Centre for Social Justice

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The Centre for Social Justice says it is

an independent think tank established by Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP in 2004, to seek effective solutions to the poverty that blight parts of Britain.[1]

In a March 2009 presentation Tim Montgomerie and Matthew Elliott described the Centre for Social Justice as part of the infrastructure of the conservative movement in Britain.[2] In 2011 Montgomerie wrote, 'the old rightwing thinktanks weren't particularly helpful to the Tory modernisers and so they built their own. ... The Centre for Social Justice gave Iain Duncan Smith his poverty-fighting plans.' [3]

In 2009 Iain Duncan Smith delivered a speech to the Heritage Foundation in Washington, thanking them for their help in 'building up an international network of individuals and think tanks interested in centre right approaches to the delivery of social justice'.[4]

In 2010 the Centre for Social Justice was voted the think tank which has most influence on the Cameron Project by Conservative Home website [5] and every MP who has taken part in the Centre's 'Inner City Challenge' is a member of the Conservative Party. The list includes Andrew Selons, David Burrowes, John Penrose, Patrick Mercer and Rt Hon Oliver Letwin [6].

Background

The Centre for Social Justice was set up as a continuation of a project set up by former Conservative Party leader William Hague. In 2001 Hague set up the ‘renewing one nation’ task force which was led by Tim Montgomerie.[7]

The CSJ was set up by Iain Duncan Smith, Philippa Stroud and Tim Montgomerie in although the idea was developed from a 2002 visit to Easterhouse in Glasgow by Duncan Smith and Montgomerie. [8] Following the visit to Easterhouse in 2002 Duncan Smith argued that he wanted the Conservatives to be:

‘‘the natural party of those who want to make a better life for themselves and their children’.[9]

Duncan Smith’s interest in social welfare issues is often attributed by the media to his visit to Easterhouse, they describe the event as his ‘Easterhouse epiphany’.[10]

Religious influence

In 2010 a Conservative MP complained to a Financial Times journalist about the influence of evangelical Christians on the party, he said:

'They’ve campaigned to change the processes so that they can bus in their voters, stuffing the selection meetings with their people. They don’t outnumber us, but they can out-organise us. They’re taking over the party'.[11]

The Financial Times investigation found that "While secular in its arguments, the CSJ was Christian in tone and hiring".[12] Religion has a strong influence on the founding members of the CSJ, Iain Duncan Smith has described unemployment as a 'sin',[13] and admitted that Catholicism is '‘integral to everything I do’.[14]

Ideological influence of Charles Murray

In an article for the Big Issue, Iain Duncan Smith argued that Britain was heading for 'social apartheid' because of the welfare system. In laying out his agenda for the Centre for Social Justice, he cited the work of Charles Murray arguing that:

The right-wing commentator Charles Murray has described the emergence of a caste society where the cheapest option becomes the segregation of society’s most vulnerable and most dysfunctional members. In Murray’s gated society problems are never conquered – only managed. Some people are literally imprisoned. Some, particularly minority communities, live in heavily-policed urban ghettoes. In this vision of social apartheid some are kept permanently on benefits. Others are becalmed by Ritalin and equivalent drugs.
There is one sure way of making sure that this dystopian caste society becomes a horrible reality for Britain. And that is to carry on as we are. Labour may hate the idea of a caste society but that is exactly where we’ll end up if we stick with their big-state, values-free mindset.[15]

The CSJ has not done any work with Charles Murray on policy development, Murray explained:

[I] 'Haven't had any contact with anyone in the current UK government (or its predecessor) for years. Nor have I had any contact with anyone at the Centre for Social Justice for years.[16]

Economic Dependency working group

The Centre for Social Justice has a working group set up to tackle the problem of economic dependency. The working group includes Corin Taylor and Nicholas Hillman. Taylor is the research director of the Taxpayers Alliance and is also affiliated with the Policy Exchange; Nicholas Hillman is also a former research fellow with the Policy Exchange.

Along with the Democracy Institute the Policy Exchange and the Taxpayers Alliance attacked Wilkinson and Pickett for their book The Spirit Level, which argued that social problems have a causal relationship with greater levels of income inequality.[17]

The Economic Dependency working group produced a report entitled Breakthrough Britain: Dynamic Benefits; towards welfare that works. The report cites a study by the Department of Work and Pensions which argues that 'the source of income is more important than the level of income in determining levels of social exclusion'.[18] The report argues that the three main failings of the benefits system presided over by the previous Labour Government were:

  • 1. It disincentivises work: the swift withdrawal of benefits, offsetting any earnings from work, punishes the lowest earners trying to earn more. It makes leaving welfare a risky proposition.
  • 2. It imposes penalties on desirable behaviour apart from work – such as marriage and cohabitation, saving, and home ownership.
  • 3. It is very complex – making it costly to administer and reinforcing dependency.[19]

Members

Nicholas Boys Smith | David Godfrey | James Greenbury | Nicholas Hillman | Peter King | Sara McKee | Lee Rowley | Debbie Scott | Corin Taylor | Cameron Watt[20]

People

2010

Board of Directors

Mark Florman - Chairman of Board of Directors from July 2010 following departure of Philippa Stroud [21]

Louise Hobbs | Stephen Brien | Ryan Robson | Sam Clarke

Advisory Board

Camila Batmangelidjh | Baroness Deech | Johan Eliasch | Brian Griffiths | William Hague | Robert Halfon | Syed Kamall | Oliver Letwin | Murdoch Maclennan | George Magan | Tim Montgomerie | Malcolm Offord | Patrick Regan | Stephan Shakespeare | Lawrence Sherman | David Willetts

People

Gavin Poole executive director from July 2010| Chris Bullivant | Charlotte Pickles | Robin Millar | Juliette Ash | Cara Walker | Jeffrey Bailey | Samantha Callan | Christian Guy | Adele Eastman | Zoe Briance | Ali Crossley | Deven Ghelani |Chris Perfect | Nicola Vimalanathan | Kirsty Turnbull | Lucy Maule | Joseph Colman | James Mumford | Melanie Mackay | Philippa Stroud, executive director until May 2010 |

2009

Board of Directors as at 19 November 2009:[22]

Advisory Board members as at 19 November 2009:

See also

Contact

1 Westminster Palace Gardens
Artillery Row
London, SW1P 1RL
http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk

References

  1. ↑ About, CSJ website, accessed 19 Nov 2009
  2. ↑ Tim Montgomerie, The growth of Britain's conservative movement, ConservativeHome, 14 March 2009.
  3. ↑ Tim Montgomerie, 'Ed Miliband should learn from the Tory opposition experience', guardian.co.uk, 26 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Iain Duncan Smith, From Opposition to Power, Centre for Social Justice, 9-March-2009, Accessed 10-January-2011
  5. ↑ ConservativeHome?,http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thinktankcentral/2010/04/centre-for-social-justice-and-policy-exchange-are-best-regarded-think-tanks-by-conservativehomes-inf.html Centre for Social Justice and Policy Exchange are best regarded think tanks by ConservativeHome's 'influentials panel', Accessed 11-February-2011
  6. ↑ Centre for Social Justice, http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=165 What is the Inner City Challenge?, Accessed 11- February-2010
  7. ↑ Cook, C. (2010) Christian Tories rewrite party doctrine, Financial Times, 12-February-2010, Accessed 28-March-2011
  8. ↑ Cook, C. (2010) Christian Tories rewrite party doctrine, Financial Times, 12-February-2010, Accessed 28-March-2011
  9. ↑ Collins, V. (2002) How Iain Duncan Smith came to Easterhouse and left with a new vision for the Tory party, The Herald, 23-March-2002, Accessed 28-March-2011
  10. ↑ Collins, V. (2002) How Iain Duncan Smith came to Easterhouse and left with a new vision for the Tory party, The Herald, 23-March-2002, Accessed 28-March-2011
  11. ↑ Cook, C. (2010) Christian Tories rewrite party doctrine, Financial Times, 12-February-2010, Accessed 28-March-2011
  12. ↑ Cook, C. (2010) Christian Tories rewrite party doctrine, Financial Times, 12-February-2010, Accessed 28-March-2011
  13. ↑ Patrick Wintour, Randeep Ramesh & Helene Mulholland, Iain Duncan Smith: it's a sin that people fail to take up work, The Guardian, 11-November-2010, Accessed 02-May-2011
  14. ↑ Bunting, M. (2010), Iain Duncan Smith lets his secular mask slip, The Guardian, 11-November-2010, Accessed 02-May-2011
  15. ↑ Iain Duncan Smith, We're heading for social apartheid in Britain if we don't change course, IainDuncanSmith.org, Accessed 21-February-2010
  16. ↑ Charles Murray, Re: Welfare Reform Advice, E-mail to Steven Harkins, 21-February-2011
  17. ↑ Robert Booth, The Spirit Level: how 'ideas wreckers' turned book into political punchbag, The Guardian, 14-August-2010, Accessed 10-January-2010
  18. ↑ Centre for Social Justice, Breakthrough Britain: Dynamic Benefits; towards welfare that works (Executive Summary), Centre for Social Justice, Accessed 10-January-2010
  19. ↑ Centre for Social Justice, Breakthrough Britain: Dynamic Benefits; towards welfare that works (Executive Summary), Centre for Social Justice, Accessed 10-January-2010
  20. ↑ Economic Dependency, Working Group, Centre for Social Justice, Accessed 10-January-2010
  21. ↑ Public Affairs News http://www.publicaffairsnews.com/no_cache/home/think-tank-news/news-detail/newsarticle/new-executive-director-at-the-centre-for-social-justice/45/ New executive director at the Centre for Social Justice], accessed 22 Sept 2011
  22. ↑ Board of Directors, CSJ website, accessed 19 Nov 2009
  23. ↑ Social Justice Scotland Directors, Social Justice Scotland website, accessed 19 Nov 2009
  24. ↑ Centre for Social Justice Advisory Board, accessed 13 February 2010
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