In the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, libertarian ideas about de-regulation and personal liberty were ascendant. Even if they had little direct power, the free market ideologues had access to the highest levels of government and business.

Today the libertarians are increasingly the odd man out. As Donald Trump rightly pointed out at their recent convention, to a chorus of boos, the libertarians have become a fringe group with little chance of influencing anyone. When he claimed they would be the party of “three or four per cent” of the vote, he was overestimating their influence. In 2020, the Libertarian candidate received a rollicking 1.2 per cent of the vote, less than half their paltry 2016 performance.