| Formation | 2020 |
|---|---|
President | Edward Leigh |
Chairman | John Hayes |
Vice Chairman | Tom Hunt |
Parent organisation | Conservative Party |
TheCommon Sense Group is an informal group ofMPs in theBritish Conservative Party.TheGuardian described it as ahard-right group that was sympathetic toculture wars.[1] It was created in 2020, inspired by theEuropean Research Group, aEurosceptic Conservative faction. In 2021, it published a manifesto,Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age.
The Common Sense Group was created in mid-2020. By November, it included 59MPs and seven members of theHouse of Lords.[2] Its president isEdward Leigh MP.[3]
Following an interim report on the connections betweencolonialism and properties now in the care of theNational Trust, including links withhistoric slavery, members of the group signed a letter toThe Telegraph in November 2020. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured bycultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as thewoke agenda".[4]
The group's manifesto,Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age, was published in May 2021.[5]John Hayes MP wrote in the Preface, "With opportunities provided byBrexit, the time for a refreshed national conversation on the defining issues of our time – nationhood, community, migration, the rule of law and public order – is now."[6][7]
At their peak in November 2020, the Common Sense Group included the following members, listed by the positions they held at the time:[4][6]
Conservative MPs
Members of the House of Lords:
Others:
Lee Anderson was formerly a member of the group, prior to his defection toReform UK.
