From the Libertarian Alliance
Week Ending 26th October 2025
Dear All,
This week’s digest brings you political theatre, policy rot, economic debate, and culture wars, all sharpened by the pen of the dissident mind. Neil Lock exposes how the state has weaponised air. Alan Bickley shows how Cold War rhetoric is back—and even stupider than before. Marian Halcombe tears apart the Tory Party and its plans to spend your money on more managerial gibberish. Bryan Mercadente hunts for Korean splatter and ends up in rural France, traumatised. And our regulars square off over free trade.
Read, share, and repost freely. These are the voices you won’t hear on the BBC.
Yours in Liberty,
Sean Gabb
Director Emeritus, The Libertarian Alliance
Politics
The Clean Air Human Rights Bill
Author: Neil Lock
The newest scheme from Parliament’s social engineers is a bill to make “clean air” a legal right. Lock shows how this vague and sentimental notion would let bureaucrats control where and how we live. Far from protecting health, it would criminalise common behaviour, empower unelected regulators, and hurt the working class.
A Brief History of Air Pollution in the UK
Author: Neil Lock
This companion piece traces how legitimate concern over air quality turned into authoritarian policy. From the Great Smog to modern emissions zones, Lock argues that state action has always overreached—now threatening liberty and basic mobility. “Fresh air,” he says, has become another excuse for mass surveillance and regulation.
Fabricated Heat and Frigid Homes: The Real Cost of Britain’s Climate Data Scandal
Author: Sebastian Wang
Wang investigates how the Met Office reports ever-higher temperatures using “stations” that either don’t exist or are compromised by heat-retaining surfaces. He links this to wider climate fraud and rising energy bills. The data, he argues, is shaped to suit policy—not truth. And ordinary families freeze while the regime pretends they’re basking.
The China Panic: Shipbuilding as Existential Threat
Author: Alan Bickley
Bickley dismantles the new Cold War against China. He argues that human rights are just the excuse—real motive: preserving a failing Western elite. The piece mocks the idea that Chinese economic success is dangerous, calling it projection from decaying oligarchs terrified of competition.
The BritCard and the Managed Future of Britain
Author: Len D. Pozeram
Writing from a motel in rural America, Pozeram sees the UK’s new ID proposals as part of a global project to corral humanity into a digital cage. These aren’t national policies—they’re international ones, fronted by local puppets. Britons will be tracked, taxed, and denied services unless they comply. That’s the plan.
Kemi Badenoch’s Reagan Revival: The Last Squeak of a Deflated Party
Author: Marian Halcombe
Halcombe responds with venom to Badenoch’s claim that the Tories are following Reagan and Thatcher. She says the party is over, the slogans are hollow, no one is fooled. “This time it will be different” has always meant “this time it will be worse.” The article is funny—and brutal.
The Education of the Fit and of the Unfit: Britain’s War on Talent
Author: Marian Halcombe
Ever wondered why your taxes are going up? Halcombe shows it’s not for your benefit. The government is spending billions to clothe the underclass in designer trainers—and to fund a swollen bureaucracy of social planners. The real war is not on poverty, but on excellence. Take your blood pressure meds first.
Economics
Free Trade: Understanding the Economic Case
Author: Duncan Whitmore
Whitmore replies to Mercadente with a calm but forceful defence of free trade. He explains how open markets enrich everyone, while trade controls create inefficiencies and empower the state. The article is a textbook case for economic liberty, steeped in classical theory and modern examples.
Free Trade: Mercadente v Whitmore – A Friendly Exchange
Author: Bryan Mercadente
Mercadente responds with characteristic fire. He says free trade has hollowed out the West, destroyed working-class identity, and handed power to oligarchs. For him, tariffs may be an ugly tool—but the result might be a freer, stronger society. The two disagree—but with more agreement than you’d think.
Arts / Reviews
Boris Johnson: The Butcher as Charlatan
Author: Len D. Pozeram
A violent and funny review of Boris Johnson’s latest media appearance. Pozeram likens him to “a bloated bag of offal with a feeding tube at one end and an erection at the other.” This is political criticism as anatomical theatre—and probably the most honest summary of Boris yet published.
Scorched Earth: Paul Chamberlin’s Reluctant Admission That the Second World War Was Not a Good War
Author: Len D. Pozeram
Pozeram reads between the lines of Chamberlin’s new book and finds what the author won’t admit: that the Second World War was a moral catastrophe, not a triumph. The Allies bombed civilians, backed tyrants, and left much of the world in ruins. Pozeram says it’s time to stop pretending otherwise.
Les Revenants (2012–2015): A Haunting Masterpiece of Mystery and Comedy
Author: Bryan Mercadente
Looking for gore, Mercadente stumbles into something better. This French series, he says, is slow, weird, atmospheric—and perfect. It isn’t horror in the usual sense. It’s a meditation on grief, identity, and memory. Wryly amused and unexpectedly moved, he calls it one of the best shows he’s seen in years.
From PIE to Proto-Germanic: Don Ringe’s Deep History of English
Author: Sebastian Wang
Wang reviews Don Ringe’s A Linguistic History of English, praising its depth and clarity. He walks readers through sound laws, PIE roots, and historical change—always with one eye on the politics of language. If you’ve ever wondered why English looks the way it does, this is your gateway drug. |
