Better Off Out (BOO) was 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(UK)'s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). It was run by The Freedom Association, a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

that describes itself as non-partisan,

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, with links to the Conservative Party, The Brexit Party (now

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

) and the

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 (both through defect ...

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

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, England.

Supporters

The patrons of the campaign included Lord Tebbit, the former chairman of the Conservative Party as well as author

Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth ( ; 25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025) was an English novelist and journalist. He was best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', ''The Dogs of War (novel), ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Gill 2006 and Professor Tim Congdon

, 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 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

PPC. Lord Weatherill, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, was also a patron of the campaign until his death.

Members of Parliament

Prior to the

2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, Better Off Out was supported by a number of Conservative Members of Parliament including Peter Bone,

Christopher Chope Sir Christopher Robert Chope (born 19 May 1947) is a British politician and former barrister 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 ...

, David T C Davies,

Philip Davies Sir Philip Andrew Davies (born 5 January 1972) is a British Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley in West Yorkshire following the 2005 general election until 2024. He voted against the Conservativ ...

, Gordon Henderson, Philip Hollobone, David Nuttall, Heather Wheeler, Andrew Percy, Laurence Robertson and Richard Shepherd. A number of Conservative former members of parliament supported Better Off Out, including Lady Ann Winterton, Sir Nicholas Winterton,

John Biffen William John Biffen, Baron Biffen, (3 November 1930 – 14 August 2007), was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of parliament from 1961 to 1997, and served in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet; he then served in the House of ...

Eric Forth Eric Forth (9 September 1944 – 17 May 2006) was a British Conservative politician. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Birmingham North from 1979 to 1984. He then served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Worcestersh ...

, 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 and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving until 1997), and wa ...

. The former Labour MP for Great Grimsby, Austin Mitchell was also a supporter. There were a number of

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

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 loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

. Others included Gregory Campbell,

Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as de ...

Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish former politician, who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2024 and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. He was t ...

, Dr. William McCrea, Ian Paisley, Jr., Jim Shannon, David Simpson and Sammy Wilson as well as prominent members of the smaller

Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its '' sine qua non'' the preservation of Northern Ireland's pl ...

, including William Ross and former MEP

Jim Allister James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 20 ...

. Former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell and former MP Mark Reckless were signatories.

Members of the European Parliament

The Conservative MEPs at the time of the referendum David Campbell-Bannerman, Roger Helmer (who subsequently left the Conservative party and joined UKIP) and Daniel Hannan also signed.

Academics and artists

Other non-political supporters included the academics Ruth Lea, Patrick Minford 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 * Campaigns Manager: Rupert Matthews

Conservative Party blacklisting

In March 2007 the Conservative Central Office warned its party membership that BOO was contrary to Conservative Party policy.

References

External links

Better off Out Campaign
at the Freedom Association website 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 2006 quotations British political phrases (2000–present)