Bow Group
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| Formation | February 7, 1951 |
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| Type | Public policy think tank |
| Headquarters | London |
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Official language
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English |
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Chairman
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Ben Harris-Quinney |
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Key people
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John Major, Geoffrey Howe, Norman Lamont, Michael Howard, Peter Lilley, Kenneth Clarke, Daniel Hannan, David Starkey, Roger Scruton, Norman Tebbit |
| Website | www |
The Bow Group, founded in 1951, is the oldest conservative think tank in the United Kingdom. Although often associated with the Conservative Party and UKIP, the group is an independent organisation that operates globally, largely funded by members' subscriptions. The Bow Group exists to publish and promote the research and policy proposals of its members, through policy papers, policy briefs and larger collaborative projects. Its members are predominantly people in their 20s and 30s, and also include leading conservative politicians.
The group's journal, Crossbow, published three times a year, and the group's programme of meetings during the parliamentary year also provide its members and guest speakers and writers with a forum for political debate.
Although a members' association, the group does accept outside donations, sponsorship and advertising.
The Bow Group was founded with the aim of providing an effective counter to socialism and the Fabian Society. Since then, it has expanded under chairmen such as Geoffrey Howe, Leon Brittan, Norman Lamont, Michael Howard, Peter Lilley and Sir Christopher Bland. Much of the group's thought can be categorised as supporting both a market economy and social responsibility. The reputation of the group was founded on the need for innovative thinking to address the pressing problems of the day. In keeping with this trend, it was The Bow Group which promoted the idea of a World Refugee Year in the late 1950s. In the 1960s the group attracted significant controversy in Conservative circles over its support for Kenyan independence. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the group was closely associated with the development of post-Keynesian economics and policy. The publication in 1973 of Peter Lilley's Alternative Manifesto marked the beginnings of the intellectual shift from the policies of the Heath government. The group was later in the vanguard of developing policy on privatisation and new enterprise zones, and promoting the extension of share ownership. The group continued to publish pamphlets on an enormously wide range of issues during the 1980s and 1990s.
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