Federal Union is a
Pro-European British group launched in November 1938, to advocate a Federal Union of
Europe as a post-war aim. The founders of the organisation were Charles Kimber (1912-2008), Derek Rawnsley and Patrick Ransome. Other noted members of Federal Union included
Harold Wilson,
Barbara Wootton,
C. E. M. Joad,
Stephen King-Hall and
Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian. In 1940 the group set up a Federal Union Research Institute (FURI), chaired by
William Beveridge, to discuss the direction of post-war European integration. FURI attracted contributors from across the political spectrum, including
F.A. Hayek,
J. B. Priestley,
H. N. Brailsford,
Lionel Robbins and
Arnold Toynbee. In 1956 it argued for British participation in the
European Economic Community. It continues to exist today, arguing for federalism for the whole of Europe and the world.