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The Freedom Association

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Not to be confused with freedom of association.
The Freedom Association
Founded1975
FounderViscount De L'Isle, Norris McWhirter, Ross McWhirter and John Gouriet
TypePressure group
FocusConservatism, libertarianism, euroscepticism
Location
Key people
Christopher Gill RD (President)
Vladimir Bukovsky (Vice-President)
Management Committee
Tim Congdon (Chairman)
Professor Antony Flew (Treasurer)
TFA Council
The Rt. Hon. Sir Rhodes Boyson
Christopher Chope OBE MP
Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox
Philip Davies MP
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt, OBE, PM
Teresa Gorman
Daniel Hannan MEP
Gerald Howarth MP
Professor Patrick Minford CBE, PhD
Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch
Andrew Roberts
Andrew Rosindell MP
David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon
Walter Sweeney
Jillian Becker
Websitehttp://www.tfa.net

The Freedom Association (TFA) is a conservative[1] pressure group in the United Kingdom. TFA was founded in 1975 as the National Association for Freedom and gained public prominence through its anti-trade union campaigns. In the 1980s, TFA campaigned against sporting sanctions imposed on apartheid-era South Africa – in particular, taking legal action to attempt to prevent the International Cricket Council banning teams from touring South Africa, which TFA saw as an imposition on cricketers' freedom to trade. TFA has also campaigned against the UK's membership of the European Union. The Association's current President is Christopher Gill.

Origin

The Freedom Association was founded in 1975 as the National Association for Freedom (NAFF) by the Viscount De L'Isle, Norris McWhirter, Ross McWhirter (murdered by the IRA in the same year) and John Gouriet.[2][dead link‍] NAFF was renamed The Freedom Association in the winter of 1978.[3] Andrew Gamble reported shortly after that the renaming was undertaken in order to avoid confusion with the National Front.[4]

Political stance

The Freedom Association describes itself as "a non-partisan, centre-right, libertarian, pressure group".[5] Marina Hyde, writing in The Guardian, has called the organisation a "charmless libertarian pressure group".[6]

Principles

The organisation describes itself as having seven core principles:[5]

The group has no formal party political affiliations[citation needed] but historically many members of TFA have also been associated with the Conservative Party.[7] In May 1978, this led to former Conservative minister William van Straubenzee accusing TFA of "extremist infiltration" of his party.[8] TFA has been described as the "conservative wing of the Conservative Party".[9] Since 2007, TFA has been running fringe events at the Conservative Party conference with speakers such as Daniel Hannan and John Redwood and groups including the Taxpayers' Alliance.[10]

Leadership

Council

Correct as of January 2011:[11]

Campaigns

Trade unions

During the 1970s the power of the UK trade union movement was considered by some[who?] to be excessive and out of control. Soon after its formation the National Association for Freedom as TFA was then known became involved in a number of industrial disputes providing support to both employers and non-unionised workers to counter to the power of the Trades Unions. The best known of these actions was Operation Pony Express during the Grunwick dispute.[2] Following the election of the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 TFA became more low-profile.[citation needed] In January 1989, The Guardian's Michael White reported that "no longer has the power or glory it enjoyed when it was Thatcherism's extra-parliamentary advance guard against a fading Labour government and its union allies".[12]

Apartheid-era South Africa

In the 1980s, TFA campaigned in support of the right of England cricketers to tour in apartheid-era South Africa.[6] In 1989, when the International Cricket Conference (ICC) passed a resolution formalising sanctions against players, coaches and administrators who worked in South Africa, Norris McWhirter described the decision as "a crushing blow against cricketers' freedom to trade".[13] TFA had obtained a summons against the ICC, but this was subsequently quashed in the High Court, where the judge ruled that TFA's application was "an abuse of the process of the court" and was "launched solely as a device to disrupt or embarrass the International Cricket Conference".[14] The organisation later received funding from the South African government.[15] In 1988, the association threatened to seek a legal injunction against the BBC to prevent the broadcaster from airing the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute from Wembley Stadium. The threat was eventually dropped.[16]

National identity cards

In 2010 the group campaigned against ID cards which TFA deemed to be a threat to civil liberties.[citation needed] Previously, in the 1980s, some prominent supporters of TFA had supported the introduction of ID cards.[12]

Better Off Out

In April 2006 TFA launched Better Off Out - a campaign for the UK to leave the EU. This has attracted the support of nine Tory MPs, plus a number of MEPs and Peers.[17][18][dead link‍]

Freedom Association Societies

Beginning in 2009, the Association initiated a programme to create localised "Freedom Association Societies" at universities throughout the United Kingdom. The first such group was established at the University of York followed by another founded at the University of Exeter by John Gill, the grandson of Christopher Gill, the Association's President. Other Freedom Association Societies have since been established at Bath Spa University, Brighton University, Cambridge University, Hull University, Portsmouth University and Southampton Solent University.[19]

British Tea Party movement

The Freedom Association has expressed an interest in establishing a British equivalent of the American Tea Party movement, though its director, Simon Richards, stated in October 2010 that he was worried that such a project could be hijacked by extremist groups such as the English Defence League.[20]

References

  1. ^ Harlow, Carol (1992). Pressure Through Law. Routledge, p. 311. ISBN 0203991397
  2. ^ a b http://www.tfa.net/pdfs/his01.PDF
  3. ^ "John Gouriet". The Daily Telegraph. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ Gamble, Andrew (1979). "The middle-class revolt". Parliamentary Affairs. 33 (1): 233–234.
  5. ^ a b "About TFA". The Freedom Association. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  6. ^ a b Hyde, Marina (14 June 2010). "North Korea set their World Cup target: happiness for the Dear Leader". The Guardian. the Freedom Association, the charmless libertarian pressure group whose policies included mounting legal challenges against peace campaigners and allowing 1980s cricketers "freedom to trade" in apartheid South Africa.
  7. ^ Vincent, Andrew (2010). Modern Political Ideologies (3rd ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 66. ISBN 1405154950.
  8. ^ Dorey, Peter (1995). The Conservative Party and the Trade Unions. London: Routledge. p. 135. ISBN 0415064872.
  9. ^ Wheeler, Brian (5 October 2009). "Dispatches from the Freedom Zone". BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  10. ^ The Freedom Zone
  11. ^ http://www.tfa.net/the_freedom_association/whoarewe.html
  12. ^ a b White, Michael (24 January 1989). "Liberties with freedom: The Freedom Association's notions of cricket". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Cashmore, Ellis (2005). Making Sense of Sports (4th ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. p. 440. ISBN 0415348536.
  14. ^ "Cricket action is bowled out". Evening Times. 23 January 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  15. ^ Lowles, Nick (April 2001). "Blood money". Searchlight. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  16. ^ Gunn, Sheila; McEwen, Andrew (11 June 1988). "BBC fuels row on Mandela concert". The Times.
  17. ^ "UKPollingReport". UKPOllingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 1-12-2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ Tory MPs sign up to anti-EU campaign - Telegraph
  19. ^ Exeposé, Monday October 11th 2010, Issue #569
  20. ^ Townsend, Mark (10 October 2010). "English Defence League forges links with America's Tea Party". The Observer. London. Retrieved 3 November 2010.

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