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#Liberty2014 - Seen around the world 23 million times

“If conservatives had an answer to Woodstock, it would resemble the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Liberty held today by the Centre for Policy Studies.”  Fraser Nelson

  • Over 700 delegates attend the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Liberty
  • The event takes social media by storm through #Liberty2014
  • John Howard, V.S. Naipul, General Petraeus, George Osborne and Michael Gove among those to speak
  • Media partners The Daily Telegraph cover event live and publish over 20 articles
  • Lord Saatchi launches #ThePolicy
  • Free market news and commentary service CapX launches

The Margaret Thatcher Conference on Liberty took place on Wednesday 18 June at the Guildhall with a who’s who of conservative philosophical heavyweights speaking.

The day was attended by over 700 delegates including many Members of Parliament, international think tanks from over thirty countries, foreign dignitaries, journalists, and academics.

It was also available to watch via YouTube around the world, the global buzz took social media by storm on #Liberty2014.

There have been 6.7 thousand mentions of #Liberty2014 and 4.2 thousand retweets, leading to a total audience of 23 million Twitter impressions (including 17 million on the day alone). The most influential tweeters included:

Among the speakers were: former Prime Minister John Howard of Australia as well as leading academics such as Professors Niall Ferguson, Richard Epstein, Deepak Lal, Deirdre McCloskeyand Luigi Zingales, Charles Moore (the official biographer of Lady Thatcher), Nobel Prize-winner V.S. Naipul, Lord Saatchi,Michael Gove MP, Roger Scruton, General Petraeus, Radek Sikorski, and Dr. Art Laffer.

To see the full livestream of the conference, click here: http://bit.ly/1lPwunL

We will also break this video up into the individual panel events over the coming week.

Our media partners The Daily Telegraph reported live from the conference. Read the live blog here and an archive of articles by and about the speakers here.

Daily Telegraph on #Liberty2014:

“Neither Mrs Thatcher nor Sir Keith saw liberty as an abstract concept, but one that was rooted in the freedom of ownership and the moral superiority of the market economy over its collectivist alternative. Socialists feared the advance of these ideas because it lessened their ability to control and guide the populace to do what the state thought was best for them. And this battle is by no means over: under Ed Miliband, the Labour Party is showing distinct signs of nostalgia for the socialist certitudes of the Seventies. Today’s conference is a timely reminder of why they were wrong then – and are wrong now.” Telegraph View: Thatcher and the champions of liberty

“Western governments aren’t doing enough to defend and promote Western values. That’s the message that John Howard, the former prime minister of Australia, brings to London ahead of Wednesday’s international Margaret Thatcher Conference on Liberty” John Howard: Margaret Thatcher was my ‘guiding light’

“In a speech a dinner to mark the end of the 2014 Margaret Thatcher conference on Liberty, he said: “The Thatcher revolution was not just something that happened to Britain, but part of an international uprising against the failed ideas of the post-war decades.” Christopher Hope: We must follow Thatcher the optimist, says George Osborne

Christopher Hope: We will use the courage of Margaret Thatcher to defeat militant Islamism, says George Osborne”

‘Has the West gone soft?” That is the question I and others were asked to address yesterday at the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Liberty, hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies – and given recent events in Iraq, it is a question that is more urgent than ever.” Lord Powell: The West will pay for losing its backbone

“This promises to be a landmark event, with a roster of speakers that includes Michael Gove, V.S. Naipaul, John Howard, Niall Ferguson and Fraser Nelson, as well as the Telegraph’s Benedict Brogan, Charles Moore and Daniel Hannan.” Toby Young: The Thatcher conference on Liberty promises to be a landmark conservative event

“So there is a backlog of serious Tory re-thinking to be done and some uncertainty as to whether the current crop of Tories is either energetic or creative enough for the task.

As the program of this conference demonstrates, however, the current CPS is both of those things. It had better be. Sir Keith was an amiable lunch companion. Disappointed enthusiasm might make him a troublesome ghost.” John O’Sullivan: Today’s Tories have forgotten the need for hard thinking

“Thatcherite Conservatives should “hold fast to the faith” and “continue the crusade for liberty”, Nancy Reagan has said. The widow of former American president Ronald Reagan warned that the “the eventual triumph of freedom would not come without sacrifice and diligence”. Christopher Hope: Keep the faith, Nancy Reagan tells Thatcherites

“What magnificent, brilliant specimens were on display! John O’Sullivan, the Lady’s former senior advisor; Lord Powell, her foreign affairs guru; John Howard, the Australian prime minster who admired her from affair; Roger Scruton, sometimes called her philosopher. And, of course, Lord Saatchi, the PR genius, who helped make Lady Thatcher the world leader she was. Yes, this historian was like a pig in the primordial mud.” Timothy Stanley: Meeting the Thatcherite big beasts

“Mrs Thatcher believed economic liberty was at the heart of human worth. But it and political freedom are everywhere under threat” Charles Moore: Thatcher’s unfinished business

Full Media Impact:

The conference was also reported on BBC Today, and BBC Radio 4 and 5.

Delegates were keen to hear from General David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq. His comments have been reported by:

At the Conference, Lord Saatchi launched The Policy, a revolutionary new tax Policy which will see small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) pay no corporation tax and which will abolish capital gains tax for their investors.

Read the full report here: www.cps.org.uk/ThePolicy

It has got the whole country talking and has ignited conversations across social media.

You can watch Lord Saatchi’s full interview on Newsnight where he revealed The Policy here (begins at 16.28).

Lord Saatchi has written for The Daily Telegraph about The Policy. He says: “These individuals will enjoy the opportunity to say: “I am the captain of my ship.” It will mean more money for them – and the first step on “the road from serfdom”.” Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/1juS1Cp

The brief animation below attempts to explain The Policy in brutally simple terms. Watch and share it on social media using #ThePolicy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTvg-vPDf4E

Media Impact: 

The Conference also included the launch of CapX, the digital news and comment service from the Centre for Policy Studies.

In an era in which capitalism has been tainted by association with forms of cartelisation and cronyism, CapX makes the case for popular capitalism: for innovation, competition, free trade, small government and liberty.

The audience for CapX includes, throughout the world, politicians and finance ministries; leading media and business figures; academics and students.

CapX is designed to save you time – by locating for you the very best writing and thinking on free markets, liberty and innovation. Using ground-breaking new technology, every hour CapX scours hundreds of thousands of news sources, blogs, academic papers and think tank publications, from all around the world.

These are then carefully distilled by a team of CapX editors. They pick the top five stories of the day which are sent to our subscribers in a brief daily email and App notification.

CapX also reviews the week on Friday, while on Sunday it looks ahead to the next, offering exclusive comment and insight from some of the most brilliant minds from around the world.

The world’s best and sharpest thinking. Delivered to you. Every day.

Tomorrow you will be receiving the welcome email from Iain Martin, CapX Editor, including five pieces of exclusive commentary and the top five CapX picks of the week. 

The site has launched with exclusive articles from:

Watch the introductory video on YouTube.

Date Added: Monday 23rd June 2014

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