leader’s speech. Judging by the conversations I have had with Conservative MPs, her lease is due to expire after 29th March next year, and they have no plans to renew it. My biggest fear, and I know that this is a fear many of us have, is that by then she will have already sold the UK down the river. Andrew Allison
FREE FOR ALL: your letters to the editor Is it time to scrap HS2? Can we afford it? HMS Queen Elizabeth, together with its predecessor, HMS Invincible, have together cost £6.2 billion, on top of which is the cost of American Joint Strike Aircraft, known as Lightning II. The Labour Government at the time scrapped the TSR 2, together with all drawings and technical information. We also sold our functioning Harrier Jump-Jets, spares etc. and knowhow to the Americans for £1,000,000. Contrast this with the £80 billion projected cost of the HS2, ,which will save TWENTY MINUTES journey time from Birmingham to London - and this is only an estimate. What could it cost eventually? The question is this - how many aircraft-carriers, state of the art destroyers, etc., etc., could this money build, to defend ourselves? The HS2 project is foisted on us by the EU/Germany as their master plan to link us to the European high speed train network. Subjugation? The mathematics say it all. Alan Sheath 9 Portland Road, Aldridge WS9 8NS [email protected]
A site for your eyes: https://www.allianceofbritishentrepreneurs.co.uk The Alliance of British Entrepreneurs was founded to represent the business owners, wealth creators and disruptors who believe that Britain can thrive and prosper as a sovereign, independent nation after Brexit. It exists solely to give businesses across Britain, regardless of size, a mouthpiece. It believes in an outward looking, free trading Britain with an independent seat at the global negotiating table.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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Simply Simon IT is always a relief when the party conference season ends. This year, after manning a TFA stand at the UKIP Conference and running our Chuck Chequers Canal Cruises on the fringe of the Conservative Party Conference, I attended the Libertarian Party Conference for the first time. Bill Etheridge (right) became the party’s first MEP. It took place in Milton Keynes - itself a salutary warning of what happens when state planners prevail. Perhaps all those underpasses and dreary modernist architecture might have been more bearable had it been named Milton Friedman instead. WHILST waiting for guests to board one of our Chuck Chequers Canal Cruises, I took refuge in the pub by the towpath. I was delighted to see Freedom lager on tap (right), but less so when told that it had run out. Thankfully, Thatchers Gold came to the rescue. More impressive was the discovery of a pint of best Black Country beer for just £2. I shudder to think how much they were charging in the official conference hotel, the Hyatt, just across the canal; another benefit of being outside the secure zone. ONE of the most insulting aspects of the Remoaner campaign to reverse the result of the EU referendum is that, quite apart from assuming Leave voters to be ignorant, they presume them to be racist and, moreover, that EU membership can be measured only in financial terms. Whilst I have no doubt that the UK will be dramatically financially better off out of the EU, I know that that is not the principal reason that most of us wish to regain our independence. Next month we mark the centenary of the end of The Great War. That war (and The Second World War) could not have been won without the courage and sacrifice of millions of men - of various races - from the British Commonwealth and Empire, many of whom are commemorated in the Memorial Gates (above right). One of the many benefits of Brexit is that visitors to our shores from those countries will no longer be treated as lesser beings when they arrive here. We owe them a massive debt for helping to save this country and the whole of Europe from tyranny.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net
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Join the fightback against Soros and Soubry NOW Will you support Better Off Out on the road? We may not have the £billions of Soros, but what we do have is passion. It was that passion and sheer hard work that won us the referendum in 2016. But because the forces of Remain have united to thwart the largest democratic vote in the history of our great country, we need to roll-up our sleeves and fight again for Brexit. Once again, The Freedom Association has taken the lead. We are holding street stalls to raise awareness of why we voted Leave on 23rd June 2016. We are galvanising Leave voters to put pressure on their MPs to ensure we have a proper Brexit - not BRINO (Brexit In Name Only). We have already visited Loughborough to talk to Nicky Morgan’s constituents, Totnes (Sarah Wollaston), Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), and a raft of Labour seats that voted solidly to leave, but which have Remainer MPs who want to render the Leave vote meaningless.
Will you help us:
● by running a street stall in your local area? ● by delivering leaflets to homes near you?
● by donating to the campaign?
It costs £100 fully to equip a street stall with all of the campaign materials required. If you would like to sponsor a stall, you can either call the office on 01242 235333 and pay by credit or debit card, or by sending a cheque payable to “The Freedom Association” and send it to the address at the foot of this page. If you would like to run a street stall or deliver some leaflets, please call/text Andrew Allison on 07803 741104 or email him at [email protected].
We cannot do this without your support The Remainers are very well funded. We will never be able to match them pound for pound, but what we lack in money we more than make up for in commitment, passion, and pride in our country. Whatever you can afford to donate - time or money, or both - will help in the fight for the Brexit we voted for on Thursday 23 June 2016. Thank you so much for your generous support.
The Freedom Association, 122 Winchcombe Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NW Telephone: 01242 235333 (office hours: Mon to Wed) Email: [email protected] Website: www.tfa.net