Conservative internal turmoil after the publication of Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plans and Robert Jenrick’s resignation has cast a spotlight on the patchwork of different factions that make up the parliamentary party.
While the prime minister insists the Tories remain a “broad church”, he faces particular pressure from a range of Conservatives on the right wing of the party who coalesce around several groups labelled “the five families”.
The groups, whose membership sometimes overlap, consist of the New Conservatives, the European Research Group, the Common Sense Group, No Turning Back and the Northern Research Group. They are largely holding fire until a “star chamber” of experts has pronounced on the proposed legislation.
But there is also pressure from those sometimes referred to as moderates in the One Nation Conservatives, who remain a sizeable force.
The New Conservatives
The newest and one of the most vocal groupings, it was created in May and includes the party’s deputy chair Lee Anderson, as well as Tories gaining more prominence such as Miriam Cates, although many are in marginal “red wall” seats.
Its MPs, who are thought to number about 25 and are predominantly from the party’s 2019 intake, have been tightlipped on Sunak’s latest proposals but the group’s co-chair Danny Kruger has pressed the PM to deliver the Rwanda deportation plan by “unpicking” Britain from a range of international obligations.
European Research Group (ERG)
A group that perhaps had its moment in the sun during the civil war that engulfed the party under Theresa May, it has become active once again in terms of putting pressure on Sunak to take a hardline approach on Rwanda.
In an echo of the days when May was on the receiving end of similar moves to hold her feet to the fire, it was the ERG chair, Mark Francois, who announced details this week of the star chamber chaired by the veteran Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash, which will scrutinise Sunak’s Rwanda bill.
Northern Research Group (NRG)
Less clearly ideological in some ways than the other groups, the NRG has prioritised investment in the north. The group was founded by Tory MPs elected in red wall constituencies of England as well as Wales and Scotland in 2019.
But as the NRG chair, John Stevenson, said, it also sees immigration as a significant issue for many of the voters who elected the party. He believed Sunak’s proposed legislation would be “overwhelmingly” supported by northern MPs.
“Some may have wanted it to be more robust but I think that most will support it and I would be surprised if anybody went against it,” he said.
Common Sense Group
The group was launched with relatively little fanfare in the summer of 2020 with about 40 members, who have been at the forefront of leveraging “culture war” issues, including criticising the National Trust leadership.
Led by Sir John Hayes, the veteran Conservative backbencher and former Home Office minister who is close to Suella Braverman, it has been pushing alongside the New Conservatives for tougher action on both legal and illegal immigration.
No Turning Back
With a lower profile than the other rightwing groups, No Turning Back traces its lineage back to the the 1980s when it emerged as an ultra-Thatcherite force within the party and has since included MPs who were cheerleaders for the ill-fated Liz Truss administration.
John Redwood, who was one of Thatcher’s ministers, is the group’s chair and has been consistently pushing a UK withdrawal from the European convention on human rights (ECHR) as a means of ensuring that the Rwanda deportation plan can be realised.
One Nation Conservatives
The single biggest grouping within the party, it claims to have a membership of 106 MPs and is regarded as the umbrella for moderate Tories.
Some of its members had previously described overriding the ECHR as a “red line” and, as the bill has implications for Britain’s commitments under the convention, its MPs remain nervous about it. They are yet to make a final decision before next week’s vote on the second stage.
