European Research Group

The European Research Group (ERG) is a part publicly funded, single issue (hard Brexit[1][2][3]), research support group for the United Kingdom's Conservative Party. It is an IPSA-funded pooled service within the formal IPSA Scheme of MPs' Business Costs and Expenses. Serving an annual average of 21 MPs[4] including cabinet members, the group's focus is the single issue of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. In January 2018 Jacob Rees-Mogg was elected as the group's chairman, taking over from Suella Fernandes.

History

Early years

In July 1993 Sir Michael Spicer, the then MP for West Worcestershire, created the European Research Group in response to growing concern about Britain's continued integration into the European Community through the Maastricht Treaty.[5][6] The Eurosceptic group, which was chaired by Spicer, aimed to promote coordination of centre-right opposition across Europe and worked alongside other anti-EU groups such as UKIP and the Referendum Party.[7] Support for the group was boosted in 1995 after they published an anti-federalist pamphlet discussing Euroscepticism which included a foreword by Prime Minister John Major.[8]

Modern era

In 2015, having become a UKIP MP and having ceased to be a subscriber to ERG, Douglas Carswell, together with Mark Reckless and Stephen Crowther, established the UKIP Parliamentary Resource Unit Limited,[9] which was funded with a government grant of nearly £300,000. It was never listed as a 'pooled service' by IPSA. In January 2018 it was listed for voluntary striking off at Companies House by its then directors (Douglas Carswell and Alan Bown, a major UKIP donor[10]), and was formally dissolved on 17 April 2018.[11]

Following the resignation of Chris Heaton-Harris MP as ERG's chairman in 2016, new chair Steve Baker and deputy chair Michael Tomlinson announced a re-launch of the ERG alongside a call for the government to withdraw from the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Union Customs Union following the result of the Brexit referendum.[12][13] Baker was subsequently promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and was replaced as the group's chair in May 2017 by Suella Fernandes.[14][2] Eight months later in January 2018 Fernandes was also promoted to the Department for Exiting the European Union as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State leaving way for the current chair Jacob Rees-Mogg to be elected.[15]

ERG Senior Researcher Robert Broadhurst, Conservative Parliamentary Researcher of the Year 2010 in the Dods Parliamentary researcher awards,[16] was succeeded as a senior researcher by Christopher Howarth formerly of Open Europe. Howarth represented ERG at the parliamentary researchers' and academics' conference on Brexit in November 2016,[17] and is a regular contributor to ConservativeHome and City A.M..[18][19]

In the period leading up to the EU referendum 10 members of ERG acted in an official capacity for Vote Leave; Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith, Liam Fox, Chris Grayling, Priti Patel, John Whittingdale, Ann-Marie Trevelyan, Bernard Jenkin, Steve Baker and Douglas Cardwell. Members of the European Research Group (erg) met on September 11th in order to discuss trying to bring down the prime minister. [20]

Recent subscribers

Subscribers to the pooled service provided by the European Research Group can be identified on the IPSA records of Parliamentary expenses. As an unincorporated association the group does not publish membership details or annual accounts. Various media reports speculate that a wider membership exists.[21][3]

Letter to Prime Minister 16th February 2018

A letter from the European Research Group to the Prime Minister was sent on 16th February urging her to stick to the principles outlined in her Lancaster House speech (January 2017).[77] The 62 signatories, all Tory Party backbencher MPs, including a former party leader, cabinet ministers and deputy Speaker, were:

Structure

Chair

Controversies

Funding

The ERG has drawn criticism for its lack of transparency regarding its use of public funds to carry out research. After a report by openDemocracy found that more than a quarter of a million pounds had been claimed through MPs' official expenses since 2010, a call was made by Labour MPs for an inquiry to be carried out by the IPSA into the group's practices.[78][79] OpenDemocracy's September 2017 report commenced:

Taxpayers’ money is being used to fund an influential group of hard-line pro-Brexit Conservative MPs who are increasingly operating as a “party-within-a-party”.

In response to the request the IPSA found no breach of rules regarding expenses.[80] In addition to public funding for the service the group also receives donations. Robert Broadhurst, a Senior Researcher for the European Research Group records his employment with ERG, sponsored by David Nuttall MP, as having been 'funded by Members' subscriptions paid for from their parliamentary allowances; a donation from GR Software & Research Limited; and a donation from Lord Lamont of Lerwick.' GR Software & Research Limited has now been dissolved; its parent company, Pans (UK) Holdings Limited, is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Companies House lists Andrea Leadsom's husband, Benjamin Leadsom, as a former director of GR Software & Research Limited, along with her brother-in-law, Peter de Putron.

References

  1. ↑ Stewart, Heather (20 July 2018). "'We're the opposition': Rees-Mogg and his European Research Group". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2018. ; "Is the Brexit hard-liner European Research Group running the UK?". Deutsche Welle. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 Bennett, Owen (19 June 2017). "Hard Brexit Tory Group Choose Suella Fernandes As New Leader". HuffPost. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Revealed: These 70 Tory MPs Support The Hard Brexit Group Led By Jacob Rees-Mogg". buzzfeed.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "Assurance Review: Pooled services" (PDF). IPSA. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Spicer, Michael (28 January 2018). "Move over Ukip, Jacob Rees-Mogg and the ERG are now the real Brexit watchdogs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Usherwood, Simon. "Proximate Factors in the Mobilisation of Anti-EU Groups in France and the UK: The European Union as First-Order Politics". University of Surrey. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Hannan, Daniel (2016). What Next: How to get the best from Brexit. Head of Zeus. p. 22.
  8. ↑ Davies, Patricia Wynn (28 February 1995). "Euro-rebels may split in key debate". The Independent. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "UKIP PARLIAMENTARY RESOURCE UNIT LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Statement from Alan Bown". www.ukip.org. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "UKIP PARLIAMENTARY RESOURCE UNIT LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Baker, Steve. "We Must Have a Real EU Exit, Not a Fake One". stevebaker.info. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  13. ↑ Frampton, Will (19 November 2016). "Dorset MP calls for Britain to leave single market as he launches new pro-Brexit lobby group". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Bennett, Owen (13 June 2017). "Theresa May Has Just Promoted The Man Who Could Have Destroyed Her". HuffPost. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Swinford, Steven (16 January 2018). "Jacob Rees-Mogg to lead Eurosceptic Tory MPs and 'hold Government to account' over Brexit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "European Scrutiny Committee - Parliament UK". Parliament UK. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Brexit: an academic conference - Parliament UK". Parliament UK. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Christopher Howarth - ConservativeHome". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "About Christopher Howarth - Blog". WordPress. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "Boris Johnson's bid for the Tory leadership". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Doherty, Denis (19 January 2017). "Brexit: The history of the Tories' influential European Research Group". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  22. ↑ "Bim Afolami - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Steve Baker - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "Guto Bebb - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  25. ↑ "Andrew Bridgen - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "Douglas Carswell - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  27. ↑ "Christopher Chope - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  28. ↑ "Therese Coffey - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  29. ↑ "Robert Courts - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  30. ↑ "David Davis - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  31. ↑ "Jonathan Djanogly - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  32. ↑ "Jackie Doyle-Price - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  33. ↑ "James Duddridge - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Iain Duncan Smith - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  35. ↑ "Iain Duncan Smith - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "Suella Fernandes - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "Mark Field - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  38. ↑ "Liam Fox - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  39. ↑ "Mark Francois - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  40. ↑ "David Gauke - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  41. ↑ "Michael Gove - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  42. ↑ "Chris Grayling - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  43. ↑ "Chris Heaton-Harris - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  44. ↑ "Gerald Howarth - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  45. ↑ "Stewart Jackson - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  46. ↑ "Sajid Javid - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  47. ↑ "Bernard Jenkin - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  48. ↑ EXCLUSIVE, David Maddox, (8 February 2018). "'Punished for policy' Rees-Mogg leads Tories pushing May to help group FIGHT 'bullying' EU". Daily Express. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  49. ↑ "Eleanor Laing - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  50. ↑ "Pauline Latham - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  51. ↑ "Andrea Leadsom - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  52. ↑ "Brandon Lewis - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  53. ↑ "Peter Lilley - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  54. ↑ "Tim Loughton - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  55. ↑ "Craig Mackinlay - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  56. ↑ "Kit Malthouse - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  57. ↑ "Stephen McPartland - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  58. ↑ "Nigel Mills - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  59. ↑ "Penny Mordaunt - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  60. ↑ "James Morris - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  61. ↑ "David Nuttall - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  62. ↑ "Owen Paterson - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  63. ↑ Mason, Rowena; Asthana, Anushka; Elgot, Jessica (11 October 2017). "Theresa May expected to make concessions over 'Henry VIII' powers". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  64. ↑ "Chris Pincher - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  65. ↑ "Jacob Rees-Mogg - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  66. ↑ "David Ruffley - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  67. ↑ "Alec Shelbrooke - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  68. ↑ "Mark Simmonds - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  69. ↑ "Henry Smith - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  70. ↑ "Desmond Swayne - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  71. ↑ "Michael Tomlinson - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  72. ↑ "Martin Vickers - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  73. ↑ "David Warburton - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  74. ↑ "Angela Watkinson - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  75. ↑ "Bill Wiggin - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  76. ↑ "Mike Wood - IPSA". IPSA. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  77. ↑ "Letter from European Research Group to PM May". Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  78. ↑ "Labour MPs write to IPSA about use of public funds by European Research Group". Open Britain. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  79. ↑ Cusick, James. "MPs demand full investigation of hard-Brexit backing Tory "party within a party"". openDemocracy. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  80. ↑ "Information relating to the European Research Group (ERG)". IPSA. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.