SENIOR Tories will be speaking alongside a Trump-supporting US politician and host of controversial names at conference promoting the “national conservatism” movement this week.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and former ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and David Frost are listed as speakers for the “NatCon” conference taking place in London from tomorrow to Wednesday.
The principles of the movement include “anti-woke policies”, ending mass migration and supporting “those who need help, not those who don’t”, and they will help “deliver the opportunities of Brexit”, according to an article written by Rees-Mogg and Frost.
Speakers on the bill include US senator JD Vance, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, opposes abortion and blamed “the childless left” for America’s woes in a speech two years ago.
The Ohio politician has also been attacked for his views on immigration, including accusations of racism over a campaign ad advocating the building of Trump’s border wall in which he asked “are you a racist?” and “do you hate Mexicans?” before blaming his mother’s addiction issues on immigrants.
Speakers also include commentator Douglas Murray who has been criticised for his comments on immigration, including saying in 2013 that London had “become a foreign country” because white Britons were a minority in 23 of 33 London boroughs.
Other controversial names taking part include Tory MP Lee Anderson, who provoked fury last year after saying foodbanks were not necessary as people could cook meals for 30p a day, and historian David Starkey who was investigated by police over remarks he made about slavery in an interview in 2020.
Previous attendees at NatCon conferences have included far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The movement, which is a project of think-tank the Edmund Burke Foundation, states on its conference website: “We see national conservatism as the best path forward for a democratic world confronted by a rising China abroad and a powerful new Marxism at home.
“We see the rich tradition of national conservative thought as an intellectually serious alternative to the excesses of purist libertarianism, and in stark opposition to political theories grounded in race.
“The United Kingdom is forging its own independent path outside the European Union. National Conservatism offers a guide which honours Britain’s history, seizes the opportunities of the moment and fits us for the future.”
Writing in the Daily Telegraph ahead of the conference, Rees-Mogg and Frost said it was based on a restoration of “economic freedom, freedom of speech and anti-woke policies rooted in common sense”.
They said: “Underlying this is a belief that the state cannot do everything, but must do properly what it does do: end mass migration so that all may integrate into our nation; maintain law, order and justice; support those who need help, not those who don’t; protect our institutions; and build effective armed forces in a dangerous world.”
Rees-Mogg and Frost also said a central principle was to “respect national traditions” which in Britain is characterised by love of freedom “of free markets, free trade and free individuals and families”.
“Globalists and socialists put little weight on these traditions because they think the same ideas and rules can work in every country,” they added.
“But it is by getting back to principles that have been shown to work in practice, not by repudiating them, that we will deliver on the opportunities of Brexit.”
