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Revision as of 07:58, 20 December 2005 by 213.122.67.71 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Western Goals (UK) was founded in May 1985 as the British branch of the American organisation the Western Goals Foundation, with Stuart Notholt and Andrew V R Smith of the Young Conservative Monday Club) as its directors.
Western Goals was essentially an anti-communist and ultra-conservative organisation. In 1988 their literature stated that they were "Britain's leading political research organization for investigating and exposing liberal and Marxist threats to Western values. It has been involved inn highlighting Marxist control of 'Third World development agencies'."
Its activities included campaigning against charities such as Oxfam, War On Want, and Christian Aid which it saw as left-wing and denouncing as "extermist", left-wing Labour Party candidates such as Ken Livingstone during the 1987 election campaign.
Its initial Parliamentary Advisory Board included the Rev. Martin Smyth, Ulster Unionist MP for South Belfast, who was also a vice-president.
In 1988 Western Goals UK helped organise a visit to Britain by Jonas Savimbi leader of Angola's UNITA rebel group, following which a member of their directorate visited Angola and apartheid South Africa.
The group published numerous policy sheets and a newsletter entitled Young European, edited by Stuart Notholt. The October 1988 edition carried a leading article by Andrew V R Smith, 'Freedom from Communism - the hope of millions'.
The following year they expanded both their membership, activities, and organisation, becoming the Western Goals Institute, independent of the US foundation.