Liberty League Freedom Forum 2011
This weekend I was one of over eighty classical liberal university students to attend the UK Liberty League’s first ever Freedom Forum conference in Birmingham. Speakers included Mark Littlewood and Steve Davies (both of the Institute of Economic Affairs), Alex Deane (formerly of Big Brother Watch), Guy Herbert (NO2ID), Simon Clarke (Forest), Mark Wallace, Simon Richards (Freedom Association), Graham Aitkin (Students for a Sensible Drug Policy), Tim Evans (Cobden Centre), Conservative MP Sajid Javid and Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming. Liberal Vision’s Tim Cox was a panellist for a discussion on how the current crisis can help us make the case for a smaller state, alongside Tom Clougherty (Adam Smith Institute) and Josie Appleton (Manifesto Club), while I was a panellist debating so-called libertarian paternalism with Claire Fox (Institute of Ideas), Oliver Cooper (Progressive Conservatives) and Joe Finlayson (Liberty society at Leeds University). In addition to the speeches and panel debates, there were also useful workshops on fundraising and campaigning, using social media, public speaking and public relations.
There were quite a lot of hyperlinks in that paragraph above, but if you are unfamiliar with any of the individuals or organisations mentioned, I strongly recommend that you take a look at their websites, as they include some of the most articulate and effective defenders of a free and liberal society we have in the UK today.
It was fantastic to meet so many young like-minded people, and it was also encouraging to see that pro-liberty campus activism is clearly on the rise, something which is likely to be reinforced by the skills developed, ideas exchanged and links between societies strengthened as a result of the Freedom Forum.