If he loses this case then it sends a signal that disagreeing with authority is frowned upon in the LibDems and that dissent will not be tolerated.

We still don’t know what the charges are, Cllr Webb has not yet been told, except that he stands accused of ‘bringing the party into disrepute’, something which this whole sorry saga does far more than him shooting his mouth off.

In answer to your question of whether libertarians are democratic - that depends what you mean. Democracy as we have now is in many ways incompatible with liberalism, let alone libertarianism. Then again, the freed market is the ultimate democratic institution, so libertarians are profoundly democratic then.
As for being radicals or extremists - we tend to be, but not in a negative manner.

The whole episode marks a difficult challenge for the party which can be used to drive a wedge between us or to act as a uniting force which more clearly defines what our party stands for.

I think the main problem with Cllr Webb’s action is that he seems somewhat to have taken the initiative onto himself without drawing any distinction between his personal views and the collectively agreed position. All this heartache could easily have been prevented with a simple disclaimer to remove any ambiguation, but I fear for Cllr Webb in that he appears to have used and continue to use his office as validation for his right to speak out and as the basis of the authority for what he argues.

As a result I think he will lose his case on the technicalities of it, while remaining to feel justified.

The threat increases if he reacts with bad grace and feels aggrieved enough to seek some form of personal affirmation by turning himself into a martyr for his supposed cause - would this help him or the party? I don’t think so. On the other hand if he has a reserved view and takes any punishment on the chin (temporary suspension, perhaps?) he will set an example for how to maintain party unity while learning how to get his point across in a less disruptive manner.

Cllr Webb’s political career will be defined by his response to this matter - I hope he puts the collective needs first by offering contrition and a concilliatory gesture, because the alternative will provide evidence of an unbending narcissistic and authoritarian streak which will undermine the claims of coherent libertarianism through exposure of his personal incompatibility with liberalism.

It raises and will answer the question of whether libertarians are democratic…

libertarians and radicals are welcome
This is a Stoke/North Staffordshire issue and your post betrays your lack of knowledge on the history, context or reality of the situation

Maybe Ed F could enlighten us as to what he means ?

I don’t have an explicit objection to making the counter view accessible via the savethestokeone.com website but you need to remember that Gavin is firstly an elected councillor and secondly currently suspended in a process that will lead to expulsion unless the powers that be rule against his accusers. Who is to say that other libertarians will not be expelled in the wake of this. Surely it is more sensible to fight this suspension than rely on the unsubstantiated statements or Ed F whose vauge comments lead me to think that the opposite of what he says might be the case.

If we don’t fight this it will very soon be too late so I would encourage as many as possible to get on board with the campaign now.

The supporters of the campaign are Liberal Democrats with very long support for the party and will not see Gavin expelled without offering the maximum possible support.

Ed Joyce
http://www.savethestokeone.com

As to the situation, please enlighten us, even Gavin seems in the dark about what this is all about.