The National Conservatism Conference (stylized as NatCon) is a conference dedicated to the ideology of national conservatism. It is run by the Edmund Burke Foundation, a think-tank led by Yoram Hazony. [1]
The conferences developed between May 2019 and February 2020 when they were held in London, Washington, and Rome. Subsequent conferences were held in Orlando (2021), Brussels (2022), Miami (2022), London (2023) and Brussels (2024). [2] [3] [4] [5] Speakers billed to appear included Tucker Carlson, [6] Josh Hawley, [7] J. D. Vance, [8] Giorgia Meloni, [9] Marco Rubio, [10] Peter Thiel, [11] Kevin Roberts, [12] the British MP Daniel Kawczynski, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. [13]
In 2023, the National Conservatism Conference was held in the Emmanuel Centre in London, attracting widespread media attention. [1] Speakers included the British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Conservative government ministers Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg and the historian David Starkey. [14] [15]
In her speech, Braverman stated that uncontrolled immigration threatened the country's "national character", and that Britons should be trained to do the jobs where immigrants are currently employed. She also expressed opposition to what she referred to as "radical gender ideology". [14] [15] [16]
The MP Miriam Cates was criticised for her use of the term "cultural Marxism" in her speech. [17] [18] The journalist Douglas Murray was criticised for saying that he could "see no reason why every other country in the world should be prevented from feeling pride in itself because the Germans mucked up twice in a century". [19]
During his speech at the conference, Jacob Rees-Mogg stated that the Elections Act 2022 was an attempt at gerrymandering that backfired. [20] [21] [22]
The 2024 conference, held at the Claridge event space in Brussels, made headlines for being shut down by police on April 16 following an order by district Mayor Emir Kir. [23] [24] Kir cited public safety as a concern and stated that the far-right was "not welcome" in Brussels. [25] Two other Brussels-area venues had previously backed out of hosting the conference due to pressure from local mayors. [23] Police barricaded the entrance and allowed participants to leave, but did not let anyone enter; the event partially took place with those already in the building. [23] Scheduled speakers included Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, British politicians Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage, and far-right French politician Eric Zemmour. [23] Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo condemned the shutting down of the event, calling police's actions "unacceptable" and in violation of free speech protections in the Belgian Constitution. [25] A spokesperson for United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the decision "extremely disturbing". [25] Orban and Farage compared the shutting down of the conference to the actions of communists. [25]
The conference resumed on April 17, after the Council of State overturned the decision to shut it down. [26] [27] The court ruled that there was no evidence of a threat to public order from the conference itself, and that the shutdown seemed to have been based on the reactions its opponents may have. [26] [27]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the second day of the conference called for a change of leadership in Brussels as he criticised the European Union’s policies on migration and Ukraine. [28]
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.
Viktor Mihály Orbán is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has led the Fidesz political party since 1993, with a break between 2000 and 2003.
Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg is a British politician and member of the Conservative Party serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. He served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from 2019 to 2022, Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency from February to September 2022 and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from September to October 2022. Rees-Mogg previously chaired the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) from 2018 to 2019 and has been associated with socially conservative views.
Sue-Ellen Cassiana "Suella" Braverman is a British politician and barrister who served as Home Secretary from 6 September 2022 to 19 October 2022, and again from 25 October 2022 to 13 November 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she was chair of the European Research Group from 2017 to 2018 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2020 to March 2021, and again from September 2021 to 2022. She has been the MP for Fareham since 2015.
Moggmentum is an online right-wing campaign and grassroots movement supporting Jacob Rees-Mogg, in a similar fashion to the 2015 phenomena of Milifandom and Momentum. The movement includes pressure for Rees-Mogg to become the Leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Comparisons between Moggmentum and the Tea Party movement in the United States have been made with regard to their supporting "rightwing ideas, grassroots activism and shaking up the conservative establishment".
Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 3 April 2022 to elect the National Assembly, coinciding with a referendum.
The following lists events that happened during 2018 in Hungary.
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".
The Traditional Britain Group (TBG) is a British far-right pressure group that describes itself as traditionalist conservative and "home to the disillusioned patriot". It was founded in 2001 by Gregory Lauder-Frost, with Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley as its president. Sudeley was still in office when he died in 2022.
Since the foundation of the Conservative Party in 1834, there have been numerous instances of antisemitism in the party, from both Conservative party leaders and other party figures.
Miriam Joy Cates is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Penistone and Stocksbridge since the 2019 general election. She is a member of the Conservative Party.
GB News is a British free-to-air, opinion-orientated news television and radio channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus and YouTube. An audio simulcast of the station is also available on DAB+ radio.
The Elections Act 2022 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021, and receiving Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The Act makes photo identification compulsory for in-person voting in Great Britain for the first time. Until then, Northern Ireland had been the only part of the UK to require voter identification. The Act also gives the government new powers over the independent elections regulator; the Electoral Commission has said it is "concerned" about its independence from political influence in the future.
Events in the year 2022 in Hungary.
Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation from Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 50 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.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2023.
Hungary joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 12 March 1999, following the decision taken at the Madrid Summit, in July 1997.
Events in the year 2024 in Belgium.
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.
Emir Kir is a Belgian politician who has been mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode since 2012, having been re-elected in 2018. He was a member of the French-speaking Socialist Party (PS) until he was expelled from the party in January 2020 after contacts with the Turkish far-right.