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| The '''Monday Club''' is a British ] pressure group formed to defend the idea of the ] after ]'s "Winds of Change" speech. |
The '''Monday Club''' is a British ] pressure group formed to defend the idea of the ] after ]'s "Winds of Change" speech. | ||
| It was founded on ] ]. It tended to be seen as the "authoritarian" wing of the party, and was very active on the issue of ]. During the ] it strongly backed the regime of ], being seen as his regime's strongest supporters in Britain. In the ] the group had thousands of members and 36 Conservative MPs. However they were to lose this influence as many grassroots members drew closer to the ], with National Front members stewarding a Monday Club anti-immigration rally in September 1972. | |||
| The next year there was an open clash for the control of the group between the far-right faction led by ], son of Sir ]'s second wife and a more radical faction led by ] former deputy director of ] who later set up ]. Jonathan Guinness won and became head of the Monday Club. | |||
| After a number of splits their membership now number in the low hundreds. | |||
Revision as of 13:00, 23 April 2004
The Monday Club is a British Conservative Party pressure group formed to defend the idea of the British Empire after Harold Macmillan's "Winds of Change" speech.
It was founded on 1 January 1961. It tended to be seen as the "authoritarian" wing of the party, and was very active on the issue of immigration. During the Rhodesian Crisis it strongly backed the regime of Ian Smith, being seen as his regime's strongest supporters in Britain. In the 1970s the group had thousands of members and 36 Conservative MPs. However they were to lose this influence as many grassroots members drew closer to the National Front, with National Front members stewarding a Monday Club anti-immigration rally in September 1972.
The next year there was an open clash for the control of the group between the far-right faction led by Jonathan Guinness, son of Sir Oswald Mosley's second wife and a more radical faction led by G K Young former deputy director of MI6 who later set up Tory Action. Jonathan Guinness won and became head of the Monday Club.
After a number of splits their membership now number in the low hundreds.