Talk:Contact Group

The Contact Group has, in the past months alone, been meeting in private at various Private Clubs in Central London such as the prestigious Carlton Club, the National Liberal Club and the East India Club.

Annesley Abercorn, a Founder Member, has made frequent media appearances in the past few months in which the views of the Group in relation to Transportation Policy have been made public whilst Chairman Tony Lodge has authored an article in a recent edition of the London Chamber of Commerce's Almanac regarding the future of the British Energy Industry - a key interest of those in the group.

View the House of Commons Register of Members' Staff Interests to see the extensive commericial and political interests of various known members of the Group.

1st July 2005 -- article text moved to this talk page
I'm not taking a side in the above debate, but I'm moving the text of this article to this talk page. The article is entirely unreferenced and thus fails to meet SourceWatch standards. It contains sweeping and probably unprovable assertions such as "The Group has vast contacts within the worlds of politics, media, law, business, industry, transport and science and technology." And I've been unable to find any information about the Contact Group, or indeed confirmation of its existence, although I haven't looked terribly hard. Anyway, the original author(s) is (are) welcome to restore it to the article page, as long as appropriate references are provided. --Neoconned 09:11, 1 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Text of article as at 5th July 2005
Contact Group

The Group meets at least once a month at various exclusive London gentlemens' clubs to discuss issues effecting the United Kingdom. They have strong links with the British Conservative Party who, it is rumoured, donates a substantial sum to their organisation.

The Group often advises on, and in many cases imposes, policy ideas on the Conservative Party.

The Group has vast contacts within the worlds of politics, media, law, business, industry, transport and science and technology.

A number of senior MPs and Peers are advisors to the Group and help them to gather donations.

It is believed that the Group has a number of secret rituals and tests for candidates to pass before admission. These are laid down in the constitution of the Contact Group.

The Group has considerable funds and a rigid constitutional structure.

Known members of the Contact Group are:

Tony Lodge - Co Chairman and Founder Member. Annesley Abercorn - Co Chairman and Founder Member. Mark Walters - Vice Chairman and Founder Member. Gregory Stafford - Hon. Secretary. and is Director of Contact Group's subsidiary - Virtual Contact Group

This isn't about taking sides. It's about proper citations. I ran through the stubs of the four members listed above and found ONE external citation, Abercorn's personal bio, which doen't even mention the Contact Group.

Give proper citations for the article, and there is no problem with it.

--Hugh Manatee 19:46, 5 Jul 2005 (EDT)