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In the six years since its formation, US hard-right group Turning Point has become a fixture on campuses at multiple UK universities.
Using the so-called ‘culture war’ to promote itself as a “grassroots conservative and free speech activist organisation”, TPUK has been the driving force behind a growing network of well-placed political commentators and SpAds dedicated to pushing far-right, Trumpian political views into UK Parliament.
In 2022, it was revealed that a youth group, inspired and educated by TPUK, had secured prominent positions within the Conservative Party with the intent of pushing it further to the Right.
Following the Conservatives’ election defeat, many members of the group jumped ship to Reform, while others took up prominent positions in Tufton Street think-tanks. TPUK’s other protégés regularly appear in the right-wing press, highlighting the organisation’s growing influence on both MPs and those who vote for them.
Their latest offshoot is the Women’s Safety Initiative (WSI).
Founded in April by 23 year-old Jess Gill, social media manager for the Objective Standards Institute and a fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, the WSI appears to be a small organisation created (according to their website) to “expose the dangers of uncontrolled immigration, put women and children first, advocate for victims, and demand real solutions”.
Dig a little deeper, however, and their mission and influence become alarmingly clear.
Talking Heads
In the last four months, WSI have amassed more than 65,000 followers across their social media platforms, their spokeswomen are regular guests on GB News and TalkTV, whilst their posts are shared and supported by MP Rupert Lowe and Conservative Councillor Susan Hall.
The WSI’s leadership includes two Conservative Party candidates, Grace Turner and Charlotte Whitney-Brown, and Lucy Jayne White, a policy specialist at Tufton Street think-tank, the Centre for Migration Control (CMC).
Gill herself is also a member of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance, a US-based Libertarian women’s organisation which is anti-Socialist and pro-Free Market Economy.
Originally a Labour supporter, by 2021, Gill was sharing Instagram videos which showed her campaigning with TPUK. In response to a request for comment, Gill told Byline Times that her “political shift started well before [she] became involved with Turning Point”.