At this year's Freedom Zone in Birmingham, the Bruges Group held its annual Conference alongside the Conservative Party Conference. We gathered alongside friends old and new, to conduct our own evaluation of what went wrong at the last General Election. Facing the worst electoral defeat in its history, the Conservative Party faces a choice - a choi...
The discourse on Conservatism and its future remains alive and well. Elections may worry us, and new challenges may emerge, but the Bruges Group's resolve remains unshaken. On the 8th of July, we cordially invite you to a Drinks Reception to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Baroness Thatcher's Bruges Group. The reception will be held in the b...
Leading economist Professor Tim Congdon, CBE, discussed whether or not Brexit was here to stay, and if re-joining the European Union was ever an option. Below is a transcript of his speech. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor and pleasure to be talking at a Bruges Group meeting again. Thank you very much for inviting me. I have...
The Bruges Group, in collaboration with the Conservative Democratic Organisation, the Campaign for an Independent Britain, and The Freedom Association, is proud to announce that we will be hosting the Democracy Zone at the Friends’ Meeting House in Manchester at the Conservative Party Conference. Attendees will have the chance to he...
It's yet another few weeks and the government has received criticism over a report over historic structural issues with schools, namely the structural defects found in Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Now an international concern, with the German public broadcaster DW identifying it as a 'global issue', it is clear that this has moved...
Director Robert Oulds' recent article in the Daily Express on what his latest book, World War II: The First Culture War, means to him had struck a chord with readers and explains his thinking behind his latest book. Embedded in this latest publication is a deeper exploration of Britain and the societies it created, the Empire it built, and wha...
Mr Robert Oulds' new book, World War II: The First Culture War has received praise and plaudits from all quarters. War strategists, academics, and politicians alike have praised his book as detailed, illuminating, and comprehensive. It's a book that goes deeper than merely the events, the politics, or the history many of us understand - it's a...
In a recent interview with Mike Graham on TalkTV's 'The Independent Republic of Mike Graham', Director of The Bruges Group Mr. Robert Oulds spoke on Immigration, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's priorities before the next General Election, and what can be done to stop the boats. Mr Oulds said that for the Prime Minister to retain the trust of many of t...
It's time to well and truly close a chapter and consolidate those newfound freedoms. Post-Brexit Britain needs a plan, it needs a rallying cry, and the anxiety of Britain's place in the world needs to end. Managed decline or nostalgia-driven fantasies of 'Global Britain', dictates the naysayers charter. There are no solutions, they claim. Well ther...
Vale Nigel Lawson, Lord Lawson of Blaby. One of the leading lights of Thatcherism, Cabinet Minister of the highest esteem, and a renowned journalist, Lord Lawson has rightly earned his place in history as one of the most significant Chancellors of the Exchequer in modern British history. Lord Lawson was one of the longest serving Chancellors since ...
In days past, the Budget has been slimmed down into a question of winners and losers, of pub-goers versus the public sector, of the rich versus the poor, but that merely masks the reality of a minimalist budget. Designed for small wins but to present an overall stability - one not to rock the boat so much so as to calm the once volatile markets. In...
The rules that regulate the City of London are in the middle of a rewrite and risk-taking is on the agenda. With London having fallen behind competitors in the US and Asia in recent years, a post-Brexit refresh puts London in an ideal position to reposition itself once again as a world centre for finance. The recent attempt by Rishi Sunak to convin...
Brexit has been betrayed, and Northern Ireland is paying for it. The Windsor Framework, while it has the safeguards necessary to protect NI from changes to EU regulation, hasn't the guardrails to protect Northern Ireland's sovereignty and place in the United Kingdom. Since the decision to give the Dublin government an extended role in the governanc...
It's been three years since the Northern Ireland Protocol, and the rest of the Brexit deal, was ratified in January 2020. In between then and now, we've heard about the impact of the Protocol from the Unionists in Northern Ireland in our 2021 Waterloo Day Lecture, we've seen Part 5 of the Internal Market Bill come and go, and we've seen the Norther...
The SNP is a party that has undoubtedly enjoyed significant electoral success and has conferred upon itself an advantageous political position. The party of government, yet simultaneously the party of opposition and resistance; arguments against its 15 years in government in Holyrood have so far, failed to cut through. Compared to most of the other...
Martin Howe KC, Chairman of Lawyers for Britain and silk, addressed the Bruges Group's October Conference on delivering Brexit. The KC discussed the more technical aspect of ensuring Brexit was truly delivered. Brexit, he said, was not completed, and the 2020 withdrawal was merely the removal of Great Britain from "directly applying EU laws…out of ...
So this is what it's like with the grown-ups are in charge. After some £55 billion in tax rises and spending cuts, the Trussian mission for reformation of the state is most definitely over and the entrenched consensus, for now, has won the day and forced the hand of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt. The common conclusion, is, that it's ...
This coming Conference week, The Bruges Group will be hosting the Freedom Zone, from Monday 3rd to Tuesday 4th October. Join us at the Birmingham & Midland Institute, just an 8 minute walk away from the International Convention Centre, where the Party conference will be hosted. At the Bruges Group's panel event, Getting Brexit D...
What are Human Rights? How to we protect the liberties of the individual and the sovereignty of the nation? The perennial debate over how to square this circle, how to affirm these principles and beliefs we hold dear has brought us to the current juncture, with the Human Rights Act (1998), at one stage, close to being repealed by the then-Lor...
We commemorate a legacy of dedication and service, of dignity and grace, and a reign that oversaw social change but brought unity above division, and represented the greater whole. Now that the throne has been passed, we must not descend into republicanism. A nation, a world in mourning. The longest reigning monarch in British ...
On reading the reactions to the new Bill of Rights Bill, introduced to the House by the Lord Chancellor, I am reminded of an episode of the BBC anthology series, Screen Two: "The Law Lord". In it, Anthony Andrews plays Lord Edwardes, the Lord Chancellor, contending with an ambitious Home Secretary seeking to bring the legal establishment to heel an...
"Because you're mine, I walk the line", as the Johnny Cash song goes: Mario Draghi tried to walk the line, but he found himself unable to. The Italian Prime Minister and former ECB President has tendered his resignation to President Mattarella following a week of uncertainty as to the future of his technocratic government. The Draghi governmen...
Where did the levy money go? That really is a question for the ages – and the recent NHS management review doesn't make it less so. The management review appeared to swerve fundamental issues of NHS reform and made proposals more in line with the status quo than proposals to bring efficiency and discipline to the health service. This has prompted t...
Take back control, they said. The UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership was their means of doing so. In response to the 11th hour intervention from the European Court of Human Rights which led to the flight being cancelled, the Home Secretary Priti Patel said "We will not be deterred from doing the right thing and delivering...
The HMS Caroline, a de-commissioner light cruiser docked at Alexandra Dock, near Belfast Harbour The Government's Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, introduced to the House by the Foreign Secretary, is a move to ameliorate the existing issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol, something the Bruges Group has spoken on in the past (see our Chairman, Ba...
Director of the Bruges Group Robert Oulds recently gave an interview to GB News presenter Mark Dolan on Mark Dolan Tonight on the 19 March, 2022. Robert Oulds appeared alongside former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton OBE to discuss the threat corruption poses to football clubs and the World Cup - particularly how to end sportswashing. Recent sanct...
The argument put forward by Brexit critics in the past, and now, is a combination of such: 1) The world moves in large, multilateral blocs – hence being part of the EU, the closest possible multilateral bloc, means the UK can stay an active part of the world economy. In an era where big collective action must be taken, from bulk buying PPE in a pan...
Since the European Parliament's lawsuit against Commission President von der Leyen over the Polish Court decision, the stand off between two of the three major institutions of the European Union has reached new heights, with the decisions by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), not to mention the Polish border crisis, setting the agenda. In both it...
The decision by Poland's Constitutional Tribunal that the national constitution has primacy over EU law - a decision supported by the PiS government - has sent shockwaves around the EU establishment. The Tribunal decided that Articles 1 and 19 - referring to an 'ever closer union', and the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) respectively - ...
I had the opportunity to speak to Lord (Peter) Lilley, a former speaker at a Bruges Group conference who served in Cabinet in the Thatcher and Major Governments as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Secretary of State for Social Security – and later in William (now Lord) Hague's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and De...
I had the opportunity to speak to the Honorable John Manley, a long serving Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Government, having served in key posts such as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Foreign Affairs – among others. John Manley is also known for having authored the Manley Report on Afghanistan in 2007 and having been...
Kendall O'Donnell and I, as contributors representing The Bruges Group, had the opportunity to speak to the Honorable Christopher Pyne, a long-serving former Cabinet Minister in the Australian Government, holding portfolios ranging from Education to Defence. We spoke on matters ranging from the domestic, such as Australia's Covid policy and the nat...
Kendall O'Donnell and I had the opportunity to speak to Jim Gilmore, former US Ambassador to the OSCE, Governor of Virginia, and Chairman of the Republican National Committee, among other roles. We spoke on matters international, regional, and domestic, on topics stretching from President Biden's foreign policy, European security and the EU's role ...
Panelists: Barry Legg (Chair), Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, James Webber Lord Dodds, former Westminster Leader of the DUP: On the recent resignation of Edwin Poots: resignation provides the opportunity to "move forward…in a more constructive way"The imposition of the NI protocol has been the main contributory factor to ...
Panelists: Barry Legg (Chair), Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, James Webber Barry Legg, Chairman of the Bruges Group: Our next speaker is Bernard Jenkin. Bernard is Chairman of the House of Commons Liaison Committee, on which all select committee chairmen sit. Previously, he was Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee,...
The new Atlantic Charter, signed by the Prime Minister and President Biden as a 'reaffirmation' of the Special Relationship, is a somewhat mixed bag. The Atlantic Charter of 1941 envisioned a postwar world order we're all too familiar with, from respecting national sovereignty and democracy overseas to the aim of lowering tariffs. This 'New' Atlant...
I had the opportunity to speak to Todd Muller, MP for the Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand, the Opposition National Party's Spokesperson (Shadow Minister) for Trade, Export Growth, and Internal Affairs, and the Former Leader of the Opposition. We spoke on matters international and domestic, concerning Britons, New Zealanders, and hi...
Conservatism has changed face, meaning, and context in every stage of its evolution in British public life. In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has taken steps to solidify the party as a party of government, a far cry from its divisions over Europe just under a year ago. However, in the midst of a clearly different political env...
The election of Erin O'Toole as the Canadian Tories' new leader demonstrates that value-based politics and value-based trading partnerships are truly possible. Erin O'Toole, previously his party's Shadow Foreign Minister, was one of the most vocal advocates in favour of a CANZUK (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom) alliance and ...
The Democratic Party's virtual convention should've been an attempt to unify the party. From moderates to progressives, I almost took it for granted that they would do everything to convince those on the left that Joe Biden was truly their candidate. However, apart from a few references to Medicare, evictions, and 'understanding', they have disappo...
"Sinne Fianna Fáil, Atá faoi gheall ag Eirinn" are the first two stanzas of Amhrán na bhFiann, Ireland's national anthem, and translates to "Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland". This is the essence of how Fianna Fail, the major party in Ireland's governing coalition, led by Taoiseach (PM) Micheal Martin, sees itself: as the purveyo...
For over 40 years, New Zealand has been keen to engage, but Britain ignored their pleas. Finally, New Zealand can not only engage, but also be part of a bigger alliance – the CANZUK alliance. CANZUK is a largely economic alliance between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK based on the principles of free trade and possibly free-er movement. ...
In the aftermath of the British exit from the EU, the concept of CANZUK, a largely economic alliance between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, all of which have the monarchy, the same common law systems, and parliamentary democracy, among others. However, the question remains, what has stopped these four countries, throughout ...
