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Revision as of 14:02, 6 February 2006 by Lightoftheworld (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Western Goals (UK) was a far-right group, founded as the British branch of the American organisation the Western Goals Foundation.
The group was formed in May 1985 with Stuart Notholt and Andrew V R Smith of the Young Conservative Monday Club) as its directors. Its initial Parliamentary Advisory Board included the Rev. Martin Smyth, Ulster Unionist MP for South Belfast, who was also a vice-president of Western Goals (UK).
Western Goals was essentially an anti-communist and ultra-conservative organisation. Its activities included campaigning against charities such as Oxfam, War On Want, and Christian Aid, and in July 1987 it issued a comprehensive report to the English Charity Commission concerning clear political abuse of the charitable status by the latter two groups. The Commissioners upheld the complaint. This, however, appeared not to affect the charities concerned and their political activities continued. This resulted in several further reports to the Charity Commission by WG in 1988, with copies this time to government ministers. In April 1989 WG published a report examining the role of Christian Aid and War on Want in promoting Communism in Central America.
It denounced as "extremist", left-wing Labour Party candidates during the 1987 election campaign, notably Ken Livingstone, who had promoted the cause of the IRA.
It also began in the same year a campaign to expose what they termed the "pro-communist" campaigning of the so-called "Third World Development Movement" which, WG said, were "working to help spread the collectivist nightmare throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America."
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'."
In 1988 they 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.
At the October 1988 Conservative Party Conference, Western Goals UK held a fringe meeting on the subject of "International Terrorism - how the West can fight back". The speakers were Sir Alfred Sherman, Andrew Hunter,MP, and Harvey Ward. Peter Dally of WACL's UK Chapter, the British Freedom Council, was in the chair and an message was read to the meeting from General Sir Walter Walker. Andrew Hunter spoke on high-level connections between the IRA and ANC.
The group published numerous policy sheets and a newsletter entitled Young European and 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 December edition cited AVR Smith as Secretary-General of Young Europeans for World Freedom.
In 1989 Andrew V R Smith wrote a policy paper for Western Goals UK entitled Alms for the Poor - Or Arms for Communism?.
Later in 1989, as they expanded both their membership, activities, and organisation, they re-established themselves as the Western Goals Institute, independent of the US foundation.