No Turning Back (political group)

No Turning Back is a group within the British Conservative Party advocating Thatcherite policies. It was founded in 1985 to defend Margaret Thatcher's free-market reforms.[1] The group was named in honour of Thatcher's 1980 Conservative conference quote "U-turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."[2] No Turning Back published less material in the nineties and became involved in Conservative party in-fighting, resulting in both Michael Portillo and Francis Maude leaving the group,[1][2] but became more prominent during Iain Duncan Smith's time as Conservative leader because he had been a member until he was elected.[2]

Since 2005 the No Turning Back group has been chaired by John Redwood. It reportedly has "about 100 members" with "quite a lot" from the 2010 intake.[3] It has published pamphlets on the subjects of taxation and social mobility in the past, although the group exists mainly as a private dining club, meeting monthly, usually inviting a Minister or external expert to speak. There are currently no plans to launch future pamphlets.

The group has been seen as "deeply antagonistic" towards David Cameron, specifically early on in his leadership.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Portillo turns back on No Turning Back". BBC. 2 November 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference spotlight was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Barrett, Matthew. "What is the No Turning Back group? Matthew Barrett profiles the keepers of the Thatcherite flame". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Cameron's 'u-turns' disturb No Turning Back group". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 10 October 2016.

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