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Formation | 2014 |
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Type | Public policy think tank |
Legal status | Non-profit company |
Location |
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Membership | Around 1,000 |
Executive chair | Ryan Shorthouse |
Website | www.brightblue.org.uk |
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United Kingdom |
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Bright Blue is an independent centre-right think tank and pressure group with a mission statement of defending and improving liberal society, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2014 by British thinker Ryan Shorthouse,[1] Bright Blue aims to "defend and champion liberal, open, democratic and meritocratic values, institutions and policies."[2] Bright Blue is a membership-based think tank, with membership open to anyone who identifies as a liberal conservative. It publishes political research, recommends and vets public policy, and hosts political events.
The Daily Telegraph has described the organisation as "the modernising wing of the Tory party"[3] and the ConservativeHome website has described it as "a deep intellectual gene pool for the Conservative Party's future."[4] In 2018, the Evening Standard[5] noted that Bright Blue "has managed to set the party’s agenda on a number of issues." In 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, it was shortlisted for both UK Social Policy Think Tank of The Year and UK Environment & Energy Think Tank of The Year in the annual Prospect awards.[6][7][8][9] It was the first centre-right organisation to call for the UK to adopt a legal net zero emissions target.[10]
The think tank describes its guiding ideas as: optimism about human potential; evidence not ideology; pro-market not free-market; social justice; rewarding contribution; individual success and communal responsibility; open and integrated societies; the importance of institutions; positivity about politics; and citizen power.[11]
Bright Blue hosts its own online newspaper, Centre Write, which focuses on giving a platform to up-and-coming political commentators.