Bright Blue (organisation)

This article is about the British conservative organisation. For the color, see blue. For the musical group, see Bright Blue (band).
Bright Blue
Formation2014; 10 years ago (2014)
TypePublic policy think tank
Legal statusNon-profit company
Location
Membership
Around 1,000
Executive chair
Ryan Shorthouse
Websitewww.brightblue.org.uk
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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.

  1. ^ "The new Tory reformers looking to conquer the centre ground". Evening Standard. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "About". Bright Blue. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ Dominiczak, Peter (10 January 2013). "Conservatives should be the party of the low paid, minister says". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  4. ^ Hoskin, Peter (9 January 2013). "What the Tory modernisers did next". Conservative Home. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  5. ^ Balls, Katy (28 November 2018). "The new Tory reformers looking to conquer the centre ground". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Think Tank Awards 2016". Prospect.
  7. ^ Team, Prospect. "Think Tank Awards 2017: Who won?".
  8. ^ Team, Prospect. "Think Tank Awards 2018: the full shortlist".
  9. ^ Dean, Alex. "Think Tank Awards 2019—the full results". Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  10. ^ Hansard, Robert (25 May 2018). "UK should adopt new G7-leading legal net zero emissions target, says Bright Blue". Bright Blue. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ "About". Bright Blue. Retrieved 7 June 2024.