One of the world’s leading conservative philosophers, Roger Scruton, and one of Britain’s leading historians are joining Britain’s oldest conservative think tank, the Bow Group, as senior patrons.
The news comes despite the Conservative Party’s recent attacks on the Bow Group in the Telegraph newspaper, a strategy that has been closely linked to Tory Party Chairman Grant Shapps and his bag carrier Paul Abbott, who are known to be opposed to traditional conservative values.
The Bow Group’s 10 new patrons will be announced in the run up to an event in Parliament on December 18th, representing leading voices for conservatism across different walks of life.
Bow Group Chairman Ben Harris-Quinney told Breitbart London: “Politics is the final arena of conservatism, but it begins with thought, ideas, writing and teaching. Starkey and Scruton are some of the best conservative minds in the world and we want the Bow Group to be the home of the conversation to rebuild a conservative discourse in Britain.
“As Margaret Thatcher said “first you win the argument, and then you win the election”, if conservatives can’t win the battle of ideas in philosophical terms, the Conservative Party will forever struggle to win elections true to its name.”
The Conservative Party is struggling to figure out how it is going to win the election in 2015, especially with the more conservative UK Independence Party outflanking Cameron and his cabinet to the right. A number of Bow Group members are understood to believe unifying the two parties under a conservative leader. The Bow Group allows anyone of conservative views to join.
In 1980 Roger Scruton wrote “The Meaning of Conservatism” and has since written over thirty books on political philosophy culture and aesthetics. He has lectured at Boston University, Birkbeck College and the American Enterprise Institute. Scruton was also involved in the establishment of underground universities and academic networks in Soviet-controlled Central Europe during the Cold War, and has received a number of awards for his work for liberty against communism.
David Starkey is one of Britain’s most celebrated historians, having authored over 20 books and appeared regularly on television and radio. Starkey has lectured at the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge and the University of Kent.
He has previously spoken at the Conservative Party Conference and was an early supporter of the TORCHE (Tory Campaign for Homosexual Equality), though has opposed he recent Same Sex Marriage Bill. In 2012 he gave a lecture to the Bow Group in which he argued against Scottish Independence.