Conservative Way Forward (CWF) is a British campaigning group. It is a Thatcherite group in outlook and agenda, and Baroness Thatcher herself was the President.[1]
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CWF was founded in 1991 to "defend and build upon the achievements of the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher's leadership, and to adapt the principles of her era in government to modern concerns and challenges".
Their core stated aim is "to provide a forum for all those who share our philosophy, from Parliament to the constituencies and helping in the eventual restoration of people's freedom and rights". They organise speaker meetings, seminars and receptions, supported and attended by Government Ministers past and future.[2]
Although still a predominantly Thatcherite grouping, CWF has in recent years, with the decline of the left-leaning Tory Reform Group, become an integral and mainstream part of the Conservative Party; although according to one source CWF is not even affiliated to the party. In all leadership elections since 1997, the candidate supported by CWF has ultimately won.[3]
Margaret Thatcher Library
On 14 April 2013, the group announced that it was setting up a Margaret Thatcher Library as a permanent memorial to the former Prime Minister. The project will be based on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has the support of several current and former Conservative cabinet members. It is expected to run training courses for young Conservatives and exchange student programmes to the US and elsewhere, as well as house artifacts from her premiership.[4]
Officers
Executive director:
- Chrissie Boyle (2015–)[5]
Founding President:
Honorary Vice Presidents:
- Christopher Chope OBE MP, former Transport Minister and former Chairman of Conservative Way Forward
- The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP, International Trade Secretary and former Defence Secretary
- The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
- The Rt Hon Lord Hague of Richmond FRSL, Former Foreign Secretary
- The Rt Hon Lord Tebbit of Chingford CH PC, former Party Chairman
- The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Communities Secretary and former Business Secretary (2015–2016 )
Parliamentary Council
Chairman:
- Sir Gerald Howarth MP, former defence minister (2015–)[5]
Deputy Chairman:
- Council Members
- Conor Burns MP
- Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
- Charlie Elphicke MP
- Rt Hon Liam Fox MP
Board of Management
- Chairman
History
Former Honorary Chairmen:
- Cecil Parkinson (1991–1997)
- Eric Forth (1997–2001)[7]
- Christopher Chope MP[8] (2001–2009)
- Don Porter CBE (2009–2012)
- Donal Blaney (−2015)[5]
References
- ^ "Tory quits in 'hidden cuts' row". News. BBC. 25 March 2005.
- ^ Hope, Christopher (2 April 2013). "Former Coalition defence minister takes over Margaret Thatcher legacy group to fight defence cuts". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ Donal Blaney Retrieved 5 Feb 2016
- ^ Hennessy, Patrick (14 April 2013). "Margaret Thatcher: plans to build museum as permanent memorial". The Sunday Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
guardian-20151219was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ appointment
- ^ "Eric Forth". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 19 May 2006.
- ^ "Christopher Chope". Members of Parliament. The Conservative Party.