 | |
| Formation | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Type | Think tank |
| Legal status | Company limited by guarantee (non-profit) |
| Location |
|
Chief Executive | Andy Cook |
Budget | Approximately £1.6m |
Staff | 24 |
| Website | www |
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is an independent [1] centre-right [2] think tank based in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, Mark Florman and Philippa Stroud. [3]
The organisation's stated aim is to "put social justice at the heart of British politics". [4] While the think-tank states it is politically independent, it was labelled one of the most influential on the British Conservative Party under the leadership of David Cameron. [5]
One of the CSJ's most notable reports was Breakthrough Britain. [6] It has also produced well-publicised reports on gang culture, [7] modern slavery, [8] addiction, [9] family breakdown, [10] and educational failure. [11] In 2012 the CSJ announced that it would carry out the study Breakthrough Britain II. [12] The CSJ has also played important roles in the design and development of Universal Credit and in championing the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Initially the CSJ's work was project-based with projects and staff members changing regularly. Recently, however, under Andy Cook, the latest Chief Executive, the CSJ has created a number of dedicated policy units with specific unit heads to lead on their designated area.
| Policy area | Unit head |
|---|---|
| Education | James Scales |
| Work and Welfare | Patrick Spencer |
| Addiction and Criminal Justice | Adrian Crossley |
| Family | Cristina Odone |
| Modern Slavery | Tatiana Gren-Jardan |
| Financial Inclusion | Joe Shalam |
The CSJ also has an alliance of "front line poverty fighting charities" and runs an annual Centre for Social Justice Awards ceremony celebrating some of the best voluntary and non-profit organisations in the UK. In addition the CSJ regularly holds events at the major political party conferences.
Past and present:
In November 2022, the funding transparency website Who Funds You? gave the CSJ an E grade, the lowest transparency rating (rating goes from A to E). [20]
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992.
The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is an obscurely funded right-wing think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independence, self determination and responsibility. While being independent, the centre has historical links to the Conservative Party.
The Bruges Group is a think tank based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1989, it advocates for a restructuring of Britain's relationship with the European Union and other European countries. Its members and staff campaign against the notion of an "ever-closer union" in Europe and, above all, against British involvement in a single European state. The group is often associated with the Conservative Party, including MPs such as Iain Duncan Smith, Daniel Hannan, John Redwood, and Norman Lamont. However, it is formally an independent all-party think tank, and some Labour MPs and peers have cited the publications or attended the meetings of the Bruges Group through the years, such as Frank Field, Gisela Stuart, Lord Stoddart of Swindon and Lord Shore of Stepney.
Anthony David Steen CBE is a former British Conservative Party politician and barrister. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2010, and the Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation. Having represented Totnes in Devon since 1997, he was previously MP for South Hams from 1983, and had also been the MP for Liverpool Wavertree between February 1974 and 1983. From 1992 to 1994, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Peter Brooke MP as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is an independent British political public policy think-tank based in Westminster, London. It is one of the 'Top 12 Think Tanks in Britain' and was named 'UK Think Tank of the Year' by Prospect in 2012. Its purpose is to "advance the education of the public in the economic, social and political sciences" and to "champion ideas that marry a pro-market orientation with concern for social justice". Policy ideas are based on the concept of the social market economy.
The CSJ Awards are an annual event organised by the Centre for Social Justice, a centre right British political thinktank, where grants are awarded to organisations working in the field of poverty relief. In 2009, a Channel 4 documentary series was made by filmmaker and TV presenter Sadie Kaye about the award nominees which also featured interviews with the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith and awards host Esther Rantzen.
18 Doughty Street was a British internet-based political broadcaster that hosted a webcast as its chief product. It began broadcasting at 18:55 on 10 October 2006, from its studio at 18 Doughty Street in the Bloomsbury area of London, and ceased broadcasting at 23:00 on Thursday 8 November 2007. It claimed to be Britain's first internet-based TV station.
Timothy Montgomerie is a British political activist, blogger, and columnist. He is best known as the co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice and as creator of the ConservativeHome website, which he edited from 2005 until 2013, when he left to join The Times. He was formerly the newspaper's comment editor, but resigned in March 2014. On 17 February 2016, Montgomerie resigned his membership of the Conservative Party, citing the leadership's stance on Europe, which was then supportive of EU membership. In 2019, he was briefly a special adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, advising on social justice issues.
Demos is a cross party think tank based in the United Kingdom with a cross-party political viewpoint. Founded in 1993, Demos works with a number of partners including government departments, public sector agencies and charities. It specialises in public policymaking in a range of areas - from education and skills to health and housing.
ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about both social justice and a fair competitive economy. A second aim of the blog is to represent grassroots Conservatives, and is supportive of the Conservative Party.
The Child Poverty Act 2010 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom "to set targets relating to the eradication of child poverty, and to make other provision about child poverty". More specifically, the act has been summarised as comprising "a new set of legal duties for the [UK] government of the day to take action to meet four income targets for ending child poverty by 2020 and to minimise 'socio-economic disadvantage' for children." The four income targets all related to median UK household income, and were as follows:
Philippa Claire Stroud, Baroness Stroud is a Conservative Party Peer in the House of Lords and leader of several conservative think tanks.
Neil John O'Brien is a British politician who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health from September 2022 to November 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough in 2017. O'Brien was previously a special adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne from 2012 to 2016 and Theresa May during her tenure as Prime Minister.
The European Research Group (ERG) is a research support group and caucus of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The journalist Sebastian Payne described it in the Financial Times as "the most influential [research group] in recent political history".
Carl Alan Mark Florman is a British businessman and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder and former CEO of the merchant banking group, Maizels, Westerberg & Co. and Time Partners Limited. Florman led the review of governance for UK public bodies in 2021.
55 Tufton Street is a four-storey Georgian-era townhouse on historic Tufton Street, in Westminster, London, owned by businessman Richard Smith. Since the 2010s the building has hosted a network of libertarian lobby groups and think tanks related to pro-Brexit, climate science denial and other fossil-fuel lobby groups. Some of the organisations it houses have close connections with those at 57 Tufton Street next door, including the Centre for Policy Studies and CapX.
Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho is a British Indian politician and former investment banker who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since August 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey since the 2019 general election. Prior to her current role, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing from October 2022 to August 2023 and as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Disabled People from September to October 2022.
Onward is a British centre-right think tank producing research on economic and social issues. It was founded in 2018 by Will Tanner, Martyn Rose, and Neil O'Brien. The think tank's advisory board is chaired by Daniel Finkelstein. The founders state that Onward would operate in the mainstream of conservative politics, and is a reaction to the "lack of energy on the centre right". It is explicitly aligned to the Conservative Party and is not a charity.