The Cornerstone Group is a

High Tory In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, High Toryism is the old traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 16th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of th ...

or traditional conservative political organisation within the

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Conservative Party. It comprises Members of Parliament with a traditionalist outlook and was founded in 2005. The Group's president is

Edward Leigh Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (born 20 July 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gainsborough, previously Gainsborough and Horncastle, since 1983. Parliament's longes ...

and its chairman John Hayes. Many Conservative Party Members of Parliament and Peers belong to the Cornerstone Group, including several members of the Shadow Cabinet. The Conservative Party incorporates three main schools of thought; along with the traditionalist-leaning Cornerstone Group, there are also the One Nation and

Thatcherite 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 ...

elements. There is more than a degree of overlap between these groups, depending on the issue. The Cornerstone Group supports the

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governance of the British state and opposes attempts to transfer power away from it — either downwards through regionalism and

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

, or upwards to the international control of the

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. A

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released at the time of its foundation set out the Group's intentions: The Cornerstone Group appeared to be inactive after the

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(the source of the Cornerstone "About" page shows a last modified date in 2018); Sir John Hayes's Common Sense Group, launched in 2020 in the wake of

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

with about 40 MPs, is said to revive the Cornerstone Group.

Principles

Its name derives from the Cornerstone Group's support for three

social institutions: the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, the unitary British state, and the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. To this end, it emphasises

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, opposes any transfer of power away from the central government and institutions of 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 ...

— either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the

— and seeks to place greater emphasis on traditional family structures to repair what has been termed as

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

's broken society, as well as calling for lower levels of immigration into the UK. Its core focus points according to its website include the "

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

; traditional marriage; family and community duties; proper pride in the United Kingdom's distinctive qualities; quality of life over soulless utility; social responsibility over personal selfishness; social justice as civic duty, not state dependency; compassion for those in need; reducing government waste; lower taxation and deregulation; and promotion and protection of ancient liberties against politically correct censorship and a commitment to the democratically elected

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

." A prominent MP from this wing of the

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

is John Redwood. Though the group is marked out by its support for the Anglican Church, it also includes more traditional

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

members such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and

Members

MPs, but not peers, listed on the Cornerstone Web site as members as of 20 June 2018.

References

External links

The Cornerstone GroupPress release about the founding of the Cornerstone Group
25 July 2005 {{UK Conservative Party Organisations associated with the Conservative Party (UK) 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Right-wing politics in the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) factions

Principles

Members

See also

References

External links