In recent times, we have seen many politicians walk through the hallowed halls of the Houses of Parliament; some were transient participants, some developed a solid presence, but few had a sustained, leading and undeniable impact on politics in all four corners of the country, and fewer still remain in politics to tell their tale.

The subject of today’s profile has been on a journey of many notable zeniths and nadirs. From leading one now-defunct party, to creating another also-defunct party, he would end up in the party which absorbed both. From crisis to triumph and via unexpected ideological evolution, the Duke of Cumbria, /u/Duncs11, has emerged as one of the few who can claim a significant - if, as is inevitable, divisive - legacy in the UK’s politics.

We conducted this interview in three sessions at /u/Duncs11’s home in Cumbia.

I completely agree with this bill, right now the people do not have any way to make their voice heard on major issues like HS2 and the European Union - This is the next logical step in the democratic process, and the 5% of the electorate will stop pointless referenda

Records from 2014 are often incomplete, but this appears to have been the first comment made by /u/Duncs11 in the House of Commons. It comes from B005, the bill that would introduce the Direct Democracy Act, whose successor act would become the albatross around /u/Duncs11’s neck; but this is a story for later.

What can we learn from this one speech? Really, not much. But we do see the early desire for a form of direct democracy, and a scepticism for the role of the EU in British politics. Not that Ukip was necessarily the only party at that point in time that could accommodate such views, so why did /u/Duncs11 choose Ukip? “Truthfully, no party was a natural fit… I was somebody who did have concerns about democracy within the European Union and was concerned about further integration,” he said, before adding, “I did also have a liberal streak [and] I thought I could make a home in the moderate branches of Ukip.”

Ukip doesn’t have a contemporary reputation for having a liberal streak. In modern times, politicians and parties who display apparent xenophobia or reactionary tendencies are labelled satirically as “kippers”, in reference to the informal - and perhaps pejorative - nickname given to former Ukip members. /u/Duncs11, however, has a different slant on this position. “I would be wary of remembering the party in history as some excessively authoritarian and illiberal one,” he told us reproachfully. “I certainly believe it became a better party over time.” Is this why in mid-2015, after nearly a year of membership, he decided to run to become deputy leader of the party and establish a more liberal point of view? “I did want to see the party move away from the slightly more abrasive and unpleasant parts of euroscepticism and towards a vision slightly more in line with my values.” What sort of views did he find most objectionable? “The racially-charged stuff about Eastern Europeans taking jobs and clogging up the immigration system, along with a willingness to work with groups and people who had less than pleasant views on gay marriage, transgender rights, and so on.” One example of this might be Ukip’s opposition - before /u/Duncs11’s elevation to the deputy leadership - to B224, the first major Gender Equality Act to pass through Parliament. He also opposed the bill in the first reading debate, and in the division lobby. “We whipped heavily against it,” he admitted, “[but] it's the type of bill that tended to attract a level of ire that seemed disproportionate to its impacts.”

The feeling in Westminster at the time was that /u/Duncs11 was indeed on the more moderate end of the Ukip spectrum. When, in early 2016, he successfully ran for the Ukip leadership, his pitch to the membership included endorsement from other parties. /u/purpleslug, then a senior Liberal Democrat, said of him, "/u/Duncs11 is a pragmatic, sensible person. I think that he would be excellent as the leader of Ukip.” He was also keen to impress upon his party that good relations with other parties was paramount, and his full speech on inter-party relations is worth relaying in full:

Working with other parties is, like it or not, an essential part of MHOC, a single vote can make the difference between a bill on a core policy of ours passing or failing. It can decide if we will enter government or OO again at some point, or if we will be forever banished to the ranks of the Unofficial Opposition. I’m on good terms with the leadership, and membership of every right wing and centrist party, which is an essential must when it comes to dealing with them in order to pass a bill or get into government. If you elect me as your leader, you can be assured that these relations will only continue to improve.

This seems to have been a case of an iron fist in a velvet glove. /u/Duncs11 had, of course, had a tilt at the leadership before, but lost by the barest of margins to his predecessor in the leadership, /u/Tyroncs. “[I] won the election against /u/Tyroncs on the basis of actual UKIP members [but] the two Vanguard members swung it against me.” This was the first of many run-ins /u/Duncs11 was to have with former members of the far-right in his party. In this case, he believes he lost the leadership because of the infamously Machiavellian and now-proscribed Vanguard Party, who placed agents in parties across the House, including Ukip.

Dissatisfaction with the illiberal factions and far-right interference in his party led to his decision to run for the leadership, but he still considered himself an outsider in his own party. What, then, did he think of /u/banter_lad_m8 and /u/Tyroncs, his former leaders? “I don't want to spend my time attacking people who have long since retired from politics,” he replied tersely. And what did he think of the membership at large? “My views were not the best liked by some others.” So how did he manage to win over half of the vote? “I went into that election as Deputy Leader, emphasising competence,” he said wryly. On the subject of the wider membership, he added, “I wasn't the only person… who was uncomfortable with elements the party had typically embraced. We did have a liberal wing, made up largely of good people with some concerns about sovereignty, [but it didn’t] control the party until my days.”

/u/Duncs11 led Ukip for 329 days, which brought relative stability to the party. What was his proudest achievement while leader? “Probably the general transformation of the party. It wasn't perfect by the end, but it was a solid difference from the past. Policies were significantly more liberal, and there was less of a tolerance for the type of bigoted rubbish that would have been accepted in the past.” This transformation was realised officially in Ukip’s party constitution, which banned membership of Ukip for former members of specified far-right parties, including the Vanguard.

Not that there weren’t bumps in the road, of course. When the Vanguard Party’s illegal interference in other parties’ business was exposed, enough members were imprisoned for their efforts that the party ceased to exist. This meant Ukip experienced a reversion to its past flirting with the far-right. One Ukip MP, /u/TheInfernalRain, was ejected from the party for anti-Muslim comments in the House and this led to an influx of members from the Vanguard’s successor party: The Nationalists. /u/Duncs11 survived what he described to us as a “coup”, but it seems that while he had been able to effect some change within Ukip he would never entirely finish his project.

Among the highs were a governing coalition, during which he served as Justice Secretary, and a brief and surprising stint as Prime Minister. “I think for everybody who holds that role, it is an honour. It was for me,” he told us wistfully. “I wouldn't say I look back on it in a particular way, although obviously I do wish my chance to be PM came at a time when I had a majority behind me.”

But eventually Ukip’s problems - both immediate and structural - caught up with him. /u/Duncs11 put it simply to us by saying, “I saw the writing on the wall.” And what were the problems exactly? “I had done what I could to save that party and its liberal-ish position, but ultimately the remaining membership wanted to take a different path.” Additionally, the UK had voted to leave the EU in a referendum on the issue during his time as leader, which presented a more existential problem for the party. “Truthfully, UKIP as a political party ceased to have a real reason to exist after the referendum,” he said before adding, “[the party] dissolving, or at least rebranding, was inevitable.”

It was at this time /u/Duncs11 began to conceive of a new force in British politics, and one that would arguably have a greater influence than Ukip. Earlier in our interview, when talked about what exactly he wanted to achieve in Ukip. He responded by saying, “Ultimately my time within the party was one where I tried to be a liberalising force.” And in the early spring of 2017, he set out to achieve that, but this time with a new party.

The rest of Ukip’s membership wasn’t oblivious to the idea that their party would struggle to retain its relevance in the UK’s post-EU future. “After the EU Referendum we had a number of discussions about the future, including rebranding as Libertarians or Classical Liberals, or dissolving.” Ultimately the party decided to continue on its course, and the concept of a new party crystallised. “I had the mental framework there, and allies in other parties who wanted to side with me.” And given the far-right problems Ukip had, would rebranding have ever worked? “I think, over time, a rebranded Ukip may have been effective at deterring [the far-right], but we'll never know.”

So /u/Duncs11 stepped down in early February, and by late March had already collected politicians of like mind and conceptualised the idea that would be the newest Parliamentary party in the UK: the Classical Liberals. The choice of name drew interest at the time because of a perceived similarity to another well-established liberal party, with whom it seems /u/Duncs11 ought to have much in common. “I had considered joining the Liberal Democrats, but I decided against it. At the end of the day, I am centre-right economically and proud of my unionist beliefs, and the Lib Dems seemed a tad too left economically and had a significant history of working with the Greens in coalition, which is not something I'd be comfortable with. I saw a hole for a liberal unionist centre-right party, and I filled it.” Given the later trajectory of the Classical Liberals, it’s difficult to argue with this sentiment.

It is significant that early on during our discussion on the formation of the Classical Liberals, /u/Duncs11 allowed for a rare moment of sentiment. “Founding and leading the Classical Liberals is probably one of the biggest achievements of my political career,” he told us with sincerity. But within months of its formation, Ukip ceased to be a political force and merged into the Conservative Party - a fate with which he would later become even more familiar - and we asked if he felt any sadness or regret at these events. “I think that the merger with the Tories is probably something that - with a conservative-leaning leadership - was bound to happen. I think a degree of sadness is natural at times like that. I had spent a chunk of my career in that party, but there are worse ways they could have gone.”

And so, on 26 March 2017, /u/Duncs11 held a press conference with his deputy leaders, /u/Alexzonn and /u/redwolf177 to announce the formation of the Classical Liberals. /u/Duncs11 was, of course, already an independent MP having run on a proto-Classical Liberal ticket in the previous election, which meant Westminster was not entirely surprised. Perhaps this also meant it was easier to recruit four members in addition to the leadership team. That /u/Duncs11 - a former Prime Minister and party leader - and some of his members were established politicians certainly made it easier to gain credibility among the famously snobbish Westminster stalwarts. “A few of our members brought their peerages with them,” he reminded us when we asked how difficult it was to establish the party as a serious force. That this all happened soon after an election was also a bonus. “I think the five months [between general elections] gave us time to organise internally, introduce people to debating, and build a strong base for what I believe is the best performance by a new party in a general election in a long time.”

Indeed, in the next general election the Classical Liberals ended the night with eight seats; this achievement wasn’t challenged until the emergence of the Libertarian Party shortly after. The Classical Liberals elected not to enter into coalition at this time - or at any time during /u/Duncs11’s leadership - and instead sought to continue to establish themselves as a force in politics. Their first major piece of legislation was heavily-contested. B550, which proposed amnesty and a path to citizenship for those living in the UK illegally, seemed to be an effort by the party to break from its Ukip roots. “I definitely wouldn't have gotten away with that [bill] in Ukip,” he laughed, “And even the 'liberals' would have been at my throat.” It wasn’t just an effort to be taken seriously, however; it was also an example of the ideology the Classical Liberals would espouse. “ I think [that bill was] indicative of the values of the Classical Liberals and our vision for the country to be an open and tolerant one.” A clean break with Ukip, indeed, and an opening salvo that ultimately only failed by two votes.

This wasn’t, however, precisely the first bill the party would submit. Before gaining MPs as a party in itself, the newly-formed Classical Liberals attempted to kill what would become one of the most notorious pieces of legislation in the history of Parliament. The legislation was known as the DDEA - Direct Democracy Enhancement Act - which /u/Duncs11 himself authored. And the bill he submitted was B452, which was the first of many efforts, by him and others, to repeal it.

That /u/Duncs11 could trace his own political lineage back to the original Direct Democracy Act (the DDA) implies two things. First, that he had resolved to kill his darlings. Secondly, that /u/Duncs11 had passed through an ideological watershed himself. “Some time after [the DDEA’s] introduction and enactment I started doing some research on the use of referenda, and I began to see certain issues… becoming more of a problem. And so I wanted to repeal the Act.” Interestingly, it was around this time that the newly-elected Prime Minister, /u/InfernoPlato, had announced his intention to use the DDEA to trigger a referendum on the single market that would not have passed Parliament. “InfernoPlato's plan to use it for a single market referendum led to be moving sooner rather than later, but even without that plan I would have tried to repeal it at some point.”

Does this change in attitude to his own legislation indicate a change in his own views at that time? When speaking to the press at the launch of his new party, /u/Duncs11 said to one journalist, “We support a soft Brexit and retaining membership of the single market, as well as maintaining the Erasmus scheme and EHIC system.”

When we put this to him, it prompted a thoughtful response. “[The] ideal situation [was] a soft Brexit where we would remain in EEA, but be exempt from the supranational political structures of the EU and further integration. Unfortunately, the single market referendum killed the potential for that when the vote went against staying in. And at that point I had a decision to make: was staying in the EU, even with its flaws, better than the risk of a hard Brexit that would isolate us from the world? I thought it was better, and that's probably when I started to believe we should remain.” Within a period of less than a year, /u/Duncs11 had left a hard-Eurosceptic party, founded a new and successful liberal party, attempted to repeal one of his own flagship pieces of legislation and made an astonishing volte face on his European views.

The emergence of the Classical Liberals as a political force also coincided with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, which immediately piqued /u/Duncs11’s interest. “Despite being an Englishman by birth, I did spend a good portion of my adolescence in Scotland,” he told us. “My political interest comes from my firm unionist beliefs in addition to my liberal values.” It didn’t take long for him to be roaming the halls of Holyrood as a Classical Liberal MSP; and it also didn’t take long for controversy to follow.

/u/Duncs11 does, however, deny that he’s a divisive figure because of his unionism. “I take a very firm stance on the constitution which annoys those sympathetic to the separatist cause, but I have had the Liberal Democrats, Social Democrats, and the Libertarian Party all vote for myself as First Minister at one point or another, so I wouldn't say I'm divisive to other unionists.” But while a great many have held firm to any given principle, did this one cause /u/Duncs11 and his party political problems? “I'm not in the business of ignoring my values,” he said with a note of irritation, “I don't believe I am a divisive figure, and I'd say my record in Government proves that… and we've done a lot of good in Scotland already.” And what about outside of Holyrood, in Westminster, where some parties, even fellow unionists, have been reluctant to ally themselves with Classical Liberals for that very reason? He reiterated his point to us, “Unionism is a core principle of mine, and I would never renounce it in the pursuit of power. To me, politics is about what kind of country we want to be, and unionism tells us what country we are to begin with.” It is perhaps telling that the Classical Liberals never entered into a Westminster coalition while /u/Duncs11 was leader. Was unionism the reason for this? “I wouldn't say so,” he told us, with a hint of finality.

What about the influence of those on the other side of the aisle, the “separatists”, and their accusations of sectarianism and cultural sabotage? These accusations have dogged /u/Duncs11 since he was first elected as an MSP, and were recently thrown into focus when MSPs debated SB100 - a bill described by opponents as a “toxic manifestation of British Nationalism” - just over a week ago. He defended his bill and his views on this by saying, “What I have consistently objected to is a political desire to effectively force more people to learn Gaelic and to use it, when they do not display such interest themselves.” He also addressed accusations of sectarianism in strong terms. “Sectarianism is more than just believing in the existence of a British nation, and I have never once discriminated against anybody on the basis of religious creed or constitutional opinion. I have my views on each, as does everybody else, but that's not sectarian.”

As it is, /u/Duncs11 has been First Minister in Scotland for a record-breaking number of days, and he has no plans to retire. “I set out a Programme for Government and I'm implementing it. We've just set out landmark educational reforms and many bills are close to being law. [I have] no plans to give up yet.” And where does he think it ranks among his other personal achievements? “It's up there with one of my top achievements in my political career… alongside being Prime Minister and founding the Classical Liberals, but it's nearly impossible to rank them,” he said with a grin since he knows his interviewer missed his own chance at being a Prime Minister.

/u/Duncs11 continues his work in Scotland to this day; however, he’s no longer the leader of the Classical Liberals. After a record-breaking 483 days as leader, he stepped down in July 2018. “I think every Leader has a 'shelf-life' as it were, and after leading the party for over 400 days and Ukip for a similar enough time, I had been a leader for a long time.” It is perhaps poignant then that the party he was so proud of founding has since merged, as did his last party, into the Conservative Party. Does he think the alarmingly-rapid fall of the Classical Liberals was an inevitability? “Definitely not. “We faced our challenges as all political parties do, but Ukip’s reason to exist was to leave the EU, which they achieved. Ours was to spread liberal unionist values, which is something that always needs to happen, and for which there is a gap.”

Indeed, there was no obvious issue in terms of numbers; many parties reach their own nadirs from time to time, and the Classical Liberals still had a good number of MPs in the House. He spoke solemnly about the final doom-laden months. “It was all very sudden in a way I didn't necessarily expect.” The mainstream reasoning for the Classical Liberals’ demise is a combination of high-profile defections and ideological ennui; however, /u/Duncs11 had a unique vantage point of their fall. “My take is that we lost a number of important members over a very quick space of time for a variety of reasons, and simply didn't have the experience coming up through the ranks to effectively replace them… We needed new members to come through, but unfortunately they never really came, and when you see the polls come out to minus 1%, 1.5%, or 2% each week, it's easy for those at all levels to resign themselves to [the party’s demise].” Did he feel he could’ve done anything? “I did what I could in my mind, but there's only so much one person can do, particularly when they reach the stage in their political career I have,” he said.

And so the latest in a succession of parties to merge with a traditional heavyweight of politics disappeared from British politics. Most members joined the Tories after the membership voted to merge, but /u/Duncs11 still feels there’s a gap in the market for a party like the Classical Liberals. “I'd say the area of the political scene the CLibs would have occupied is broadly covered by the position of the current coalition… The market is maybe smaller than it once was, but politics is ever changing and if the parties shift their views, and somebody with the right commitment could make it work.”

Could he be that somebody? “I think that part of my career is done, so I'd say it's unlikely. But one never does truly know what the future holds.”

Where I have referenced a bill, debate or press article, feel free to contact me for a direct link to that information.