When did the idea of freedom organisation unity come about and how did it and can it develop
By Anthony Webber
Some time after the March 2020 lockdowns hit us, it was apparent that there was an ever- increasing number of “freedom” groups being formed, but not much co-ordination between them.
A number of us realised that this was a problem which needed to be solved if we were going to combat the might of the government deep state which was taking away our freedoms.
One of the people I discussed this with was Kathy Gyngell, Editor of The Conservative Woman, who, like me, had been inspired by some of the early “freedom” protests, and could see that some form of co-ordinating body, or alliance, was needed, to improve our overall effectiveness.
Kathy was very supportive of such an initiative but could not become involved herself because of the need to safeguard the independent editorial integrity of TCW.
I could well understand that as I am an independent political commentator, but not someone with the responsibility for their own media outlet.
I eventually took the decision, along with some colleagues, to set up what is called the National Alliance at the end of November 2020.
This was met with much enthusiasm, with so many people saying this idea was well overdue.
We had people link up who were not in any other “freedom” organisation as well as those who were committed to existing “freedom” organisations, but also wanted to be involved.
At one time our ten Facebook pages were attracting hundreds of new followers every day.
Then disaster struck. Like a number of “freedom” bodies, we had infiltration and security issues, and lost our ten Facebook pages, leaving us with just backup one.
This all happened at a crucial time, when the government was really hitting the public hard with their worsening restrictions and directives.
Our dilemma was, did we spend vital time trying to resolve our problems, or did we just get on with our other objectives of helping other “freedom” organisations in the battle against a very dictatorial government? We chose to just get on with the fight, and across the UK we were involved in supporting “freedom” protests as well as organising our own.
One key factor in putting back the broader National Alliance objectives was the formation of the new #together organisation.
One of my close acquaintances in the “freedom” movement had contacted me to both recommend me to this budding organisation and to persuade me to get involved with it.
I remember saying a number of concerns to my acquaintance, one being that the name “together” had too many connotations with other organisations with similar sounding names.
Cutting a long story short, I ended up having a meeting with the key founder, Alan Miller, and others, on two occasions.
I was very keen to cooperate with any effort to help “freedom” supporters work more closely together, despite any misgivings I may have had.
I decided to recommend that National Alliance should sign the #together declaration, but I have since come to the conclusion that my signing, as well as those of many others, has been misinterpreted and misused by them.
One of the key problems with #together is that it seemed to be too centrally controlled, too one man orientated. This can sometimes be a good thing. However, with a body with such broad objectives as #together, people skills and the ability to get organisations working with one another, are vital. It is now apparent that #together is focusing more on becoming an organisation in its own right, rather than a coordinating one. That is fine, if that is what they want to do. However, it does leave a gap in the “freedom” movement in terms of the need for a body which prioritises getting everyone working in unison as much as possible. This is why I believe now is the right time to re-state the objectives of National Alliance, so that co-operation, co-ordination and collaboration are very much back on the agenda. That is also going to be needed politically too, as we face a General Election in two year’s time or less and or course Council elections too, and voting guidance is going to be required.
One of the problems #together had was that a number of “freedom” organisations and key individuals were never going to be involved with them because they were seen as “new kids on the block,” who had not been involved in the “freedom” movement from the beginning. Also, there were suspicions about #together founders genuine motivations when some had been willingly covid-19 vaccinated.
There was also the issue of #together seemingly being selective as to who they were prepared to work with.
The name “together” should never be used if you decide that some organisations and individuals are to be excluded.
The same applies to “freedom” issues. If you aspire to work together then it is necessary to support all “freedom” issues, at least with some form of acknowledgement or promotion, rather than be selective about which ones you support. This is nothing to do with the issue of prioritisation.
A number of “freedom” issues were not promoted by #together, including some petitions.
One notable one was the successful petition to have a referendum on abolishing the UK Coronavirus Act. This resulted in much of this dreaded Act being dispensed with.
Another was the successful petition to open a public inquiry into covid-19 vaccines safety, which will be debated on Monday 19th September in Parliament, and which we are organising a mass lobbying of MP’s to garner their support.
There have also been accusations that when a “freedom” issue is becoming successful, that #together latch onto such cause in such a way that it appears they are taking the credit for the work of other organisations. This may be unfair, but it is a perception
It is also fair to say that I have worked with a number of #together supporters in support of “freedom” causes.
Some of them share my concerns, but the bottom line is that all people in the “freedom” movement I have come across, have been genuine and committed to the cause.
I have noticed that #together have increasingly moved in the direction of political stances which to me are not related to the “freedom” cause.
The most recent example has been their “Axe the tax on fuel and domestic energy bills.”
This campaign has ignored the fact that apart from government misplaced covid-19 policies, the major reason for increasing fuel , energy ( and indeed food bills as well), has been the government’s policies on Russia and Ukraine. Many of us believe these policies are part of a great reset agenda. Now the two Conservative leadership contenders have just insisted that the public must contend with such increasing prices to “ support freedom in Ukraine.” So for some reason #together want to shift the tax burden elsewhere and/or borrow more, rather than confront the government about them causing these rises themselves. What they do politically is up to them, but they should not be doing this in the name of those who signed the Together Declaration!
Having said all this, I am a great believer in respecting the different approaches the many “freedom” organisations and individuals have, and to try to work with these differences, rather than against them.
The #together organisation has its role to play and we all need each other in the coming threats to our freedoms and liberties.
I certainly will be doing my best to work with all “freedom” organisations, including #together.
The last thing we need is further fragmentation in the “freedom” movement.
What we all need to accept is that some organisations will not support certain “freedom” issues and tactics, even when the majority will.
We just have to work with this, because when we face the really major challenges to our freedoms and liberties, that we will stand firm as one, and not be divided.
What has been encouraging for me over the past year or so, has been my involvement in a main organising movement of freedom movements, who have regularly met in person and by zoom for strategy and other objectives. The result of this has been better coordination and cooperation with some very successful “freedom” campaigns over the past six month or so.
There are ongoing campaigns and the signs are positive for the future.
We must always be on our guard and be ready to defend our freedoms.
The big plus about the last two years or so is that we have all vastly increased our awareness of the many people who believe in “freedom” and we have become part of a massive “freedom” family across the UK, and indeed the world !
Anthony Webber
Independent Political Commentator
Joint Founder, National Alliance ( for freedom) UK
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