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Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Lord Hain (Labour), on Monday, 19 April 1993, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 70 members in total.

BRITISH CONSERVATIVES AND SOUTH AFRICA

That this House, noting that the former South African Conservative Party member of Parliament, Clive Derby-Lewis, arrested in connection with the assassination of Chris Hani, is President of the Western Goals Institute, an extreme right group with links to both the Tory party and Nazi organisations in Europe, and whose British section according to its United Kingdom Chairman, Andrew Smith, has a majority of members who are also members of the British Conservative Party, and further that Downing Street policy advisers and Conservative honourable members have spoken at or attended its meetings and that in 1989 Mr Derby-Lewis spoke at a Western Goals fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference and in 1990 returned to Britain to address a Conservative Monday Club meeting within the Palace of Westminster precincts, strongly urges the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Conservative Party to inquire whether any member of the Tory Party or Tory honourable Members have participated in activity to destablise the process of peace and democratic transition in South Africa or has links with terroristic elements inside and outside the South African intelligence and security forces.

Amendments

The Early day motion has received 2 amendments.

1781A1
leave out from 'House' to end and add 'extends its sympathy to the family and friends of Chris Hani, assassinated so cruelly; condemns those who carried out this murder; reaffirms its support for constitutional reform in South Africa, without which violence and murder will continue; notes the efforts of British Conservative Parliamentarians in such groups as Conservatives for Fundamental Change in South Africa and the All-Party Southern Africa Group in Supporting that constitutional reform; congratulates the Government on its commitment to help bring about fundamental change and its positive efforts to do so through contacts with all facets of South African political opinion; and urges all politicians and people of all parties everywhere to help bring about that change which is so crucial to the future economic, social and political well-being of everybody in South Africa.'.
1781A2
leave out from 'House' to end and add 'condemns any attempt to smear the Conservative Party by associating it with Western Goals, a tiny extremist group it has consistently condemned; notes that Western Goals President Clive Derby-Lewis did not, as wrongly reported, address a fringe meeting at the 1989 Conservative Party conference; notes that the British section of Western Goals ceased functioning in 1992; notes that Western Goals (UK) had only one known member who belonged to a Conservative Association, which unanimously voted to expel him on discovering his Western Goals activities; notes that Western Goals (UK) never issued a list of its members, who are believed to have been fewer than 20 in total; notes that Western Goals (UK) hoped that the Conservative Party would lose the 1992 General Election, so that, according to the Observer of 8th December 1991,it could set up a new party to campaign against the Conservative Party and get into Parliament (as had Le Pen in France) on the back of proportional representation "to be introduced by the Lib-Lab coalition which would win the election"; notes that the Conservative Party Chairman publicly denounced "the publicity seeking antics of an extreme, anti-Conservative group, such as Western Goals, whose activities we wholly condemn"; notes that the Conservative Research Department set out Western Goals' record of links with, or support for, neo-fascist causes and individuals in a briefing note for the press, dated 6th October 1992, which concluded that "the aims and activities of Western Goals are incompatible with the objectives of the Conservative Party"; and welcomes the firmness and decisiveness of the Conservative Party in dealing with this matter, in sharp contrast to cowardice and prevarication of Labour's approach to its numerous extremists, throughout the 1980's.'

Secondary information

Type
Early day motion
Reference
1781 
1781A1 
1781A2 
Session
1992-93
Subjects
Political parties South Africa Assassination Hani, Chris
Link
View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk