Not what Peel Envisaged.

A further example of the increasing politicisation of the police came yesterday as Fully paid EU fanatic Steve Bray continued his one-man farce by playing the Darth Vader theme for three hours straight outside windows where hundreds of people were trying to work. He supplemented that with a megaphone the size of his ample torso.

The new and extreme Policing Act gives powers to stop protests that are “intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance”. Yet once again, the police, fresh from giving refreshments to "Just Stop Oil" were just looking on. This Act is the tool that can be used to break up noisy demonstrations – in short, anything the local police chief doesn’t approve of.

It was never needed though, as the breaching the King’s peace, descended from the Justices of the Peace Act 1361, has long been on the statute books and would have been quite sufficient to deal with Bray, whose sole aim in life is to be a nuisance.

But, back to the police, imagine that had been a one-man demonstration against increasing taxation, mask wearing, or another such restriction on individual freedom. How long would that have been given before the perpetrator was hauled off and slung into the back of a van?

The Libertarian manifesto is aimed at stopping this discrimination. "Our policing policy seeks to re-establish the Peelian principle that ‘the police are the people, and the people are the police’ as the surest way to block tyranny and enable effective policing by consent.

Chief Constables or Sheriffs should be locally elected and given a greater amount of autonomy allowing them to direct resources to meet local needs and to deputise voluntary candidates as needed for the legitimate exercise of their role. The role of Police and Crime Commissioner must be abolished."

It is time to return the police to fighting crime and not have them as politically motivated enforcers.

Martin Day – Party Secretary