Cornerstone Group
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The Cornerstone Group (or Faith, Flag and Family) is a socially conservative or traditionalist political faction within the British Conservative Party consisting of Eurosceptic, traditionalist MPs. It is led by President Edward Leigh, MP and Chairman John Hayes, MP[1]. The name stems from its support for three British social institutions: the Church of England, the unitary British state and the family. To this end, they emphasise England's Anglican heritage, oppose any transfer of power away from the United Kingdom -- either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the European Union -- and seek to place greater emphasis on "traditional" family structures to repair what they see as a broken society in Britain. They oppose high levels of immigration into the UK, and some members have in the past professed controversial opinions on issues of race and ethnicity in modern Britain[2] [3]. Some members also support capital punishment. Prominent MPs from this wing of the party include Andrew Rosindell, Anne Widdecombe and Edward Leigh—himself a prominent Roman Catholic, notable in a faction marked out by its support for the established Church of England. Alan Duncan once referred to this wing as a "Taliban tendency" within the party. The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton represents the intellectual wing of the Cornerstone group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead concentrate on providing conservative perspectives on political, social, cultural and moral issues.
[edit] Members
- David Amess MP
- Brian Binley MP
- Peter Bone MP
- Julian Brazier MP
- David Burrowes MP
- Douglas Carswell MP
- William Cash MP
- Christopher Chope MP
- Stephen Crabb MP
- David TC Davies MP
- Philip Davies MP
- Christopher Fraser MP
- Robert Goodwill MP
- Greg Hands MP
- Mark Harper MP
- John Hayes MP
- Philip Hollobone MP
- Gerald Howarth MP
- David Jones MP
- Daniel Kawczynski MP
- Edward Leigh MP
- Ian Liddell-Grainger MP
- David Mundell MP
- Owen Paterson MP
- John Redwood MP
- Laurence Robertson MP
- Andrew Rosindell MP
- Lee Scott MP
- Andrew Selous MP
- Bob Spink MP
- Graham Stuart MP
- Desmond Swayne MP
- Andrew Turner MP
- Charles Walker MP
- Angela Watkinson MP
[edit] External links
- Cornerstone Group official site
- Press release about the founding of the Cornerstone Group 25 July, 2005