Turning Point UK (TPUK) is a British offshoot of

Turning Point USA Turning Point USA (TPUSA), or Turning Point, is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. TPUSA's s ...

set up to promote

right-wing politics Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, author ...

in UK schools, colleges and universities, ostensibly to counter what Turning Point alleges are the

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...

of UK educational institutions. The group reportedly has links to the far-right, including conspiracy theorists such as ''

InfoWars ''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC. Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in stud ...

''. The group has a closely similar rhetoric to

Generation Identity A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

, whose intentions are racist and

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

. The group describes its objectives as promoting "the values of free markets, limited government and personal responsibility". It says it does this to counter what it alleges is "a dogmatic Left-wing political climate, education system and radical Labour Party" which, Turning Point UK claims, "sympathises with terrorists ndwishes to disarm the nation". The group was launched in December 2018 by Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, and

Candace Owens Candace Amber Owens Farmer ( Owens; born April 29, 1989) is an American conservative author, talk show host, political commentator, and activist. Initially critical of United States President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, Owens has bee ...

, then the communications director of the US group, at the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...

in London. On the day of its social media launch in February 2019,

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

MPs including

Jacob Rees-Mogg Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council f ...

and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for the group. Labour MP David Lammy observed that the launch and its Tory support are evidence that the Conservative Party "openly promotes hard-right, xenophobic bile". From its inception, the organisation and its leading members were the subject of widespread popular ridicule. It was described by the

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...

Overview

until April 2019, and its CEO was Ollie Anisfeld until 2021 (the son of

Lance Forman Lance Philip Anisfeld (born 13 October 1962), known professionally as Lance Philip Forman, is a British politician and businessman, who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London between 2 July 2019 and the United Kingdom's withd ...

, former

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded with support from Nigel Farage in November 2018 as the Brexit Party, advocating hard Euroscepticism and a no-deal Brexit, and was briefly a significant ...

MEP for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

). The group employs several staff. According to the Oxford University newspaper '' Cherwell'', the group "claims to already have chapters at eight universities". The group's then chairman George Farmer told the paper they had chapters at the universities of Sussex,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, St Andrews,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, King's College London,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

and the University of the Arts London. Like Turning Point USA, it does not disclose the identities of its donors. The group was launched in December 2018 by Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, and

, then the communications director of the US group, at the

in London. Among those attending the event were Andy Wigmore,

Paul Joseph Watson Paul Joseph Watson (born 24 May 1982) is a British far-right YouTuber, radio host, and conspiracy theorist. Until July 2016, Watson embraced the label "alt-right", but he now identifies as part of the new right. In May 2019, Facebook and Instag ...

, and

James Delingpole James Mark Court Delingpole (born 6 August 1965) is an English writer, journalist, and columnist who has written for a number of publications, including the '' Daily Mail'', the '' Daily Express'', ''The Times'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', and ' ...

. On the day of its social media launch in February 2019, MPs including

and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for the organisation, as did

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...

while it was marked for criticism by others. From its inception, the organisation and its leading members were the subject of widespread popular ridicule on the social networking service

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The ridicule continued for at least a week. It was described by the

...
as "a tsunami of online mockery". The launch of its Twitter account was accompanied by multiple parody accounts, along with a parody of the organisation's website created by a 'left-leaning student' calling himself 'Skeptical Seventh'. There was also a protest from the charity

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Ame ...

over potential confusion caused by similarities between the two names. Labour MP David Lammy described Turning Point UK as evidence that "sinister forces are taking hold of our country" and that the Conservative Party "openly promotes hard-right, xenophobic bile". The scholar Chris Allen has said that while the group is linked to the far-right Turning Point USA, the UK group did not fit traditional conceptions of the far-right. Allen notes the group's closely similar rhetoric and demographic to

, whose intentions are racist and

. Dominique Samuels, one of the group's "Young Influencers", told the

...
during a radio interview that the UK branch would not set up the same controversial

Professor Watchlist Professor Watchlist is a website, run by conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA, that lists academic staff which Turning Point believes "discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values and advance leftist ...

for which its US counterpart is known. The group hosts the ''TPUK Education Watch'' website, where students can submit examples of political bias in the education system. The site has been described by the

University and College Union The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

as having "the acrid whiff of McCarthyism about it" after it called for videos and photos of lecturers to be sent into it for publication. Turning Point UK rejected the accusation and said that any academic they featured would be given the right to reply and that unlike the US group the default would not be to name people although they reserved the right to do so.

References

{{Improve categories, date=May 2021 Conservative political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Student wings of political parties in the United Kingdom 2019 establishments in the United Kingdom