John Kingsley Read
Encyclopedia
John Kingsley Read was chairman of the British National Front
(NF) from 1974 to 1976 and a founder of the National Party
.
A former member of the Conservative Party
and chairman of the Blackburn Young Conservatives
, Read left to join the NF in 1973 having addressed a rally against the arrival of Ugandan Asians in Britain earlier that same year in Blackburn.
A strong orator, Read rose quickly through the NF ranks, his style drawing comparisons to American politician George Wallace
, to whom he also bore a passing physical resemblance. Read was later denounced as a drunkard by Andrew Fountaine
.
After securing the support of potential rival Roy Painter
, Read was elected Chairman of the National Front in 1974, with the neo-imperialist John Tyndall
his deputy chairman, in what was regarded as a vote by the 'populist
' or Strasserite wing of the party against the authoritarian Tyndall.
Later Read himself "drifted" into the populist camp but was only narrowly re-elected as Chairman in 1975. He tried to expel Tyndall from the party but Read's decision was overturned at the High Court.
Read then quit the NF along with many of his followers to establish the National Party
(NP), which won two seats on Blackburn Council, one of them held by Read, but their other councillor was disqualified for election irregularities.
Read designed the front cover motif for the British edition of Arthur Butz
's holocaust denial
book The Hoax of the Twentieth Century
which was circulated by the NP. After the murder of a young Sikh man in a suspected racist attack, Read remarked during a speech at an NP meeting, "One down, a million to go", which effectively ended his presentation of a more 'moderate' stance. Read was later acquitted for making the statement in a decision which aroused "furious controversy".
Following Read's death in 1985, Searchlight claimed he had been working as a mole for them. This was disputed by Nick Griffin
and many others who assert that Kingsley Read had been working with the knowledge of other leading members of the NF to feed false information to the magazine deliberately, although John Tyndall was convinced that Kingsley Read had been a double agent.
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
(NF) from 1974 to 1976 and a founder of the National Party
National Party (UK, 1976)
The National Party was a short-lived British far right political party formed on 6 January 1976 and which dissolved before the 1979 general election...
.
A former member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and chairman of the Blackburn Young Conservatives
Young Conservatives (UK)
The Young Conservatives was the youth wing of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party until the organisation was replaced in 1998 by Conservative Future.-Origins:...
, Read left to join the NF in 1973 having addressed a rally against the arrival of Ugandan Asians in Britain earlier that same year in Blackburn.
A strong orator, Read rose quickly through the NF ranks, his style drawing comparisons to American politician George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
, to whom he also bore a passing physical resemblance. Read was later denounced as a drunkard by Andrew Fountaine
Andrew Fountaine
Andrew Fountaine was a veteran of the far right scene in British politics.Born into a land-owning Norfolk family, Fountaine was educated at the Army College in Aldershot and was the son of Vice Admiral Charles Fountaine who had been naval ADC to King George V...
.
After securing the support of potential rival Roy Painter
Roy Painter
Roy Painter is a British Conservative politician and once candidate who for a time became one of the leading figures on the British far right....
, Read was elected Chairman of the National Front in 1974, with the neo-imperialist John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
his deputy chairman, in what was regarded as a vote by the 'populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
' or Strasserite wing of the party against the authoritarian Tyndall.
Later Read himself "drifted" into the populist camp but was only narrowly re-elected as Chairman in 1975. He tried to expel Tyndall from the party but Read's decision was overturned at the High Court.
Read then quit the NF along with many of his followers to establish the National Party
National Party (UK, 1976)
The National Party was a short-lived British far right political party formed on 6 January 1976 and which dissolved before the 1979 general election...
(NP), which won two seats on Blackburn Council, one of them held by Read, but their other councillor was disqualified for election irregularities.
Read designed the front cover motif for the British edition of Arthur Butz
Arthur Butz
Arthur R. Butz is a Holocaust denier and associate professor of electrical engineering at Northwestern University. He achieved tenure in 1974 and currently teaches classes in control system theory and digital signal processing.-Education:...
's holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
book The Hoax of the Twentieth Century
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry is a book by electrical engineering professor Arthur Butz. First published in 1976 by Historical Review Press, it denied that Nazi Germany tried to exterminate the Jews during the Holocaust, and was...
which was circulated by the NP. After the murder of a young Sikh man in a suspected racist attack, Read remarked during a speech at an NP meeting, "One down, a million to go", which effectively ended his presentation of a more 'moderate' stance. Read was later acquitted for making the statement in a decision which aroused "furious controversy".
Following Read's death in 1985, Searchlight claimed he had been working as a mole for them. This was disputed by Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
and many others who assert that Kingsley Read had been working with the knowledge of other leading members of the NF to feed false information to the magazine deliberately, although John Tyndall was convinced that Kingsley Read had been a double agent.
Elections contested
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,... |
Blackburn Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency) Blackburn is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.-Boundaries:The constituency... |
NF British National Front The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes .... |
1778 | 4.2 |
| October 1974 United Kingdom general election, October 1974 The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of... |
Blackburn Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency) Blackburn is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.-Boundaries:The constituency... |
NF | 1758 | 4.4 |
| 4 March 1976 | Coventry NW Coventry North West (UK Parliament constituency) Coventry North West is a borough constituency in the city of Coventry which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom... |
NP National Party (UK, 1976) The National Party was a short-lived British far right political party formed on 6 January 1976 and which dissolved before the 1979 general election... |
208 | 0.6 |