Bruges Group
 Bruges Group  (Think tank)    | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formation | February 1989 |
| Founder |  Patrick Robertson |
| Interests | European Integration |
| Membership | • 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
Known members
8 of the 24 of the members already have pages here:
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| David Campbell Bannerman | UKIP MEP |
| Nigel Farage | Influential campaigner for Brexit in Britain and the European Parliament, elected an MP at his 8th attempt. |
| Frank Field | British politician |
| Norman Lamont | Long time Chairman of Le Cercle, financier, politician and deep politician, involved in arms and financial deals. |
| Owen Paterson | |
| Norman Tebbit | UK Conservative politician |
| Theresa Villiers | UK Conservative Party politician |
| David Ivor Young | UK politician and right-hand man to Thatcher during the controversial state privatisations of the 1980s, and attended the 1985 and 1986 Bilderberg meetings when mooted as possible future PM. |
