The Free Enterprise Group was a grouping of Thatcherite British Conservative Party Members of Parliament founded in mid-2011 by Liz Truss that existed until 2022. [1] [2] The book Britannia Unchained was written by members of the group. [3] The group has been associated with the Institute of Economic Affairs. [4] The group was effectively succeeded by the Free Market Forum, also affiliated with the IEA. [4]
MPs listed as supporters of this group have included: [2] [5]
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized agencies, the eight functional commissions, and the five regional commissions under its jurisdiction.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing, free market think tank registered as a UK charity. Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute" and says that it seeks to "further the dissemination of free-market thinking" by "analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems". The IEA is the oldest free market think-tank in the UK and was established to promote free-market responses to economic challenges by targeting influential academics and journalists, as well as students, in order to propagate these ideas widely. Adopting as its credo FA Hayek's view that "yesterday's dissent becomes today's consensus," the IEA says that it prioritises producing work with a focus on economic insights over partisan politics.
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has links to think tanks worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network and is a member of the free-market Atlas Network.
The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network.
The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism is a book written by a group of prominent British Liberal Democrat politicians and edited by David Laws and Paul Marshall in 2004. Three contributors later became leaders of the Liberal Democrats: Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Ed Davey. Other contributors include Chris Huhne, Susan Kramer, Mark Oaten and Steve Webb. The book's central philosophy, and some of its ideas, are supported by Liberal Reform, an internal group of the Liberal Democrats.
Jonathan Patrick Moynihan, Baron Moynihan of Chelsea, is a British businessman, venture capitalist and life peer. He served as the CEO and executive chairman of PA Consulting Group from 1992 to 2013.
Dame Thérèse Anne Coffey is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022 under Liz Truss. She has also served as Environment Secretary, Health Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary. A member of the Conservative Party, Coffey was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal from 2010 to 2024.
Christopher James Skidmore is a British former Conservative Party politician and author of popular history who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood in South Gloucestershire from 2010 to 2024.
Mary Elizabeth Truss is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down amid a government crisis, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. The member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 2010 to 2024, Truss held various Cabinet positions under three prime ministers—David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson—lastly as foreign secretary from 2021 to 2022.
Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng is a British politician who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 6 September to 14 October 2022 under Liz Truss and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2021 to 2022 under Boris Johnson. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne from 2010 to 2024.
Mark James Littlewood is a director of Popular Development Partners Limited. He was formerly the director general of the libertarian free market Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), and before that the chief press spokesman for the Liberal Democrats and the Pro-Euro Conservative Party and was an advisor to the Conservative Party under Prime Minister David Cameron. Having previously been in favour of deeper European integration, Littlewood later adopted a eurosceptic position and advocated voting Leave in the 2016 referendum on Membership of the European Union.
Britannia Unchained: Global Lessons for Growth and Prosperity is a political book written by several British Conservative Party MPs and released on 13 September 2012. Its authors present a treatise, arguing that Britain should adopt a different and radical approach to business and economics or risk "an inevitable slide into mediocrity".
Allister Georges Freund Heath, is a French-born British business journalist, author and commentator. He was appointed as editor of The Sunday Telegraph in April 2017.
The Japan–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and Japan. The agreement was agreed in principle by both parties in September 2020 and signed in Tokyo in October 2020, following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union in January 2020. It entered into force at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.
Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 49 days later on 25 October upon her resignation. As prime minister, she served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union.
On 23 September 2022, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, delivered a Ministerial Statement entitled "The Growth Plan" to the House of Commons. Widely referred to in the media as a mini-budget, it contained a set of economic policies and tax cuts such as bringing forward the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19%; abolishing the highest (45%) rate of income tax in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; reversing a plan announced in March 2021 to increase corporation tax from 19% to 25% from April 2023; reversing the April 2022 increase in National Insurance; and cancelling the proposed Health and Social Care Levy. Following widespread negative response to the mini-budget, the planned abolition of the 45% tax rate was reversed 10 days later, while plans to cancel the increase in corporation tax were reversed 21 days later.
The Free Market Forum was a right wing Conservative think tank associated with the Institute of Economic Affairs, launched in September 2021. It has been described as a successor to the Free Enterprise Group set up by Liz Truss
The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis.
Ruth Oates Porter, Baroness Porter of Fulwood is a British life peer and former political adviser who served as Downing Street Deputy Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Liz Truss from September to October 2022. She previously worked as a special adviser in various government departments.
Popular Conservatism or PopCon, is a right-wing faction within the British Conservative Party. The director of the group is Mark Littlewood, who is an ally of the former prime minister Liz Truss.