Bruges Group
think tank
| Bruges Group link () Website | |
|---|---|
| File:Bruges logo small.png | |
| Formation | February 1989 |
| Founder | Patrick Robertson |
| Interests | European Integration |
| Membership | =Andrew Bridgen,David Campbell Bannerman,Nigel Farage,Frank Field,Mark Francois,Baroness Hoey,Lord Lamont of Lerwick,Owen Paterson,John Redwood,Andrew Rosindell,Iain Duncan Smith,Baroness Stuart,Lord Tebbit,Theresa Villiers,Lord Young of Graffham,Martin Holmes,Brian Hindley,Tim Congdon,Julius Gould, Kenneth Minogue, Christie Davies,Ben Roberts, Norman Stone,Patrick Minford |
| Officially, a eurosceptic think tank. | |
Official Narrative
The group's original aim was to promote the idea of a less centralised European structure than that emerging in Brussels. Its inspiration was Margaret Thatcher's Bruges speech in September 1988, in which she remarked that, "We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them re-imposed at a European level". The Bruges Group's website claims that it includes looking into alternative international relationships for the UK and a complete restructuring of Britain’s relationship with other European countries.[1]
Point of note
It is interesting that as of 2015, Norman Lamont was vice president of this group. Its Eurosceptic nature is a stark contrast with the strongly pro-Europe policy of the clandestine le Cercle, of which Lamont was chairman for over a decade.
Members
