“I wasn’t aware of the vote of no confidence until after my expulsion,” Rand says as he sips his tea in a swanky bar just off Wardour Street. In January, the peer and former MSP was the subject of successive internal votes within the Libertarian Party, and unfortunately for him the final vote resulted in his expulsion. Amidst accusations of party sedition and sundry other intrigue, 13 of the party’s MPs voted unanimously to remove him as Party President, and 9 to 4 to remove him from the party itself.

Now he’s joined the Tories, and seems to be enjoying his stay in Westminster’s largest party. “They’ve been very welcoming with me,” he said with a smile, “And at the moment I find myself more ideologically in line with them.”

The tale of Rand’s expulsion seems tied up in two strands, of which ideology is one and party administration is the other. Indeed, the Libertarian Party leader Friedmanite himself accused Rand of “[wanting] to remove members of … a different ideology”, and it’s no secret in Westminster that Rand was viewed as a moderate within the LPUK movement. As Rand himself said to me, “It’s not exactly breaking news to say that Seimer and I are on the more liberal side of the party.”

But was there a plot at all? The messages leaked by both Friedmanite and Rand himself - the latter an extensive selection of images showing private conversations between Seimer and Rand - seem to suggest there was indeed something afoot, and even talk of removing Friedmanite with “a forced hand”.

Rand was less equivocal, however, when challenged on this particular remark. “I also say that the best plan of action was to wait and not push anything. I don’t think it’s fair to say I wanted him gone, but I wanted to be ready for when that day would come.” Are those not weasel words? Is it truer to say that you did not in fact want to remove Friedmanite from the leadership, or simply that an attempt wouldn’t succeed? “It wasn’t because of either of those things, it was because I wanted to be prepared for the time when it would be necessary. A blind man on a galloping horse knows that Friedmanite most likely won’t go of his own volition when it would be politically advantageous for him to do so. So I had to be prepared to do it. After all, if I had put plans into action and they hadn’t succeeded, that would have been that.” What were those plans? “If push came to shove, we would have ensured that the party did stay in a libertarian direction, as after all it is meant to be a libertarian party. I believe the majority of the party support that direction, so really it was just a question of whether to pressure the leader by creating internal conflict or wait until the leader needs to go anyway.”

Worries about the ideological direction of the party therefore seemed to be the preoccupation of the liberal wing - for what it is - of the party. HenryJohnTemple caused uproar during the GEXI campaign and for many weeks previously with several dicey and unguarded remarks, which seem to be somewhat at odds with the purest forms of libertarianism. The leaked messages suggest that HenryJohnTemple is perceived to be a close ally of Friedmanite’s, and Rand’s distaste of the former’s views is obvious. “I think to an outsider it could seem like HJT is an ally. He isn’t,” Rand said, leaning forward, “He’s a bigger threat to Friedmanite and the LPUK than I ever was. If he remains in the party I can assure you that the party will slip further and further right “ Does this mean that the LPUK no longer resembles the sort of libertarianism Rand envisages? “There are members within it who do, and there are members within it that don’t. Overall, the majority of the platform did but I feel like at times, especially on immigration and foreign policy, there were questionable policies.”

But what of the ideological bent of Friedmanite himself? Does he represent libertarianism adequately? Rand let out a heavy sigh as he considered this, “I’m concerned he is appeasing members who do not belong in the party.” Why would he do that? ”I mean one could speculate, but I’d say probably underlying sympathy with these more socially-right wing members.” Was this why Rand and Seimer began their explorations into alternative routes for the LPUK? “The biggest concern was how much of an influence further-right members had, and how the leadership didn’t seem to really want to stand up to those members.”

Rand is, however, still insistent that his actions with Seimer did not amount to a coup attempt. So was this a case of future planning more than present conspiracy? “I knew he’d have to go eventually, and that I had to be prepared to ensure that when he did go that the right didn’t take over. I didn’t want him to go.” Rand described Friedmanite in the leaked messages as ‘paranoid’, because Friedmanite saw Rand as a ‘threat’. Given the demonstrable plotting between Seimer and himself, does Rand still think that’s a fair assessment? “I mean, all you need to do is look at what happened. Was Friedmanite making a rational decision? Whether I was a credible threat or not, I evoked emotions of paranoia in him, so I think it’s fair.”

After his expulsion, Friedmanite accused Rand of leaking false information to further his own leadership ambitions. The leaked messages suggest a connection to the now leader of the Liberal Democrats, but Rand denies any kind of leak from himself, and in fact suggests the involvement of a third party. “Dylan initiated a conversation with me, but there’s nothing in that conversation that I’d deem a leak. I was under the influence there was a leaker to Dylan, however, as he knew more than I myself had told him.” It seems news of internal dissatisfaction, real or imagined, had spread beyond the inner workings of the LPUK.

With this understanding of LPUK’s ideological direction, I asked Rand if he should in fact have followed through instead of waiting for the apparently inevitable resignation. He looked up with a glint in his eye. “I probably should have, but I do still feel that Friedmanite will not be leader in a year’s time.”

In the event, it was not Friedmanite who went anywhere, but Rand. The manner of his departure obviously still rankles. “My objection isn’t to the party actually expelling me. It’s the way they did it. Of course, I did not want to be expelled but the party leadership executed what amounted to a reverse coup, with no fair trial, the whole membership not getting a say and no cross examination.” As the leaked messages show, Rand was drafting a constitution for the LPUK, which currently they don’t have. The party does, of course, have internal roles, one of which Rand held as Party President. “There was precedent for votes of confidence. Any member could request one and it would be held for the whole membership to vote on.” The Party President is voted in by the entire membership, but the President’s removal was not. “The president is a liaison between the rank and file and the leadership,” Rand said, “And that liaison was removed without the consent of the rank and file but instead of the members of Parliament.”

Does he believe the MPs who did vote were in possession of all the facts? “I was not given the opportunity to defend myself, and of course evidence was withheld in order to sway voters.” Does Rand believe a wider franchise and a cross examination would’ve made a difference, given his substantial loss in both votes? “If the vote had been managed correctly I would still be a member,” he responded. And what of his accused co-conspirator? Why did he betray the cause? Rand answered this with surprising magnanimity, “I don’t really want to speculate. He’s a good man. There could be lots of reasons. Leadership pressure, or maybe he thought I was up to something I wasn’t, or maybe he didn’t think it was the best action for the party. I don’t think it’s betrayal at all, I think he made a judgement. I disagree with it but he made it.”

What now for the future of LPUK? From the outside, the Party seems strong, with a good performance in the last election and a leader with apparently unquestioned loyalty. “Friedmanite has lit a fuse that he can’t blow out. He’s shown members he’s willing to hold onto his leadership with force, and there will be active plots within the party. And eventually they will succeed.” Indeed, I contacted Dylan to understand what he knew about any LPUK leaks and, while denying receiving any leaks from Rand or Seimer themselves, he did say, “I am more aware of the situation than most would assume. I was contacted for advice by LPUK members close to the [Rand expulsion] incident who were conflicted in what they should do.” Perhaps this lends credence to the idea that Rand and Seimer were, and perhaps are, not alone in their dissatisfaction with the Friedmanite administration.

Towards the end of our interview, I asked Rand why he was so sure Friedmanite's leadership would come to an inevitable end. “The tighter you grip, the harder it is to breathe,” he replied, before setting off to meet members of his new party in Westminster.

A response from LPUK:

"Firstly, I thank Rand for his service whilst in the party. Rand served as the party president for several months and that service to the LPUK as it grew will always be important. I think we were all surprised to hear and read the statements that Rand made about the party, as we have outlined in our official statement. This decision was not made unilaterally by party leadership, but rather by a vote of party MPs. It was important to the party leadership that the voices of the party's MPs were heard. They chose to remove Rand, and I respected their decision. I felt it was important that there be a vote of confidence in my leadership in the wake of these events. I felt it should be held so that I knew where the membership stood on my leadership. I am happy to say that the membership expressed their confidence in me. When I talk to the membership, they are still supportive of the decision and want to move on. I think it is rather telling that people outraged and that feel like some major injustice has been done are the same people who want to see the LPUK fail and constantly barrage us with attacks, the LPUK supports the move and that's all that matters. Whilst this has caused controversy in the media, I hope that the LPUK can continue to work with rand to achieve the change this country so desperately needs."