I’ve met many nice people; learned a lot more about my town; found some really interesting streets and buildings; lost about half a stone in weight from pacing the streets; and of course, discovered there is a libertarian heart in Uttoxeter.

I am happy to have won the support of nearly fourteen percent of voters at this election. It was always going to be a tough task to persuade people that voting libertarian wasn’t a wasted vote, particularly as many who are liberty-minded, out of habit, vote Conservative.

I wish the successful candidate, Natasha Wood well on the council. Now for the results:

So, for a first time attempt to get libertarian representation on Uttoxeter Town Council, I think its a good result. However, this could be just the start of something exciting for the town.

Would you like to get more involved in supporting and promoting libertarianism in our area? Would you like to find out more about libertarianism? Would you be interested in attending a libertarian social meeting? If you’d like to be a part of the campaign for greater personal freedom and responsibility, get in touch today.

Once again, thank you to everyone who gave me their support at this election.

Of all of those I’ve met, the vast majority are of the same view as me. The Government has become far too big, expensive, wasteful, intrusive and morally corrupt. I have been heartened by the fact that most people want to be free individuals. They want to live their lives without hindrance from the State, and they want to see greater personal responsibility for themselves, their neighbours, friends and families.

Hearing what Uttoxeter residents have to say, I believe there’s a lot to be optimistic about in the town. If Uttoxeter is able to reclaim the responsibilities it has lost over the years to Burton, Stafford and to central government, I believe its residents and businesses will rise to the challenge and work to help the Town get back on its feet. Less political interference and more people power is the real solution to the problems facing the town.

I also want to thank those of you who’ve contacted me through this website, my Twitter account, or my (very) new Facebook page, to wish me luck in this election.

And finally, I would like to thank everyone who has made a donation to my campaign, which has been entirely self-financing. The donations have funded about a half the total cost of the 2500 leaflets, which has been a great help indeed.

So, with just a few hours to go until the polls close at Uttoxeter Town Hall, I cross my fingers and hope of success at the ballot box. I’m in the hands of the Uttoxeter voters now.

If however I’m not elected as your new Town councillor, I hope that I have succeeded in showing you that there is a real alternative to the tired, bullying, establishment politics we see around us. That alternative is libertarianism – a politics based on personal freedom, and on the respect for individual rights and greater personal responsibility.

This lady said she usually votes Conservative, but given her comments, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why. After all, she sounded like a very independent woman who understood the concepts of personal freedom and individual responsibility, which is contrary to what the Conservatives stand for.

The fact is that most political parties and political concepts in the UK are founded on the belief that, as David Cameron says: ‘We’re all in this together’, despite the fact that those who say such thing are often in priviledged positions of power and dominance; and who are often responsible for any failings or examples of mismanagent in the first place, which we mere cash-cows pick up the bill for.

To fund this or that Government policy, politicians of all colours resort to taxation, and don’t think about what it really is – nothing but legalised theft.

My view is this. It doesn’t matter what the money is being spent on, be it something that you or I think is good or bad, it remains the case that taxation is theft.

And what happens if you were to refuse to pay your taxes? What if you weren’t happy with your money being spent on immoral wars; or bailing out banks; or paying for expensive government consultants or non-job bureaucracies; or funding an increasingly intrusive Police State; or as in Uttoxeter’s case, paying for Conservative administration failures? What if you one day said you’d had enough; that you weren’t going to pay for the State anymore?

We know what would happen! The threat of fines or imprisonment from those who are meant to serve us, not the other way round, is why most people in the UK don’t challenge the Government. In our so-called democracy – a system that is supposed to be so great that western governments are enforcing it upon other countries with bullets and bombs – UK citizens live in fear of their own government.

In short, all levels of this country’s government – be it of Conservative or Labour or Lib Dem persuasion – believes it owns you. It believes it has a right to your money, your property, your personal freedom, your personal responsibility, your freedom of speech. It believes it has a right to your life.

As a voter in Uttoxeter, you have a real alternative on the table on Thursday, 7th July. You can give your vote to the Conservatives or Labour, and endorse the current established order where you are nothing but a servant to the State; where your life is their’s, not your own.

Or you can vote for me, Gavin Webb, a candidate who believes I have no ownership over you or your property; and who believes that you should be free to live your life as you see fit, and as long as you’re not harming others, defrauding them, or damaging or stealing their property, you should be left in peace.

You have the power to make a real difference and vote for someone who’ll defend your personal freedoms over the interests of the State and Government.

Remember, if you have any questions about my campaign or what I stand for, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

1. I believe there is no such things as an Independent candidate. We all have our own ‘small p’ political views, which are based on our own life experiences and social backgrounds;
2. I believe it is only fair that people know what they’re voting for. Even in political parties, there are different strands of thought. Indeed, even in the Conservatives and Lib Dems, there are some libertarian-minded people.

I’ve spoken with literally hundreds of people and the welcome has mostly been positive and supportive. On the doorstep, one of the main questions I’m being asked is what exactly is a libertarian?

In short, being a libertarian means I believe in liberty. Not the liberty to do what you like and to hell with the consequences. No, I believe in the liberty to live your life as you see fit, and as long as you’re not causing harm to others; defrauding others; damaging or stealing other people’s property, no-one has the right to interfere in your private life.

This is a key libertarian principle known as the ‘non-aggression principle’. It is one that if followed will lead not only to greater personal freedom, but also greater personal responsibility. After all, if one were to steal another person’s property, it is only right that they take responsibility and face the full consequences for their actions.

I believe that government has become far too big; far too expensive and wasteful; far too intrusive into our private lives; and, particularly the further away it gets from us the people, government is by all accounts morally corrupt.

Government believes it has a right to tell us what we can eat, drink or smoke. It believes it has a right to our hard-earned cash. It believes it has a right to tell us how we should be running our businesses. It decides for us what ‘good causes’ we should be supporting. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Government, and its agents, are superior to us individuals.

But it is not. It only exists because we individuals put it there. Communities, neighbourhoods and society as a whole only exist because of the individuals that make them up.

It is my view that Government should be much smaller, with individuals and the communities in which they live taking more responsibility. Power needs to be wrested back to as local level as possible from Europe, London, and indeed Burton Town Hall. The further away political power gets from individuals, the less chance there is for individuals to hold those with political power to account.

I hope this summary provides a glimpse into what libertarianism is about and what I stand for. It is a positive philosophy which advocates peace and which has an optimistic outlook on the ability of human beings to do good in this world.

If you would like to find out more about where I stand on specific issues, please contact me.

The Town Council does have an important part to play. It should work with local businesses to determine their needs. If for example, retailers – and indeed their customers – wanted to see free car parking in the town (as you can get at the Town Meadows Way retail park) the Town Council should be proactive in trying to make this happen.

I also believe the Uttoxeter market is an important aspect of the town, but given its size, you’d be forgiven in thinking otherwise. I personally have six years experience actually working on a fruit and veg market stall in both St Albans and in Stoke-on-Trent. Not only this, but recently as a councillor in Stoke, I managed to secure £20,000 worth of investment to the city markets, £8,000 of which went to my own ward’s market in Stoke Town.

Of course, one of the big stumbling blocks here is that much of the influence in this respect rests with East Staffs Borough Council. In the short term, the Town Council should act as a lobbying power. In the longer term, I believe Uttoxeter should reclaim its responsibilities over car parking and markets.

The unanimous decision was made by Uttoxeter Town Council to save around £1000 off the Conservative-created by-election bill of over £3000, and it means that none of the 5357 voters across the ward will receive a Poll Card.

Now, I’m all in favour of saving money and on government cutting back on unnecessary expenditure, but not issuing Poll Cards is detrimental to the democratic process. I’ve personally visited hundreds of residents across the ward to introduce myself, and I’m concerned by the number of people who don’t know that a by-election is taking place. The result is that there could well be a low turnout.

Of course, as well a visiting residents, I’ll be distributing a leaflet across the ward to remind you and your neighbours of the by-election. Residents have a choice to try an alternative to the Conservative-Labour bickering that has existed for years.

If you’d like to help my campaign, please get in touch. Donations are always welcome, but I know money is tight for many, so if you’d like to join me to deliver an election leaflet in your area, give me a call.

If you’re not able to print this poster, and would like one delivered to you, please use the form on the right.

A major part of the problem, aside from the political and financial mismanagement that appears to be commonplace under the Conservatives, is that many of the decisions affecting Uttoxeter services are not made in Uttoxeter. Instead, since the mid-1970s, Uttoxeter Town Hall has been emasculated by successive Conservative and Labour governments who have centralised political power, and much of the business of Uttoxeter is now dealt with at Burton Town Hall.

This appears to have suited many Conservative councillors who, until this year, sat on both Uttoxeter and Burton councils. However, things must change.

If there is a will by politicians and residents alike, Uttoxeter Town Hall can reclaim its responsibilities for the delivery of local services. This includes local car parking, parks & greenspaces, allotments, Uttoxeter community buildings, the market, leisure facilities, and many more areas besides. What needs to happen is for politicians on Uttoxeter Town Council – which until now has consisted of Conservatives, Labour and Independents (disgrunted ex-Conservatives) – to pull their fingers out, and take charge.

Of course, a healthy local economy and community doesn’t mean government should do everything for residents. Wherever possible, the Town Council should work with Uttoxeter residents to enable them to run their own affairs. For example, allotments are often the poor man in local government spending. I believe, as an allotment-holder myself, that Allotment Associations should have a greater role in setting their rents, improving their sites infrastructure and engaging with the wider community. Indeed, given the shortage of allotments in Uttoxeter, it is perfectly feasible for new allotment sites to be created and managed by community members, but it requires the support and drive of local politicians for this to happen.

I don’t believe in treating people like children. There is a lot of experience within the communities that can be tapped into, and in doing so, local services can be funded voluntarily as opposed to through taxation, which many agree is nothing but legalised theft.

If you’d like to find out more about what I stand for, or would like to help my campaign, please get in touch.

I have around nine years experience as a community councillor, having until this May served on Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and also in that time, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.

I have a reputation of sticking to my principles. During my election campaign I will be completely honest with you. You will discover more about my libertarian values, and how, if elected to the Town Council, they will help guide me in making decisions that affect you as an individual, and the town as a whole.

Unlike many other politicians who say one thing at election time, and then another when they are elected, I will stick to my principles. If I say to you that my principles dictate that I will campaign for low to zero taxation, that is what I will do. If I say they dictate that I will campaign for more decision-making over Uttoxeter services to take place in Uttoxeter, not Burton, that is what I will do.

I am not someone who will make you rash promises just to become your councillor. What I say to you will be precisely what I say to your neighbour.

If you would like to find out more about what I stand for or how I will deal with specific issue relating to Uttoxeter Town, please contact me either by phone, post or by email using the form to the right.

Also, if you’d like to make a donation to help me fund this campaign, I’d be very grateful. Simply use the donate function, again on the right.