The Committee for a Free Britain (also known as the Campaign for a Free Britain) was a right-wing political pressure-group in 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 ...

. Its introductory letter to all MPs, and others, stated that it was "formed in the run up to the 1987 General Election by Baroness Cox, the 6th Lord Harris (1920–1995), Downing Street Policy Unit member

Christopher Monckton Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (born 14 February 1952) is a British public speaker and hereditary peer. He is known for his work as a journalist, Conservative political advisor, UKIP political candidate, and ...

, and novelist and journalist David Hart". The CFB's first public act was to place advertisements in national newspapers warning the country of the consequences of a Labour victory in the 1987 General Election. David Hart, the CFB's chairman, was active in the

miners' strike The following is a list of miners' strikes. Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes *History of coal mining in the United States References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miners' strikes Miners' labor disputes, ...

, supporting miners who opposed strike action. Hart became a personal political advisor to

Ian MacGregor Ian Macgregor (born c. 1937) is a British investment executive and chartered accountant. He is the former chief investment officer of The Wellcome Trust, oversaw growth of nearly £1bn per annum over fifteen years. The Wellcome Trust was the t ...

then-Chairman of the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

and a close friend of Hart's brother. The CFB boasted that it paid the legal costs of groups engaged in legal disputes with Labour-controlled

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. The CFB invited

Adolfo Calero Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a Nicaraguan businessman and the leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group of the Contras, opposing the Sandinista government. Calero was responsib ...

, the Nicaraguan Contra leader, to visit Britain. The visit attracted considerable publicity and, the CFB said, "helped to ensure that Parliamentarians and the media were properly informed of events in Nicaragua, as well as the position of the Nicaraguan Resistance". The CFB launched a number of policy campaigns and initiatives during 1988. It supported the Thatcher government's controversial Education Bill. It also called for fundamental reforms of the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, and attacked what it called the "Marxist-dominated National Union of Students", calling for a right for individual students to opt out of membership; they offered students advice and legal fees to launch legal actions against the NUS. It also supported the Community Charge (

Poll Tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

) and produced several posters and leaflets backing what it referred to as "this progressive measure". In time for the October 1988 Conservative Party Conference, the CFB published a booklet entitled ''British Foreign Policy - The Case for Reform'', featuring a photo on the front cover of Foreign Secretary

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to ...

giving the clenched-fist salute at a political meeting in southern Africa. In the pamphlet's conclusion it stated that "The Foreign Office is one of the last of the great British institutions that has escaped the refreshing breath of

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

." Howe maintained he had not been giving a black power salute, however, merely that he had been swatting a fly. The London magazine ''City Limits'' (October 20, 1988) gave extensive coverage to what they called the "Tories' Loony Fringe" activities at the Conservative Conference at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

that month, and reported extensively on the CFB's extravagant reception, described as a 'celebration' on the invitation, but in CFB pamphlets as the "Margaret Thatcher Birthday Spectacular". Hart, as well as

Richard Perle Richard Norman Perle (born September 16, 1941) is an American political advisor who served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs under President Ronald Reagan. He began his political career as a senior staff member to ...

, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense, addressed the audience of conference delegates and M.P.s, which included Lord Young and

Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...

. Perle described the December 1987

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (and its successor state, the Russia, Russian Federation). President of the United States, US President Ronald Rea ...

between

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

as a stunning rebuke to the unilateralists, and expressed scepticism about Gorbachev. Hart attacked Geoffrey Howe and the Foreign Office's attitude to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as "appeasement". The Committee for a Free Britain was still active in 1991, when a full-page advertisement for it, opposing the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

but supporting free markets, appeared in the Conference edition of ''Commentary'', the glossy magazine of the Conservative Graduates'.

References

* "Who's Afraid of Laissez Faire?" by David Hart, 1980. (Published & distributed by The

Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

) {{ISBN, 0-903900-05-X. * ''End Compulsory Membership of the National Union of Students'', Policy Paper for the Committee for a Free Britain, 1987. * Czarnecki, Richard, ''The Democratic Opposition in Poland'', published by the Committee for a Free Britain, 1988, (P/B). * "Hart's Desire", interview in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' magazine, London, 15 October 1988. * ''British Foreign Policy - The Case for Reform'', Policy booklet produced especially for distribution at the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Conference by the CFB, October, 1988, (P/B). * ''City Limits'' magazine, London, 20 October 1988. * ''Britain's National Health Service - Terminally Ill'', Policy Paper for the Committee for a Free Britain, October 1988. * ''Speaking to the People - Communicating the Conservative Message'', Policy Paper for the Committee for a Free Britain, October 1988. Conservative political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom