Cornerstone Group
| Cornerstone Group | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Motto | Faith, Flag and Family |
| Formation | 2005 |
| Type | Conservative Party faction |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Key people | Edward Leigh John Henry Hayes |
| Website | The Cornerstone Group |
The Cornerstone Group is a socially conservative or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The group emphasises traditional values, exemplified by the motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It consists of Members of Parliament with a traditionalist stance, and was founded in 2005. The Group is currently led by its president Edward Leigh and chairman John Hayes. There are around forty Conservative Party Members of Parliament who belong to the group at present.
Within the Conservative Party there are three main schools of thought; along with the traditionalist-leaning Cornerstone Group, there are also the One Nation and Thatcherite elements. There is more than a degree of overlap between these groups, although depending on the issue. The Cornerstone Group supports the unitary governance of the British State and opposes attempts to transfer power away from it — either downward to regionalisms in the shape of devolution, or upwards to the international control of the European Union. A manifesto released at the time of its foundation set out the group's intentions:[1]
We believe that these values must be stressed: tradition; nation; family; religious ethics; free enterprise. We want to use the leadership election to argue for principles and policies, not about personalities. We must seize the centre ground and pull it kicking and screaming towards us. That is the only way to demolish the foundations of the liberal establishment and demonstrate to the electorate the fundamental flaws on which it is based.
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[edit] Principles
Its name derives from the group's support for three British social institutions: the Church of England, the unitary British State, and the family. To this end, it emphasises the UK's Anglican heritage (although many are looking to Roman Catholicism in the wake of increasing liberalism in the Church of England), oppose any transfer of power away from the United Kingdom — either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the European Union — and seek to place greater emphasis on traditional family structures to repair what they see as a broken society in Britain, as well as opposing high levels of immigration into the UK.
Prominent MPs from this wing of the party include Owen Paterson, John Redwood and Edward Leigh — notably a prominent Roman Catholic — out of an organisation marked out by its support for the established Church of England. Alan Duncan once referred to this wing as a "Taliban tendency" within the Party and mocked it as the "Tombstone Group", although this view is becoming increasingly unfashionable. The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton represents the intellectual wing of the Cornerstone Group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead concentrate on providing conservative perspectives on political, social, cultural and moral issues.
Its impact can be measured, in some part, from the stance taken by Cameron's Cabinet members, such as Eric Pickles and Lady Warsi.
[edit] Members
The below list includes current MPs (but not Peers) who are members of the Cornerstone Group, as listed on the organisation's website.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Conservative MPs call for 'moral values' agenda". ePolitix.com. 25 June 2005. http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/conservative-mpsnbspcall-fornbspmoral-values-agenda/.
- ^ "Who we are". Cornerstone Group. http://cornerstonegroup.wordpress.com/about/.
- ^ Chope was MP for Southampton Itchen from 1983 until 1992
- ^ Howarth was MP for Cannock and Burntwood from 1983 until 1992
- ^ Knight was MP for Derby North from 1983 until 1997
[edit] External links
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