The Traditional Britain Group (TBG) is a British

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

that describes itself as

traditionalist conservative Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political philosophy, political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which ...

and "home to the disillusioned patriot". It was founded in 2001 by Gregory Lauder-Frost, with

Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley Merlin Charles Sainthill Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley, (17 June 1939 – 5 September 2022) was a British peer, author, and monarchist. In 1941, at the age of two, he succeeded his first cousin once removed, Richard Hanbury-Tracy, 6th Bar ...

as its president. Sudeley was still in office when he died in 2022. Advocacy group

Hope not Hate Hope not Hate (stylized as HOPE not hate) is an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns against racism and fascism. It has also mounted campaigns against Islamic extremism and antisemitism. It is self-described as a "non-par ...

claims TBG is part of a UK-wide network linked to the European

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

. ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' has described TBG as far-right and a successor to the WGI.

History and ideology

TBG was founded in 2001. It opposes non-white immigration to the UK and, prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

, it opposed the UK's

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

membership. The organisation's stated principles include opposition to egalitarianism; the centrality of the heterosexual family as the primary social unit; traditional

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

values and maintaining the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as England's

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

; rolling back of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

; and opposition to immigration,

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

and

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

.About
Traditional Britain Group website, accessed 18 October 2018. TBG is in favour of state-sponsored

repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

. Their Facebook page carried a post calling for the deportation of anti-racist campaigner

Doreen Lawrence Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE (''née'' Graham; born 1952) is a British Jamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London ...

and "millions of others... to their natural homelands". Gregory Lauder-Frost, the founder of TBG, called Lawrence a

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed du ...

. Lauder-Frost was formerly the officer of the Conservative pressure group

Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) is a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also has links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unioni ...

and Vice-President of the

Western Goals Institute Western Goals Institute (WGI) was a Far-right politics, far-right pressure group and think-tank in Britain, formed in 1989 from Western Goals UK, which was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of the U.S. Western Goals Foundation.''Labour Research'', N ...

(WGI).

Speakers

Jacob Rees-Mogg debating at the Cambridge Union Society

TBG has been addressed by speakers such as

Simon Heffer Simon James Heffer (born 18 July 1960) is an English historian, journalist, author and political commentator. He has published several biographies and a series of books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century unti ...

and Sir Roger Scruton. In 2011,

Gerard Batten Gerard Joseph Batten (born 27 March 1954) is a British politician who served as the Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2018 to 2019. He was a founding member of the party in 1993, and served as a Member of the European Parliament ( ...

, former leader of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) spoke at the group's annual dinner; upon his election as leader, UKIP said Batten "does not share the views of TBG. He is invited by many organisations to speak and TBG had a list of reputable speakers such as Simon Heffer previous to his invitation. Since he attended things have come to light. He would not consider a further invitation." TBG came to national prominence when ''

Liberal Conspiracy ''Liberal Conspiracy'' was a British left-wing political blog established in November 2007 and edited by Sunny Hundal. Writing in ''The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Gua ...

'' said

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

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 ...

spoke as a guest of honour at the TBG's 2013 annual dinner. Three months later, this led to criticism of Rees-Mogg, who then said he had not properly checked the organisation before speaking, despite being warned by ''Searchlight'' about TBG's far-right associations prior to attendance; Rees-Mogg disassociated himself from the group and apologised for his attendance, calling it "a mistake". It was also attended by former

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

John Taylor, Baron Kilclooney John David Taylor, Baron Kilclooney, PC (NI) (born 24 December 1937) is a Crossbench life peer from Northern Ireland, who has sat in the House of Lords since 2001. He previously served as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament ...

. Two months later, American white nationalist Richard Spencer was invited to address the group.

noted the 2017 annual conference was addressed by

Anne Marie Waters Anne Marie Dorothy Waters (born 24 August 1977) is a far-right politician and activist in the United Kingdom. She founded and led the anti-Islam party For Britain until its dissolution in 2022. She is also the director of Sharia Watch UK, an or ...

, former UKIP candidate and founder of the

For Britain The For Britain Movement was a minor far-right political party in the United Kingdom, founded by the anti-Islam and "counter-jihad" activist Anne Marie Waters after she was defeated in the 2017 UK Independence Party leadership election. His ...

party;

Martin Sellner Martin Michael Sellner (born 8 January 1989) is a far-right Austrian Neue Rechte, and leader of the Identitäre Bewegung Österreichs (IBÖ, Identitarian Movement of Austria). In March 2018, he was denied entry to, and deported from, the Unite ...

, leader of the Austrian Identitarian Movement (german: Identitäre Bewegung Österreich) and attended by

Mark Collett Mark Adrian Collett (; born October 1980) is a British neo-Nazi, anti-semitic conspiracy theorist and political activist. He was formerly chairman of the Young BNP, the youth division of the British National Party (BNP), and was director of ...

, former leader of the youth wing of the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

. In March of that year, the

Bow Group The Bow Group is a UK-based think tank promoting conservative opinion. Founded in 1951, it is the oldest group of its kind, counting many senior Conservative Party MPs and peers among its members. It represents a forum for political debate with i ...

granted TBG a special concession to its 65th anniversary celebrations. In October 2018, James Thompson, a former senior lecturer at UCL, pulled out of his speaking slot at the group's annual conference at the last minute following pressure from the media. Thompson lost his honorary professorship at UCL after ''Private Eye'' "revealed he had been organising secretive conferences on racial eugenics – and inviting notorious white supremacists" (see

London Conference on Intelligence The London Conference on Intelligence (LCI) is an invitation-only conference for research on human intelligence, including race and intelligence and eugenics. In 2018, ''Times Higher Education'' called it "an annual conference on eugenics and inte ...

controversy). The columnist

Katie Hopkins Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February 1975) is an English media personality, columnist, far-right political commentator, and former businesswoman. She was a contestant on the third series of ''The Apprentice'' in 2007; following further app ...

spoke at TBG's 2018 annual conference.

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n Finance Minister

Martin Helme Martin Helme (born 24 April 1976) is an Estonian politician, leader of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia, Conservative People's Party (EKRE), and a Far-right politics, far-right nationalist. From 2019 to 2021 he was the Minister of Fina ...

addressed the 2019 conference, as did the vice-chairman of the Polish

National Movement Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Krzysztof Bosak Krzysztof Bosak (, born 13 June 1982) is a far-right Polish politician. He was a member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Sejm for the League of Polish Families from 2005 to 2007 and has been a member of the Sejm again since 2019 for the Con ...

. Katie Fanning, a former director of UKIP, spoke at the 2021 conference on the subject of "anti-white messaging and

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

-based teachings" in Britain's universities, and that she was suing her former university for discrimination.

Gunnar Beck Gunnar Beck is a German politician, academic and lawyer. He is Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and currently hold the position of deputy leader of the AfD in the European Parliament and Vice-Pre ...

, a German politician, academic and lawyer, spoke to the group on the "Strange Death of Europe".

References

External links

* {{UK far state=collapsed Conservative political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom Foreign policy and strategy think tanks based in the United Kingdom Anti-immigration politics in the United Kingdom Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom Criticism of multiculturalism White nationalism in the United Kingdom Alt-right organizations Think tanks established in 2001

History and ideology

Speakers

See also

References

External links