Cornerstone Group


The Cornerstone Group is a High Tory or traditional conservative political organisation within the British Conservative Party. The Group espouses traditional values as exemplified by its motto: Faith, Flag, and Family. It comprises Members of Parliament with a traditionalist outlook and was founded in 2005. The Group's president is Edward Leigh and its chairman John Hayes. More than fifty Conservative Party Members of Parliament belong to the Cornerstone Group, including several members of HM Government.
The Conservative Party incorporates three main schools of thought; along with the traditionalist-leaning Cornerstone Group, there are also the One Nation and Thatcherite elements. There is more than a degree of overlap between these groups, depending on the issue. The Cornerstone Group supports the unitary governance of the British state and opposes attempts to transfer power away from it — either downwards through regionalism and devolution, or upwards to the international control of the European Union. A manifesto released at the time of its foundation set out the Group's intentions:

Principles

Its name derives from the Cornerstone Group's support for three British social institutions: the Church of England, the unitary British state, and the family. To this end, it emphasises England's Anglican heritage, opposes any transfer of power away from the central government and institutions of the United Kingdom — either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the European Union — and seeks to place greater emphasis on traditional family structures to repair what has been termed as Britain's broken society, as well as calling for tighter levels of immigration into the UK.
Its core focus points include the monarchy; heterosexual marriage; family and community duties; proper pride in the United Kingdom's distinctive qualities; quality of life over soulless utility; social responsibility over personal selfishness; social justice as civic duty, not state dependency; compassion for those in need; reducing government waste; lower taxation and deregulation; and promotion and protection of ancient liberties against politically correct censorship and a commitment to the democratically elected UK parliament.
Prominent MPs from this wing of the party include Owen Paterson, John Redwood and Edward Leigh — a notable Roman Catholic — out of an organisation marked out by its support for the Anglican Church. Alan Duncan once referred to this wing as a "Taliban tendency" within the Party and mocked it as the "Tombstone Group". The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton represented the intellectual wing of the Cornerstone Group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead concentrate on providing conservative perspectives on social, cultural and moral issues.
Its impact can be measured, in some part, from the stance taken by Cameron's Cabinet members, such as Eric Pickles.

Members

The below list includes current MPs who are members of the Cornerstone Group.