Twenty years ago this summer I was sacked as editor of Freedom Today, The Freedom Association magazine.
I’m not as a rule big on anniversaries but as it’s the first and only time I’ve been sacked from any job, paid or otherwise, I couldn’t let this historic moment pass without comment or explanation.
I've never been a member of The Freedom Association but I had long admired Norris McWhirter who had co-founded the organisation with his brother Ross who was later murdered by the IRA.
I also had some history with the group which in its Eighties heyday had an office off Oxford Street that I visited once or twice.
As director of the Media Monitoring Unit from 1985-1990 I addressed TFA members on several occasions, the events I remember most being in Devon (where I stayed overnight with a family of local members) and at Chiswick Town Hall in London.
In 1990 I also wrote a paper (‘Broadcasting and Political Bias’, foreword by Norris McWhirter) for the Hampden Trust, a registered charity with several trustees who were also members of The Freedom Association Council.
When I was appointed editor of Freedom Today a decade later I had been working for Forest for 15 months but I’d had my eye on the magazine for years because I felt there was so much more that could be done with it that might appeal to a wider audience.
There were only six issues a year so it was easy enough to fit the work in around my day job, and it helped that my Forest colleague Jo Gaffikin joined me as assistant editor.
We completely redesigned it and for the first time in the magazine’s history it was printed throughout in full colour.
The leading article in our first issue set out our aims and objectives:
Like daytime television Freedom Today has had a makeover. Some of you may think we have gone too far; others that we have not gone far enough. Truth be told, we did consider changing the name after one leading commentator (at a conference entitled, ironically, 'Freedom and its Limits') made the point that the word 'freedom' is now irredeemably 'naff' while another suggested that the reason is because most people in Britain genuinely believe they have most of the freedoms they could wish for – freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of movement and so on – and they consequently regard organisations like The Freedom Association as dinosaurs living in another age.
All of which may be true and is certainly worth discussing in future issues. Whatever the reason, we've chosen to stick with Freedom Today for two reasons: (1) unlike Tony Blair and his New Labour 'elite' we don't believe in change for change's sake; and (2) while it may be unfashionable to say so, we honestly believe that many of our freedoms (cultural, political and lifestyle) are under attack. So, given that we have a loud voice and are not afraid to use it, Freedom Today it is!
Make no mistake, there is still plenty worth fighting. Hence Freedom Today will continue to highlight the battles against Big Government (including the all-embracing European Union), Big Taxation (including fuel and other stealth taxes), BBC bias (on Europe and other issues), unchecked political correctness and much, much more.
Of course, it's not all doom and gloom and we will also celebrate the many freedoms we do enjoy whilst exploring what, exactly, we mean by 'freedom'. We are not afraid of debate and so in these pages you will also find articles and opinions that challenge traditional TFA thinking. Our goal, quite simply, is that timeless concept – a magazine that entertains, informs and, above all, makes us think about the issues involved.
That first issue also featured a light-hearted interview with Boris Johnson who at the time was editor of The Spectator and the prospective parliamentary candidate for Henley.
In our hands Freedom Today combined interviews and features with opinion pieces and short diary style items and gossip. There was also some tongue-in-cheek humour, in contrast with the unremittingly serious publication of old. For example:
It’s not often that the chairman of The Freedom Association agrees with a Marxist but that was the case when Christopher Gill [who succeeded Norris McWhirter] wrote to the Daily Telegraph to commend Claire Fox, publisher of the now defunct LM magazine, on her article warning readers of the dangers of transferring power from Parliament to the judiciary.
Fox, now director of the highly acclaimed Institute of Ideas, was unavailable for comment, which is probably just as well. The last time we approached her to write for Freedom Today her reply was unprintable.
We interviewed a wide range of people - film director Michael Winner, Chelsea chairman Ken Bates, publisher Felix Dennis, internet entrepreneur Ben Cohen and many more - and commissioned articles on a diverse range of subjects including drugs, gay marriage and women in boxing.
Writers we enticed to contribute to the magazine included journalist Mary Kenny (who wrote ‘The Politics of Sex’), Edward Enfield (father of Harry) and Iain Dale, MD of Politico's Bookshop in Westminster.
One feature was ‘In Your Dreams: The ultimate fantasy government’, published in May 2001, shortly before the General Election that saw Tony Blair returned to office.
A panel of experts including Norris McWhirter; Madsen Pirie, president and co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute; John Blundell, director of the Institute of Economic Affairs; and journalist Peter Clarke nominated a hatful of people and eventually came up with a fantasy Cabinet that included the following:
Prime Minister - Charles Moore, newspaper editor
True blue to his fingertips and the natural leader of the 'forces of conservatism'.
Chancellor – Niall Ferguson, historian
Hates taxation and understands finance.
Home Secretary – Michael Gove, journalist
Understands that economic and civil liberties are equally important.
Foreign Secretary – Peter Mandelson, politician
Brilliant diplomat, earned respect from all sides in Northern Ireland and easy scapegoat if things go wrong.
I can only apologise but it was me who suggested Michael Gove. I also nominated my old boss Michael Forsyth (Lord Forsyth of Drumlean) for the job of Health Secretary. "Only Forsyth," I said, "has the vision, the conviction and the bravery to tackle the problems of the NHS." Sadly he failed to make the cut. Sorry, Michael.
Successful nominees included Sir Richard Branson (Transport Secretary), Frank Field MP (Social Services), The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP (Health), Ann Robinson (Consumer Affairs), Christine Hamilton (Chief Whip), JK Rowling (Minister for Youth) and John Prescott (Minister Without Portfolio).
About Clarke, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, we wrote: 'Dodgy on Europe but a class act when it comes to beer and cigars.'
Of Frank Field we said: 'Most intelligent man in politics; only person in the Labour Party with any vision.'
Branson’s nomination was justified on the grounds that this would be the 'One and only chance for this political virgin to prove whether actions speak louder than words.'
As for Prescott his citation read: 'The Cabinet needs a chauffeur and who better than 'Two Jags'?'
Most articles were of course more serious (I was particularly pleased with our post 9/11 issue, 'The World At War') and looking back I’m immensely proud of the work Jo and I did to improve Freedom Today beyond recognition.
We deviated a bit from The Freedom Association’s core campaigns but we never lost sight of them and there were still plenty of articles about the EU, the monarchy, imperial measurements and BBC bias, although we may have dialled down all that Magna Carta stuff.
In my view (and this is no time for false modesty) we produced a consistently good magazine that entertained and provoked but still communicated a serious message about Big Government and civil liberties.
My mistake was thinking we could reinvent The Freedom Association as a more socially liberal organisation when I knew, in my heart of hearts, that despite its name it was neither libertarian nor especially liberal on many issues.
Like the Tory party the overwhelming majority of its members were (and still are) socially conservative and paternalistic.
Nevertheless, give or take a few dissenters, the feedback was generally positive. Unfortunately when McWhirter stood down as chairman I suspected the end was nigh.
We didn’t go quietly though. This further nod to Claire Fox (now Baroness Fox) appeared in our final issue:
Freedom fighter of the month is Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas, former publisher of LM (Living Marxism) and a recent panellist on BBC1’s Question Time.
Speaking at the Daily Telegraph’s ‘A Free Country?’ conference, Fox stood out from her consensus-seeking colleagues by defending her ‘right to offend’. We couldn’t agree more. In a politically correct world many people (including some TFA members) are far too precious about certain subjects just because they personally find them objectionable - smoking, boxing and fox hunting come to mind - and far too quick to go off in a huff if magazines like Freedom Today dare to feature them.
This column - if not The Freedom Association - believes in the right to offend! Discuss.
We never got the chance to have that discussion because, a few days after the issue was published, McWhirter’s successor as chairman rang to tell me our time was up.
I believe the final straw was my decision to feature on the cover of what was to be our last issue a controversial image of the Queen by artist Justin Mortimer (see above).
It was chosen, ironically, to promote an article in which, 'on behalf of The Freedom Association, chairman Christopher Gill sends loyal greetings to the Queen' on her Golden Jubilee.
I wanted something a little different to the more traditional portrait of Her Maj in a sea of red, white and blue (and it was certainly different!) but I don’t think Christopher shared my fondness for an image that some newspapers had previously interpreted as ‘Off with her head’!
In truth I wasn’t surprised by my sacking and the loss of Freedom Today was inconsequential to us. We had our jobs at Forest and we were about to launch another magazine, The Politico, for Politicos Bookshop.
Looking back though I still think we did a great job and, to show there were no hard feelings, in 2008 Forest joined forces with The Freedom Association to launch the inaugural Freedom Zone at the Conservative conference in Birmingham.
That’s another story but if you’re interested I wrote about it here, here and here.
