THE shadowy Conservative Union Research Group is due to launch this week, according to one enthusiastic Tory MP.

The club – described by the SNP’s Pete Wishart as a collection of “nondescript oddballs” – aims to push Boris Johnson to be even more pro-Union.

Little is known about CURG, other than that it is modelled on the powerful Brexit-supporting European Research Group.

According to a report in The Times last month, there are around 30 MPs involved. Most of them are Scottish, Welsh or from the north of England.

Antony Higginbotham outed himself as a member of Curg yesterday, telling the Burnley Express that he was “proud to be one of the many MPs who have joined it”.

Higginbotham said CURG’s aim was simple: “To ensure there is a strong and consistent voice highlighting the benefits of what we have achieved, and will continue to achieve, together.

READ MORE: ‘Nondescript oddball’ Tory MPs join fight to save the Union

He continued: “And it will not be an issue that is only owned by those in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Because we all have a shared interest in the future of our country.

“I know from speaking to people across Burnley and Padiham that we are a borough of proud Unionists. You hear it when you’re out and about. Breaking up our country would not just impact those who want to do it but each and every one of us.”

Higginbotham suggested one way of strengthening the Union would through teaching the history of each nation in schools.

He said: “As a proud Unionist, and your MP, my job is to be that voice in Parliament. And there are things we can do to keep our Union strong.

“We need our schools to teach not only our collective history, but also the history of each part of the UK, from Adam Smith in Scotland who formed modern-day economics through to the English Civil War which has defined our democracy. That way we understand and celebrate our backgrounds.”

However, with education being devolved, that would need the agreement of the governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Last month Wishart told us: “The Unionist cause has no leadership, no compelling case to remain in the UK and nothing to offer Scotland in their isolated Brexit future.”