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| Founded | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Founder | |
| Type | Pressure group |
| Focus | |
| Location |
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Key people |
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| Website | http://www.tfa.net |
The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in theUnited Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan,classically liberal campaign group", which has links to theConservative Party andUK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in 1975 as theNational Association for Freedom (NAFF) and gained public prominence through its anti-trade union campaigns. Its popularity grew after campaigning against perceived abuses to individual freedom including big business, big government, organised labour, and Irish political violence. By the end of the 1970s the organisation had around 20,000 members.[1]
In the 1980s, TFA campaigned against sporting sanctions imposed onapartheid-era South Africa – earning a judicial rebuke after taking unsuccessful legal action to overturn theInternational Cricket Council ban on touring teams, which it saw as an imposition on cricketers' freedom. TFA has also campaigned against the UK's membership of theEuropean Union and against perceived partiality at theBBC, having in the past exerted pressure to secure an "impartiality clause" in theBroadcasting Act 1990.[1] The current Chief Executive of The Freedom Association is Andrew Allison.
The Freedom Association was founded in 1975 as theNational Association for Freedom (NAFF) by theViscount De L'Isle,Norris McWhirter,Ross McWhirter andJohn Gouriet. Ross McWhirter had drawn up a fifteen-pointCharter of Rights and Liberties before being murdered by theProvisional IRA in November 1975. NAFF was renamed The Freedom Association in late 1978.[2]Andrew Gamble reported shortly after that the renaming was undertaken in order to avoid confusion with theNational Front.[3]
The Freedom Association describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group".[4] In their study of the use of litigation by pressure groups,Carol Harlow and Richard Rawlings call TFA "an avowedly conservative group".[5]Marina Hyde, writing inThe Guardian, has called the organisation a "charmless libertarian pressure group".[6]
The organisation describes itself as having ten core principles, namelyindividual freedom, personal and family responsibility, therule of law,limited government,free market economy, nationalparliamentary democracy, strong national defences, a free press and other media, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of speech, expression and assembly.[4] Writing in 1989,Michael White differentiated between TFA's brand of libertarianism and that of civil liberties campaigners, arguing that: "The unavoidable fact is that TFA represents that ancient tradition of English concepts of freedom, easily traceable toMagna Carta, which see liberty in terms of freedoms from restraints and obligations, not civil rights and duties enunciated byThomas Jefferson in the rebellious American colonies, byThomas Paine and the revolutionaries of 1789".[7]
The group has no formal party political affiliations but historically most members of TFA have also been associated with theConservative Party.[8] In May 1978, this led to former Conservative ministerWilliam van Straubenzee accusing TFA of "extremist infiltration" of his party.[9] TFA has been described as the "conservative wing of the Conservative Party".[10] Since 2007, TFA has been running fringe events at the ConservativeParty conference with speakers such asDaniel Hannan andJohn Redwood and groups including theTaxpayers' Alliance.[11]
The Freedom Association's council includes Honorary Chairman:David Campbell Bannerman. Conservative members of parliament SirChristopher Chope,Philip Hollobone, andAndrew Rosindell, former Conservative MEPLord Hannan, former UKIP MEPRoger Helmer, former Conservative member of the Scottish ParliamentBrian Monteith,Baroness Cox,Lord Pearson of Rannoch, a former leader of UKIP andWalter Sweeney, a former Conservative MP. The Chief Executive is Andrew Allison.[12]
In the 1970s, the founders regarded the power of the UK trade union movement as excessive and out of control. Soon after its formation the National Association for Freedom as TFA was then known became involved in a number of industrial disputes providing support to both employers and non-unionised workers to counter to the power of the Trades Unions. The best known of these actions was "Operation Pony Express" during theGrunwick dispute.[2]Harold Walker, the LabourSecretary of State for Employment between 1976 and 1979, was strongly critical of NAFF's activities, claiming the group was an "ultra right-wing political organisation" which "sought to interfere in industrial disputes, with harmful consequences".[13] Following the election of the Conservative government ofMargaret Thatcher, the Association "suffered a slow decline in membership".[14] In January 1989,The Guardian'sMichael White reported that TFA "no longer has the power or glory it enjoyed when it was Thatcherism's extra-parliamentary advance guard against a fading Labour government and its union allies."[7]
In the 1980s, TFA campaigned in support of the right of England cricketers to tour inapartheid-era South Africa.[6] In 1989, when theInternational Cricket Conference (ICC) passed a resolution formalising sanctions against players, coaches and administrators who worked in South Africa, Norris McWhirter described the decision as "a crushing blow against cricketers' freedom to trade".[15] TFA had obtained a criminalsummons against the ICC, allegingblackmail but this was subsequently quashed in the High Court, where the judgeLord Taylor ruled that TFA's application was "an abuse of the process of the court" and was "launched solely as a device to disrupt or embarrass the International Cricket Conference".[16] The organisation was later revealed to have received funding from the South African government.[17]
In 1988, the association threatened to seek a legal injunction against the BBC to prevent the broadcaster from broadcasting theNelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute fromWembley Stadium. A group of Conservative MPs and TFA objected to the possibility that the broadcast would include a message from Mandela or "other anti-apartheid propaganda." The threat was dropped, "in the hope that the BBC [would] not broadcast any attempt to use the concert for promoting the African National Congress or similar anti-apartheid bodies."[18]
In 2010 the group campaigned against the proposed introduction ofnational identity cards, which they deemed to be a threat to civil liberties.[19][20] Previously, in the 1980s, some prominent supporters of TFA, such asRhodes Boyson had strongly supported the introduction of ID cards.[7]
In April 2006 TFA launchedBetter Off Out, a campaign for the UK to leave theEU. This has attracted the support of one Labour, one UKIP and twelve ToryMPs, plus a number ofMEPs, Peers, academics, journalists and influential business figures.[21][22][23] It was officially launched in Parliament byPhilip Davies,[24] despite criticism from Conservative party leaderDavid Cameron. Signatories to the campaign includeDaniel Hannan,Douglas Carswell,Philip Hollobone,Jeffrey Donaldson,David Nuttall,Austin Mitchell,David Campbell-Bannerman,Nigel Farage,Gerard Batten,Roger Helmer andPatrick Minford.[23]
During the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Better Off Out played a role in the campaign.[25]
The Freedom Association also has a campaign called Axe the TV tax, with the objective of abolishing theBBC licence fee.[26][27] It opposes the BBC on what it perceives as bias, particularly with regard to theEuropean Union prior to the referendum on the UK's future membership.[28] It has called for the BBC to be funded instead by subscription, arguing that the pace of technological change will render the licence fee redundant.[29]John Whittingdale, a former Council member of the Freedom Association, was appointedSecretary of State for Culture in 2015.[30] Following a debate in Parliament on the issue in March 2017, the Association expressed a hope that it could work with MPs to make sure at the end of the BBC's presentCharter period, the licence fee would become "a relic of the past".[31]
As part of their commitment to freedom of speech, the Freedom Association wants to see reform of libel law in the UK.[32] They believe that the use of superinjunctions and defamation law effectively acts as a limit on free speech.[citation needed]
The Freedom Association considersMagna Carta to be one of the most fundamental documents in English Law.[33] The Association produced a book,Magna Carta in the 21st Century: Modern Britain and The Erosion of Freedom[34] which highlighted how the traditions ofMagna Carta were being usurped by legal traditions from elsewhere in the world. The book is designed for school children, to educate them about the core concepts of English legal traditions. In doing so, the Association hoped it could enhance the understanding of bothMagna Carta and the conditions necessary for a legal system to be free from corruption. In 2015, on the 800th anniversary ofMagna Carta, The Freedom Association held a number of events with The Hampden Trust and theFederalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies across England to debate the relevance of the Great Charter in the 21st Century.[33]
In 2016, the Freedom Association launched the Freedom to Vape campaign.[35] It aims to lobby the Government to remove the regulations imposed on thevaping industry by the European Union's Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) 2016. The campaign, receiving support and funding from the vaping industry, also wants to raise awareness of the difference between vaping andsmoking combustible tobacco and to set up a ‘freedom-to-vape’ scheme for businesses who welcome vapers.
Beginning in 2009, the Association initiated a programme to create localised "Freedom Association Societies" at universities throughout the United Kingdom. The first such group was established at theUniversity of York followed by another founded at theUniversity of Exeter by John Gill, the grandson ofChristopher Gill, the Association'sPresident. Other Freedom Association Societies have since been established atBath Spa University, theUniversity of Birmingham,Brighton University,Cambridge University,Cardiff University,Portsmouth University and both theUniversity of Southampton andSouthampton Solent University.[36] In the 1980s, TFA ran a Campaign for Student Freedom, against theNational Union of Students.[7]
The Freedom Zone is a fringe event run by the Freedom Association, focusing on topical political issue through discussions with politicians and commentators, which has been run at party conferences since 2008.[37] Most recently, they attended the 2014 Conservative Party Conference, where they held discussions onMagna Carta, Policing, UKIP and the EU.[38] Speakers at the Freedom Zone have includedEric Pickles,Daniel Hannan,Hugh Orde,Dominic Raab,Fraser Nelson,Paul Staines,Peter Lilley,John Whittingdale,Ruth Lea andNigel Farage.[39]
The Freedom Zone is always held outside the "secure zone" of the main Conservative party conference, because the Freedom Association states that it has been banned from the main venue since 2006, when it was told that there was no space within the zone for its stand.[37] It therefore promote debates of more controversial issues, which normally do not feature in the main debate such as during the 2013 Freedom Zone, when they held a debate on the issue ofTory defection toUKIP – "Why I left v Why I'm staying",[40] having already invitedNigel Farage to speak the day before. The Freedom Zone has also been to the UKIP and Liberal Democrat Conference in 2011 and the Labour Party Conference in 2012.[37]
The Freedom Association also holdpub quizzes, usually with Jacob Rees-Mogg as quizmaster, in Westminster that have, according toIain Dale, gained a "cult status".[41]
Held regularly in theCity of London, Freedom in the City events provide an opportunity for those working in the City to hear from political speakers.[42]
Restarted in 2013 after a 19-year hiatus, the Magna Carta DayPimm's & Politics Boat Trip is a day-long river cruise down theThames fromWindsor toRunnymede. Speakers on previous cruises have includedDaniel Hannan MEP,Robert Halfon MP andChristopher Gill.[43]
Established following the death of former BritishPrime MinisterMargaret Thatcher, annually the TFA organises a weekend inGrantham, the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher, to celebrate her legacy on the date of her birth. Taking place at the Best Western Angel & Royal Hotel, attendees have the opportunity to hear from speakers who worked with Margaret Thatcher and those who now promote the values which Margaret Thatcher held dear.[44]
Beginning in 2014, the Freedom Festival is a weekend conference dedicated to freedom and liberty. Held inBournemouth each March, delegates are able to play an active part in discussions and debates about the big political, economic and moral issues.[45] Past speakers have includedDaniel Hannan,Mark Littlewood,Matthew Elliott andTim Congdon.Other organisations that have participated at the Freedom Festival have included theAdam Smith Institute,Big Brother Watch,Conservative Way Forward, theCentre for Policy Studies, theInstitute of Economic Affairs, theTaxPayers’ Alliance and Global Britain.[46] In 2015, they held their inaugural Freedom Zone North Conference in Harrogate.[47]
The Freedom Association produces many publications on a range of issues through the charity, the Hampden Trust. Recent publications includeIn Defence of the City,[48] a collection of essays by financial commentators and professionals about the role of financial services in the UK and their contribution to the UK economy with an introduction byMark Littlewood, Director General of theInstitute of Economic Affairs, andCommonwealth, Common-trade, Common-growth, a book advocating a move towards increased trade with Commonwealth countries amidst high growth in developing countries.[49]
During 2015, the Freedom Association produced a number of publications celebrating the 800th anniversary ofMagna Carta and published, with the help of the Hampden Trust, a new "Magna Carta for the 21st Century".[33] In addition, the Freedom Association publishes a number of reports on the EU through itsBetter Off Out campaign, such as "The EU's Effect on the UK's Place in the World", which was submitted to the government for their balance of competences review.[50]
The Freedom Association also publishes a quarterly newsletter entitledFreedom Today,[51] which features a number of articles from TFA supporters.
The Freedom Association has expressed an interest in establishing a British equivalent of the AmericanTea Party movement, though its then director, Simon Richards, stated in October 2010 that he was worried that such a project could be hijacked by extremist groups such as theEnglish Defence League.[52]
the Freedom Association, the charmless libertarian pressure group whose policies included mounting legal challenges against peace campaigners and allowing 1980s cricketers "freedom to trade" in apartheid South Africa.
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