Tory Reform Group
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, that works to promote the values of the One Nation Tory
One Nation Conservatism
One nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...
vision. That is a modern, progressive Conservatism that strives for economic efficiency and social justice; a Conservatism that supports equality, diversity and civil liberties.
One of the largest groups aligned with the Party, the TRG is recognised as the authentic voice of moderate, One Nation Conservatism throughout the Party. In 2009, writing for the TRG's journal, Reformer, David Cameron stated that "the TRG has contributed greatly to the Conservative Party over the last 30 years and is central to where we need to be in the future. Not just because of the people involved and the events held. But because your core beliefs in 'freedom, individual responsibility and community' matter now more than ever".
The TRG is known for its extensive events programme, as well as its publications, which include the journal The Reformer. The TRG brings together members and supporters of the Conservative Party who share this approach to Conservative politics. Its strength lies in the breadth and blend of its membership, which is drawn from all ages and backgrounds. Members include parliamentarians, councillors, association officers and private individuals from all parts of Britain.
Europe
The TRG is commonly seen as being pro-Europe. However, it has no official position on Europe and it includes many Eurosceptics amongst its members and supporters.Most pro-Europe Conservative politicians of the last thirty years have at one time or another been associated with the Tory Reform Group, while no TRG member of note has struck a view that is more eurosceptic
EuroSceptic
EuroSceptic is the second album of British singer Jack Lucien. It was released in October 2009.Due to being an album influenced by Europop, it features songs with parts in different languages...
than the official Conservative Party position. The TRG was a constituent organisation of Conservative Mainstream
Conservative Mainstream
Conservative Mainstream is a pressure group on the left of the British Conservative Party.It was founded in 1996. It is now aligned closely to the Tory Reform Group and the Conservative Europe Group. Its chairman is Damian Green MP.-External links:*...
alongside the Conservative Europe Group and Parliamentary Mainstream, and, at one time, all were run from shared offices in Westminster. TRG members formed the core of the short lived Pro-Euro Conservative Party
Pro-Euro Conservative Party
The Pro-Euro Conservative Party was a British political party announced by John Stevens and Brendan Donnelly in February 1999, formed to contest the 1999 European Parliament Elections. The founders were Members of the European Parliament who had resigned from the UK Conservative Party in protest at...
, which disbanded in favour of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
just short of its third birthday.
History
The oldest known branch, which pre-dated the National TRG, was founded in the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1962, when they split from the Oxford University Conservative Association
Oxford University Conservative Association
The Oxford University Conservative Association, or OUCA is a student political organisation founded in 1924 whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford...
. This branch disbanded in 2007.
The Tory Reform Group (TRG) was formally established in June 1975 from the merger of four like-minded groups: PEST (Pressure for Economic and Social Toryism), two separate London dining clubs named the Macleod Group
Macleod Group
The Macleod Group was a short-lived pressure group and dining club associated with the 'left-wing' of Conservative Party that existed in 1975 before amalgamation with others to form the Tory Reform Group...
and Social Tory Action Group, and a consortium in Manchester who had already been going by the name the TRG.
The TRG was conceived as a national forum for ordinary Conservative Party members and MPs alike who saw the need for the application of traditional Tory values in the modern world. Firmly entrenched in Tory principles, the philosophies of Benjamin Disraeli's "One Nation" and Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
's "Middle Way
The Middle Way
The Middle Way is a book on political philosophy written by Harold Macmillan and first published in 1938 )...
", the TRG aimed to achieve economic efficiency with the exercise of compassion. It believed in a fair society, achieved through contemporary welfare reforms and mainstream policies. With an interventionist attitude towards unjust social conditions, the TRG was set in the image of historical figures such as Iain Macleod
Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and R.A. Butler.
The key figure in the formation of TRG was Peter Walker
Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester
Peter Edward Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester, MBE, PC , was British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet as the Environment Secretary , Trade and Industry Secretary , Agriculture Minister , Energy Secretary and Welsh Secretary...
MP, a former Minister in Heath's Government from 1970-1974. Once out of government, he was urged by MPs to form a parliamentary group that represented the liberal Conservative view of the Tory Party.
Walker was reluctant to form such a group at first, not least because he was sensitive to the damaging effects the Tribune Group had wrought on Labour and did not like the idea of similarly factionalising the Conservative Party. As time passed, however, other groups emerged, including right-wing Conservative groups, and justification for a counteracting group increased. At his home in Westminster, Walker met with chairmen of four organizations he had previously had contact with, and they agreed to come together to form the TRG. From the start, the TRG was an activist group with membership, as opposed to being a think tank. The TRG hoped to spread its moderate view through publication of pamphlets, discussion with MPs, use of media, and by widening its membership. Weekly lunches were inherited from PEST. London PEST had organized a Tuesday Luncheon Club in local pubs, such as Magpie and Stump in Old Bailey. These lunches provided a programme of speakers as well as opportunities for members to become involved in constituency activities.
In January 1976, TRG released its first publication, entitled Home Run by Nicholas Scott
Nicholas Scott
The Rt. Hon. Sir Nicholas Paul Scott, PC, JP , was a British Conservative Party politician.Scott was educated at Clapham College and was national chairman of the Young Conservatives in 1963...
MP, the President of TRG, arguing for a nationwide extension of the GLC's sale of council houses to their tenants a key part of the Conservative policy platform.
The 1980s saw TRG pitched headlong into some passionate debates within the Conservative Party, notably over the direction of economic policy and the apartheid regime in South Africa. The TRG refused to compromise on its opposition to apartheid and from time to time clashed with Lady Thatcher's Government as a result. The annual Budget submissions of the Group reflected concern in the wider party that Government economic policy was sometimes too focused on ends and took insufficient account of the consequences of some of the means.
Officers
- President: Ken Clarke MPKenneth ClarkeKenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
- Chairman: Timothy Crockford
- Deputy Chairman: Victoria Roberts
- Patrons: Sir John MajorJohn MajorSir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
, Nicholas Bourne AM, David CurryDavid CurryDavid Maurice Curry is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, Stephen DorrellStephen DorrellStephen James Dorrell is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage and Secretary of State for Health...
MP, Charles HendryCharles HendryCharles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Wealden. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.-Early life:...
MP, Lord HeseltineMichael HeseltineMichael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, Lord Hunt, Lord HurdDouglas HurdDouglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....
, Michael HowardMichael HowardMichael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, Steven NorrisSteven NorrisSteven John Norris is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, losing in both races to Ken Livingstone....
, Lord PattenChris PattenChristopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
, Sir Malcolm RifkindMalcolm RifkindSir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind KCMG QC MP is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Kensington. He served in various roles as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Scotland , Defence Secretary and...
MP, Sir Timothy SainsburyTim SainsburySir Timothy Alan Davan Sainsbury is a politician and businessman in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Sainsbury is the youngest son of Lord Sainsbury and his wife Doreen...
, Ian Taylor, Lord TrimbleDavid TrimbleWilliam David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party , was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland , and was a Member of the British Parliament . He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party...
, Lady VermaSandip Verma, Baroness VermaSandip Verma, Baroness Verma is a British businesswoman, member of the House of Lords and currently a Government Whip and Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, International Development and Equalities and Women's Issues...
, Sir George YoungSir George Young, 6th BaronetSir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...
MP, Richard Fuller MPRichard Fuller (politician)Richard Fuller is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Bedford, where he was born.-Early life:...
, Neil Carmichael MPNeil Carmichael (Conservative politician)William Neil Carmichael is an English businessman, academic, and Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the Stroud constituency in Gloucestershire since the 2010 general election.-Politics:...
. - Vice-Presidents: Alistair Burt MPAlistair BurtAlistair James Hendrie Burt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire...
, Damian Green MPDamian GreenDamian Howard Green is a British politician who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashford since 1997. He came to national prominence after being elected in his constituency. Before standing for parliament, Damian Green was Channel 4's business editor...
, Jonathan Evans MP, Robert Buckland MPRobert BucklandRobert James Buckland is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Swindon South, having won the seat from the Labour Party at the 2010 general election....
and Jane Ellison MPJane EllisonJane Elizabeth Ellison is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as Member of Parliament for Battersea.Ellison was born in Bradford and studied at the University of Oxford...
.
Defections from the Conservative Party
In the past, some Conservatives, who were also members of the TRG, have defectedDefection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
to parties to the left of the Conservatives. The following TRG members subsequently left the Conservative Party to other parties:
- Liberal Democrats: Emma Nicholson, Susan Bell, Arthur BellArthur BellThe Blessed Arthur Bell was an English Franciscan martyr. He was tried and found guilty of being a Royalist spy and a Roman Catholic priest by a court sitting under the auspices of Parliament during the English Civil War and was executed at Tyburn in London.-Biography:Bell was born at...
, Hugh Dykes, John LeeJohn Lee, Baron Lee of TraffordJohn Robert Louis Lee, Baron Lee of Trafford is a British Liberal Democrat politician.He was Conservative MP for Nelson and Colne from 1979 to 1983, and then for Pendle from 1983 until he lost his seat to the Labour candidate Gordon Prentice in 1992...
, Paul HowellPaul HowellPaul Frederick Howell was a British politician who served as a Conservative Party Member of the European Parliament for Norfolk from 1979 to 1994.-Biography:...
, Bill Newton DunnBill Newton DunnWilliam "Bill" Newton Dunn is a British politician. He is a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands for the Liberal Democrats.-Early life:...
, Peter PricePeter Price (politician)Peter Nicholas Price is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1979-1994.He was educated at RGS Worcester, Aberdare Boys' Grammar School, the University of Southampton and at King's College London. He served as Conservative MEP for Lancashire West from...
, Keith RaffanKeith RaffanKeith William Twort Raffan, in Aberdeen, is a former Conservative Member of Parliament and Scottish Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament ....
, Anna McCurleyAnna McCurleyAnna Anderson McCurley née Gemmell, is a Scottish politician.McCurley, a teacher by vocation, served as a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council 1978-82. McCurley contested West Stirlingshire in 1979 and Glasgow Central in a 1980 by-election.She was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament...
, Harold Elliston, Sir Cyril TownsendCyril TownsendSir Cyril David Townsend is a British politician.Following service around the world in the British Army, Townsend was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath at the February 1974 election, and held the seat until retiring at the 1997 election...
, Peter ThurnhamPeter ThurnhamPeter Giles Thurnham was a British politician. He was Member of Parliament for Bolton North East from 1983 to 1997, originally as a Conservative before resigning to become an independent in February 1996 and then a Liberal Democrat in October 1996.-Biography:Thurnham was born in Staines, Middlesex...
- Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
: Shaun WoodwardShaun WoodwardShaun Anthony Woodward is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for St Helens South since 2001. He served in the Cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...
, Alan Howarth, Peter Temple-Morris, Alan AmosAlan AmosAlan Thomas Amos is a British Labour politician, and former Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Hexham in Northumberland between 1987 and 1992.-Early life:...
, Anthony NelsonAnthony NelsonRichard Anthony Nelson is a former British Conservative politician. He was educated at Harrow School and Christ's College, Cambridge...
, Robert V. JacksonRobert V. JacksonRobert Victor Jackson is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1984 and Member of Parliament for Wantage from 1983 to 2005, having been elected as a Conservative; however, he joined the Labour Party in 2005.-Early life:He was raised in...
, Judith Symes
- Pro-Euro Conservative PartyPro-Euro Conservative PartyThe Pro-Euro Conservative Party was a British political party announced by John Stevens and Brendan Donnelly in February 1999, formed to contest the 1999 European Parliament Elections. The founders were Members of the European Parliament who had resigned from the UK Conservative Party in protest at...
: Sir Anthony MeyerAnthony MeyerSir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative and later Liberal Democrat politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989...
, John StevensJohn Stevens (politician)John Christopher Courtenay Stevens is an English politician. A Conservative Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999, he contested the Buckingham constituency in the 2010 general election as an independent, against Commons speaker John Bercow.-Background:Stevens was educated at...
, Brendan DonnellyBrendan Donnelly (politician)Brendan Patrick Donnelly is a pro-European Union British politician.Donnelly was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in Sussex South and Crawley at the European Parliament election, 1994 for the Conservative Party...
, Ian Gilmour, Tim RathboneTim RathboneJohn Rankin "Tim" Rathbone was the Conservative Member of Parliament for the seat of Lewes between 1974 and 1997....
, Paul HowellPaul HowellPaul Frederick Howell was a British politician who served as a Conservative Party Member of the European Parliament for Norfolk from 1979 to 1994.-Biography:...
, Sir Julian CritchleyJulian CritchleySir Julian Michael Gordon Critchley was a British Conservative Party politician.Born in Islington, the son of a distinguished neurosurgeon, as a boy Critchley was brought up in Swiss Cottage, north London, and Shropshire, where he attended preparatory school, and later Shrewsbury School...
- Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party (UK)The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
: Stuart Bayless; Tom HayhoeTom HayhoeTom Hayhoe is a director of health sector organisations in the UK including West Middlesex University Hospital where he is currently chairman, a former student union politician and parliamentary candidate, and a prominent offshore racing sailor...
.
External links
- Tory Reform Group official site
- Egremont official Tory Reform Group blog
- Catalogue of the Tory Reform Group papers at LSE Archives