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Western Goals (UK)

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Western Goals (UK) was a far-right group, founded as the British branch of the American organisation the Western Goals Foundation.

The group was formed in May 1985 with Stuart Notholt and Andrew V R Smith of the Young Conservative Monday Club) as its directors. Its initial Parliamentary Advisory Board included the Rev. Martin Smyth, Ulster Unionist MP for South Belfast, who was also a vice-president of Western Goals (UK).

Western Goals was essentially an anti-communist and ultra-conservative organisation. Its activities included campaigning against charities such as Oxfam, War On Want, and Christian Aid which it saw as left-wing and denouncing as "extermist", left-wing Labour Party candidates such as Ken Livingstone during the 1987 election campaign.

In 1988 they helped organise a visit to Britain by Jonas Savimbi leader of Angola's UNITA rebel group, following which a member of their directorate visited Angola and apartheid South Africa.

The group published numerous policy sheets and a newsletter entitled Young Europea and edited by Stuart Notholt. The October 1988 edition carried a leading article by Andrew V R Smith, 'Freedom from Communism - the hope of millions'.

The following year they expanded both their membership, activities, and organisation, becoming the Western Goals Institute, independent of the US foundation.

See also