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Right-wing grouping within the British Conservative Party
The
92 Group
is a right-wing grouping within the
British Conservative Party
.
[1]
They are so named because they would meet at Conservative MP Sir
Patrick Wall
's home, 92 Cheyne Walk in
Chelsea, London
.
[2]
It was founded in 1964 in order to "keep the Conservative Party conservative" and membership is by invitation only.
[3]
During the period of
Margaret Thatcher
's leadership of the Conservative Party, it was a prominent supporter of her policies. During
John Major
's premiership, it became a focus for Thatcherite MPs dissatisfied with his leadership. It was also prominent in supporting
John Redwood
's unsuccessful candidacy against Major for the
leadership of the Conservative Party
in 1995.
[4]
Its first chairman was Wall, and
John Townend
was at one time chairman, as was
Gerald Howarth
.
George Gardiner
,
David Maclean
,
Christopher Chope
and
Edward Leigh
have been members. In 1996 there were around one hundred members of the Group.
[5]
They grouped together as a block vote in committee elections and to influence party policy.
Norman Tebbit
records in his memoirs that shortly after being elected an MP in 1970, he was elected to the party's backbench committee on housing policy, even though he was virtually unknown to most MPs. However, at committee election times, the group met to agree on a slate of candidates they were expected to support, thus explaining Tebbit's success.
[6]
Gardiner as chairman promoted 92 Group members for elections to Conservative backbench committees. Important members of the Group were therefore interviewed by the media during Major's premiership to represent Conservative backbench opinion.
[2]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
McElvoy, Anne (14 June 1997).
"Mr Redwood turned puce..."
The Spectator
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
a
b
Colin Brown, '
92 Group chairman survives challenge
',
The Independent
(15 March 1994).
- ^
Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley,
Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century
(A&C Black, 2000), p. 60.
- ^
Barberis, McHugh and Tyldesley, p. 60.
- ^
Interview with Michael Heseltine
(5 May 1996).
- ^
Norman Tebbit,
Upwardly Mobile
(Futura, 1991), pp. 122?3.
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