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Cornerstone Group | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Sir Edward Leigh |
| Chairman | Sir John Hayes |
| Founded | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Ideology | High Toryism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Party | Conservative Party |
| Slogan | Faith, Flag and Family |
| House of Commons (Conservative seats (2019) | 32 / 365 |
| Website | |
| cornerstonegroup (Inactive) | |
TheCornerstone Group is aHigh Tory ortraditional conservative political organisation within theBritishConservative Party.[1] It comprisesMembers of Parliament with a traditionalist outlook and was founded in 2005. The Group's president isEdward Leigh and its chairmanJohn Hayes. Many Conservative Party Members of Parliament andPeers 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 theOne Nation andThatcherite elements. There is more than a degree of overlap between these groups, depending on the issue. The Cornerstone Group supports theunitary governance of the British state and opposes attempts to transfer power away from it — either downwards throughregionalism anddevolution, or upwards to the international control of theEuropean Union. Amanifesto released at the time of its foundation set out the Group's intentions:[2]
We believe that these values must be stressed:tradition;nation;family;religious ethics;free enterprise. We want to use the leadership election to argue for principles and policies, not about personalities. We must seize the centre ground and pull it kicking and screaming towards us. That is the only way to demolish the foundations of theliberal establishment and demonstrate to the electorate the fundamental flaws on which it is based.
— Strange Desertion of Tory England: The Conservative Alternative to the Liberal Orthodoxy, July 2005[2]
The Cornerstone Group appeared to be inactive after the2019 elections (the source of the Cornerstone "About" page shows a last modified date in 2018);[3] SirJohn Hayes'sCommon Sense Group, launched in 2020 in the wake ofBlack Lives Matter with about 40 MPs, is said to revive the Cornerstone Group.[4]
Its name derives from the Cornerstone Group's support for threeBritish social institutions: theChurch of England, theunitary British state, and thefamily. To this end, it emphasisesEngland'sAnglicanheritage, opposes any transfer of power away from the central government and institutions of theUnited Kingdom — either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to theEuropean Union — and seeks to place greater emphasis ontraditional family structures to repair what has been termed asBritain's broken society, as well as calling for lowerlevels of immigration into the UK.[citation needed]
Its core focus points according to its website include the "monarchy; 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 electedUK parliament."[3]
A prominentMP from this wing of theparty isJohn Redwood. Though the group is marked out by its support for the Anglican Church, it also includes more traditionalCatholic members such asJacob Rees-Mogg andEdward Leigh.[citation needed]
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MPs, but notpeers, listed on the Cornerstone Web site as members as of 20 June 2018.[3]
The pamphlet was also critical of the outgoing leader Michael Howard's general election campaign, which it accused of being "too timid" on tax cuts, public service reform and family values. "We believe that these values must be stressed: tradition, nation, family, religious ethics, free enterprise," Leigh said. "We want to use the leadership election to argue for principles and policies, not about personalities." He attacked modernisers who want to ape New Labour's cultural liberalism. "The liberals have constructed an empire of cultural assumptions which, conservatives must realise, you either surrender to or fight," he said. "Emulating New Labour both lacks authenticity and is unlikely to make us popular. "We must seize the centre ground and pull it kicking and screaming towards us. That is the only way to demolish the foundations of the liberal establishment and demonstrate to the electorate the fundamental flaws on which it is based.
