Committee for a Free Britain
Encyclopedia
The Committee for a Free Britain (also known as the Campaign for a Free Britain) was a right-wing political pressure-group in the United Kingdom
. Its introductory letter to all MPs, and others, stated that it was "formed in the run up to the 1987 General Election
by Baroness Cox, the 6th Lord Harris (1920-1995), Downing Street Policy Unit
member Christopher Monckton
, and novelist and journalist David Hart
". In 1988 Colin Clark
and Betty Sherridan joined the Committee.
The CFB's first public act was to place advertisements in national newspapers warning the country of the consequences of a Labour victory in the 1987 General Election.
David Hart, the CFB's chairman, was active in the miners' strike, supporting miners who opposed strike action. Hart became a personal political advisor to Ian MacGregor
then-Chairman of the National Coal Board
and a close friend of Hart's brother. The CFB boasted that it paid the legal costs of groups engaged in legal disputes with Labour
-controlled local authorities.
The CFB invited Adolfo Calero
, the Nicaraguan Contra leader, to visit Britain. The visit attracted considerable publicity and, the CFB said, "helped to ensure that Parliamentarians and the media were properly informed of events in Nicaragua, as well as the position of the Nicaraguan Resistance".
The CFB launched a number of policy campaigns and initiatives during 1988. It supported the Thatcher government's controversial Education Bill. It also called for fundamental reforms of the NHS
, and attacked what it called the "Marxist-dominated National Union of Students", calling for a right for individual students to opt out of membership; they offered students advice and legal fees to launch legal actions against the NUS. It also supported the Community Charge (Poll Tax
) and produced several posters and leaflets backing what it referred to as "this progressive measure".
In time for the October 1988 Conservative Party
Conference, the CFB published a booklet entitled British Foreign Policy - The Case for Reform, featuring a photo on the front cover of Foreign Secretary
Geoffrey Howe
giving the clenched-fist salute at a political meeting in southern Africa. In the pamphlet's conclusion it stated that "The Foreign Office is one of the last of the great British institutions that has escaped the refreshing breath of Thatcherism." Howe maintained he had not been giving a black power salute, however, merely that he had been swatting a fly.
The London magazine City Limits (October 20, 1988) gave extensive coverage to what they called the "Tories' Loony Fringe" activities at the Conservative Conference at Brighton
that month, and reported extensively on the CFB's extravagant reception, described as a 'celebration' on the invitation, but in CFB pamphlets as the "Margaret Thatcher Birthday Spectacular". Hart, as well as Richard Perle
, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense, addressed the audience of conference delegates and M.P.s, which included Lord Young
and Malcolm Rifkind
. Perle described the December 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
between Ronald Reagan
and Mikhail Gorbachev
as a stunning rebuke to the unilateralists, and expressed scepticism about Gorbachev. Hart attacked Geoffrey Howe and the Foreign Office's attitude to the Soviet Union
as "appeasement".
The Committee for a Free Britain was still active in 1991, when a full-page advertisement for it, opposing the European Union
but supporting free markets, appeared in the Conference edition of Commentary, the glossy magazine of the Conservative Graduates'.
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...
. Its introductory letter to all MPs, and others, stated that it was "formed in the run up to the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
by Baroness Cox, the 6th Lord Harris (1920-1995), Downing Street Policy Unit
Number 10 Policy Unit
The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers in 10 Downing Street in the British government. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit the needs of successive Prime Ministers, staffed variously by political advisers, civil servants or...
member Christopher Monckton
Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley is a British politician, public speaker, former newspaper editor and hereditary peer. Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, Monckton has been the Head of the Policy Unit for the UK Independence Party since November 2010. He was...
, and novelist and journalist David Hart
David Hart (UK political activist)
David Hart was a British writer, businessman, and adviser to Margaret Thatcher.-Early life:David Hart was the eldest of the two sons of Anglo-Jewish businessman Louis Albert Hart, the founder of the Henry Ansbacher merchant bank. Hart came from a prominent Anglo-Jewish family which has contributed...
". In 1988 Colin Clark
Colin Clark
Colin Grant Clark was a British and Australian economist and statistician who worked in both the United Kingdom and Australia. He pioneered the use of the gross national product as the basis for studying national economies.-Biography:Colin Clark was born in London in 1905 and was educated at the...
and Betty Sherridan joined the Committee.
The CFB's first public act was to place advertisements in national newspapers warning the country of the consequences of a Labour victory in the 1987 General Election.
David Hart, the CFB's chairman, was active in the miners' strike, supporting miners who opposed strike action. Hart became a personal political advisor to Ian MacGregor
Ian MacGregor
Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board.-Early life:Born in Kinlochleven, Scotland, his...
then-Chairman of the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
and a close friend of Hart's brother. The CFB boasted that it paid the legal costs of groups engaged in legal disputes with Labour
Labour 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...
-controlled local authorities.
The CFB invited Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero was a Nicaraguan businessman, and leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which was the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government. In the contra leadership, Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and...
, the Nicaraguan Contra leader, to visit Britain. The visit attracted considerable publicity and, the CFB said, "helped to ensure that Parliamentarians and the media were properly informed of events in Nicaragua, as well as the position of the Nicaraguan Resistance".
The CFB launched a number of policy campaigns and initiatives during 1988. It supported the Thatcher government's controversial Education Bill. It also called for fundamental reforms of the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
, and attacked what it called the "Marxist-dominated National Union of Students", calling for a right for individual students to opt out of membership; they offered students advice and legal fees to launch legal actions against the NUS. It also supported the Community Charge (Poll Tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
) and produced several posters and leaflets backing what it referred to as "this progressive measure".
In time for the October 1988 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...
Conference, the CFB published a booklet entitled British Foreign Policy - The Case for Reform, featuring a photo on the front cover of Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
Geoffrey Howe
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...
giving the clenched-fist salute at a political meeting in southern Africa. In the pamphlet's conclusion it stated that "The Foreign Office is one of the last of the great British institutions that has escaped the refreshing breath of Thatcherism." Howe maintained he had not been giving a black power salute, however, merely that he had been swatting a fly.
The London magazine City Limits (October 20, 1988) gave extensive coverage to what they called the "Tories' Loony Fringe" activities at the Conservative Conference at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
that month, and reported extensively on the CFB's extravagant reception, described as a 'celebration' on the invitation, but in CFB pamphlets as the "Margaret Thatcher Birthday Spectacular". Hart, as well as Richard Perle
Richard Perle
Richard Norman Perle is an American political advisor, consultant, and lobbyist who began his career in government, a senior staff member to Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson on the Senate Armed Services Committee in the 1970’s...
, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense, addressed the audience of conference delegates and M.P.s, which included Lord Young
David Young, Baron Young of Graffham
David Ivor Young, Baron Young of Graffham, PC DL is a British Conservative politician and businessman.-Early life:Young is the elder son of a businessman who imported flour and later set up as a manufacturer of coats for children...
and Malcolm Rifkind
Malcolm Rifkind
Sir 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...
. Perle described the December 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and...
between Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
as a stunning rebuke to the unilateralists, and expressed scepticism about Gorbachev. Hart attacked Geoffrey Howe and the Foreign Office's attitude to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as "appeasement".
The Committee for a Free Britain was still active in 1991, when a full-page advertisement for it, opposing the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
but supporting free markets, appeared in the Conference edition of Commentary, the glossy magazine of the Conservative Graduates'.