Rt Hon. Sir John Redwood MP was appointed to the Cabinet in May 1993 when he became Secretary of State for Wales. In 1995 he challenged John Major for the Conservative Party leadership. In opposition he has acted as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1997-1999) Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1999-2000) and Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation (2004-2005).
Andrea Jenkyns MP resigned her role as a Minister’s PPS to fight for Brexit and asked Theresa May “Can the Prime Minister inform the House, at what point it was decided that Brexit means Remain?” She was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood in 2015, defeating Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls. Andrea is the Deputy Chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) since 2019.
Dr Julian Lewis MP is an expert on defence and military affairs and the Member of Parliament for New Forest East. Dr Lewis was the Director of the Coalition for Peace Through Security between 1981 and 1985, and Director of Policy Research Associates since 1985. He is the author of British Military Planning 1942-47. Dr Julian Lewis MP will discuss the continuing ‘European Integration and European Defence’.
Sir William Cash MP is the Chairman of the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee. Bill declined a government position in 1991, choosing instead to orchestrate opposition to the Maastricht Treaty. Bill Cash was also Chairman of the Parliamentary Friends of the Bruges Group . His publications include; Associated, Not Absorbed – The Associated European Area, Are we really Winning on Europe?, Against a Federal Europe: The Battle for Britain and British and German National Interests.
Rt Hon. Mark Francois MP is the Member of Parliament for Rayleigh and Wickford. He was Shadow Minister for Europe, 2007 – 2010, and then served as Vice-Chamberlain of HM Household until 2012 when Mark was appointed Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans. From 2013 he was Minister of State for the Armed Forces. From 2015 to 2016 Mark served as a Minister in the Department for Communities.
Ben Habib is a British politician and businessman. He was elected as a Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 2019 European parliamentary election. He remained in the role until the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. Benyamin Naeem Habib is the chief executive of First Property Group plc, a commercial property investment and fund management company. Ben is a critic of the transitional arrangements.
Saqib Bhatti MBE, MP is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden since the 2019 general election. Mohammad Saqib Bhatti was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours “for services to diversity and inclusion in the business community”, while he was President of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.
Shanker Singham is the Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (ITCU) of the Institute of Economic Affairs which focuses on Brexit. Shanker is a UK and US citizen and a trade and competition lawyer as well as an author and adviser to governments and companies. He has previously worked with governments and companies around the world on market opening and transition issues.
Roger Bootle is one of the City of London’s best known economists. As well as being Managing Director of Capital Economics, he has also been Economic Adviser to Deloitte and a Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee. He was formerly Group Chief Economist at HSBC and has served a previous Chancellor’s on his panel of economic forecasters, the so-called “Wise Men”.
Professor Tim Congdon CBE is one of Britain’s leading economic commentators and advised a Chancellor of the Exchequer on economic policy. He is also the author of several Bruges Group publications. Professor Congdon is a member of the Bruges Group’s Academic Advisory Council. Tim will speak on ‘the UK’s and the EU’s economic prospects, the need to be an economic success and demographics.’
Professor Patrick Minford CBE is the Chairman, Economists for Free Trade. He is Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School, part of the University of Wales. Patrick is the author of The Cost of Europe, and Should Britain Leave the EU?: An Economic Analysis of a Troubled Relationship. Professor Minford is also a member of the Bruges Group’s Academic Advisory Council.
