Author Description

This book views sixty years of British politics through the eyes of the Progress Trust an exclusive, secret and influential group of senior Conservative MPs. Many of them occupied important positions within the Conservative Party; others served as Ministers or Secretaries of State during the course of their careers. Not always known to the general public, they exercised crucial influence in times of difficulty. Private archives never accessed before reveal how senior Conservative politicians reacted behind the scenes to significant post-war events, while shedding fresh light on whether history repeats itself. Many of today s controversies have been around for a very long time wet vs dry; big or small state; Europe or open seas; control or no control of immigration. A chronology of British politics 1943 2005, viewed without hindsight by senior Conservative MPs, provides a new and fresh perspective on events both remembered and forgotten.