Better Off Out (BOO) is the name of a non-party campaign that called for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

(UK)'s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). It is run by

The Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...

, a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

that describes itself as non-partisan,

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

, and has links to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

The Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant p ...

and

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP). The campaign was formed in 2006 and is based in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, England.

Supporters

The patrons of the campaign include Lord Tebbit, the former Chairman of the Conservative Party as well as author Frederick Forsyth CBE Gill 2006 and Professor

Tim Congdon Timothy George Congdon CBE (born 28 April 1951) is a British economist. Early life He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and St. John's and Nuffield colleges at the University of Oxford. Career Over the years, he has accumulated ...

CBE, an economist and former

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

PPC.

Lord Weatherill Bruce Bernard Weatherill, Baron Weatherill, (25 November 1920 – 6 May 2007) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1983 and 1992. Family He was the son of Bernard Bruce Weatherill ( ...

, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, was also a patron of the campaign prior to his death.

Members of Parliament

Prior to the

2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

, Better Off Out was supported by a number of Conservative

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

including Peter Bone,

Christopher Chope Sir Christopher Robert Chope (born 19 May 1947) is a British barrister and politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch in Dorset since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected in 1983 fo ...

, David T C Davies, Philip Davies, Gordon Henderson, Philip Hollobone, David Nuttall, Heather Wheeler,

Andrew Percy Andrew Theakstone Percy (born 18 September 1977) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brigg and Goole since 2010. He is an active member of many groups in Parliament, including All Part ...

, Laurence Robertson and Richard Shepherd. There are a number of Conservative former members of parliament who supported Better Off Out.These include Lady Ann Winterton, Sir Nicholas Winterton, John Biffen, Eric Forth, Sir Richard Body, Dr Bob Spink, and

Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest, former prisoner and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving u ...

. The former Labour MP for

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...

Austin Mitchell Austin Vernon Mitchell (19 September 1934 – 18 August 2021) was a British academic, journalist and Labour Party politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby from a 1977 by-election to 2015. He was also the chair of th ...

was also a supporter. There were a number of

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

MPs and Members of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, including their leader Peter Robinson and former leader

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

. Others include Gregory Campbell,

Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a British unionist politician who has been the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021, and was the deputy leader of the DU ...

Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997, and leade ...

, Dr. William McCrea, Ian Paisley, Jr.,

Jim Shannon Richard James Shannon (born 25 March 1955) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. He has sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2010 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Strangford. He had previou ...

, David Simpson and Sammy Wilson as well as prominent members of the smaller Traditional Unionist Voice, including William Ross and former MEP

Jim Allister James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a British Unionist politician and barrister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party in 2007, leading the party since its formation. Allister has served ...

. Former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell, and former MP

Mark Reckless Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2010 to ...

, are signatories.

Members of the European Parliament

The Conservative MEPs at the time of the referendum

David Campbell-Bannerman David Campbell Bannerman (born 28 May 1960 in Bombay, India) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2009 to 2019. He is currently Chairman of The Freedom Ass ...

Roger Helmer Roger Helmer (born 25 January 1944) is a British politician and businessman. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Midlands region from 1999 to 2017. Before becoming an MEP, he was a business executive. Helmer was elect ...

(who has since left the Conservative party and joined UKIP) and

Daniel Hannan Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere (born 1 September 1971) is a British writer, journalist and former politician serving as an adviser to the Board of Trade since 2020. He is the founding president of the Initiative for Free Trad ...

had also signed.

Academics and artists

Other non political supporters include the academics

Ruth Lea Ruth Jane Lea, Baroness Lea of Lymm, (born 22 September 1947) is a British parliamentarian and pro-Brexit political economist. Lady Lea entered HM Civil Service, before being recruited by the Institute of Directors, a private-sector employer l ...

Patrick Minford Anthony Patrick Leslie Minford (born 17 May 1943) is a British macroeconomist who is professor of applied economics at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, a position he has held since 1997. He was Edward Gonner Professor of Applied Ec ...

and

Alan Walters Sir Alan Arthur Walters (17 June 1926 – 3 January 2009) was a British economist who was best known as the Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1981 to 1983 and (after his return from the United States) again for fi ...

Management Committee

* Committee chairman: John Kershaw * Hon. Secretary: Tony Hilder * Hon. Treasurer: Michael McGough FCA Sir Mark Worthington OBE (ex official), Christopher Gill, Euan Stewart, Mark Wallace * Chief Executive: Simon Richards * Director: Rory Broomfield * Head of Campaigns: Andrew Allison * ‘Better Off Out’ Campaigns Manager:

Rupert Matthews Rupert Oliver Matthews (born 5 December 1961) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner since 2021. He previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East Mi ...

Conservative Party blacklisting

In March 2007 the

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

warned its party membership that BOO was contrary to

policy.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20180324181958/http://www.betteroffout.net/ 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom 2006 in British politics Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Cheltenham Organizations established in 2006 2006 establishments in England 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Brexit–related advocacy groups in the United Kingdom