National Party (UK, 1976)
Encyclopedia
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. It was a splinter group from the National Front
(NF), and came about as a result of a dispute within the NF between John Kingsley Read
and John Tyndall
.
and immigration" which led to "several leading Powellites
" leaving the Conservative Party for the NF and then later disagreements within the National Front.
Kingsley Read became leader of the NF in 1974, at the same time as a move towards a more populist
platform within the party. The move was resisted by Tyndall and his supporters, however, the electoral results from the General Election in 1974 showed the three most successful NF candidates "were all from the 'Populist' wing". With Tyndall proposing constitutional reform of the NF the 'Populist' counter-moves to expel him ended in failure. Tyndall went to court which resulted in the reinstatement of "Tyndall and his supporters. Subsequently, the courts also restored the NF headquarters and the membership lists to the Tyndall faction".
Kingsley Read broke from the NF altogether and formed the National Party with several other leading NF members. In all around 2000 members, or one fifth of the NF's total, joined the new party, which thus represented a considerable loss of support to the NF. At its inaugural meeting the party voted not to purge the party of "all those with Nazi, Fascist or Communist backgrounds".
helped shape the ideology of the party the source of which was "the 'soft' National Socialism of Rohm
and the SD". Lawson edited the party journal, Britain First, which was published between 1974 and 1977. As well as Powellite Conservatives and NF Populists a number of members were "socially radical Strasserites". The National Party "claimed to be more opposed to immigration
than the NF" and sought the "repatriation or resettlement abroad of all coloured and other racial incompatible immigrants, their dependents and descendents". The National Party also circulated holocaust denial
material such as Arthur Butz
's The Hoax of the Twentieth Century
.
In the local elections of 1976 it had two councillors elected in Blackburn, Lancashire
, which were to be the last electoral success for any British far-right party until the election of Derek Beackon
of the British National Party
in 1993. However, the party went in decline during 1977.
Some members, such as Steve Brady, later rejoined the NF, and other members appear to have joined the Nationalist Party
.
Other members of note included
of Andrew Fountaine
. Similarly it had no connection to the National Party which briefly emerged from the National Fellowship
.
s for Westminster
seats. In each of the three elections the NP finished behind the NF candidates, namely Andrew Fountaine
, Joseph Parker and Paul Kavanagh respectively.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
political party formed on 6 January 1976 and which dissolved before the 1979 general election. It was a splinter group from the National Front
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), and came about as a result of a dispute within the NF between John Kingsley Read
John Kingsley Read
John Kingsley Read was chairman of the British National Front 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...
and 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...
.
Background and formation
The origins of the party were the result of both internal dissention within the Monday Club over "entry to the EECEuropean Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
and immigration" which led to "several leading Powellites
Powellism
Powellism is the name given to the political views of Conservative and Ulster Unionist politician Enoch Powell, which derive from his High Tory and libertarian outlook.- Overview :...
" leaving the Conservative Party for the NF and then later disagreements within the National Front.
Kingsley Read became leader of the NF in 1974, at the same time as a move towards a more 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...
platform within the party. The move was resisted by Tyndall and his supporters, however, the electoral results from the General Election in 1974 showed the three most successful NF candidates "were all from the 'Populist' wing". With Tyndall proposing constitutional reform of the NF the 'Populist' counter-moves to expel him ended in failure. Tyndall went to court which resulted in the reinstatement of "Tyndall and his supporters. Subsequently, the courts also restored the NF headquarters and the membership lists to the Tyndall faction".
Kingsley Read broke from the NF altogether and formed the National Party with several other leading NF members. In all around 2000 members, or one fifth of the NF's total, joined the new party, which thus represented a considerable loss of support to the NF. At its inaugural meeting the party voted not to purge the party of "all those with Nazi, Fascist or Communist backgrounds".
Development of the party
Richard LawsonRichard Lawson (UK politician)
Richard Lawson has been a member of various far right groups in the United Kingdom.Lawson was the Student Organiser for the British National Front...
helped shape the ideology of the party the source of which was "the 'soft' National Socialism of Rohm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
and the SD". Lawson edited the party journal, Britain First, which was published between 1974 and 1977. As well as Powellite Conservatives and NF Populists a number of members were "socially radical Strasserites". The National Party "claimed to be more opposed to immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
than the NF" and sought the "repatriation or resettlement abroad of all coloured and other racial incompatible immigrants, their dependents and descendents". The National Party also circulated 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...
material such as 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 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...
.
In the local elections of 1976 it had two councillors elected in Blackburn, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, which were to be the last electoral success for any British far-right party until the election of Derek Beackon
Derek Beackon
Derek William Beackon is a former British National Party councillor.Beackon joined the BNP in 1986 as an associate member, becoming a full member two years later...
of the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
in 1993. However, the party went in decline during 1977.
Some members, such as Steve Brady, later rejoined the NF, and other members appear to have joined the Nationalist Party
Constitutional Movement
The Constitutional Movement was a right wing political group in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1979 by Andrew Fountaine as the National Front Constitutional Movement, a splinter group from the National Front...
.
Leading members
The NP attracted a number of leading figures from the NF/far right to its ranks. These included:- Gordon Brown of the Greater Britain MovementGreater Britain MovementThe Greater Britain Movement was a British far right political group formed by John Tyndall in 1964 after he split from Colin Jordan's National Socialist Movement...
. (Not to be confused with Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, former British Prime Minister and former leader of the Labour Party) - Richard LawsonRichard Lawson (UK politician)Richard Lawson has been a member of various far right groups in the United Kingdom.Lawson was the Student Organiser for the British National Front...
, editor of Britain First and later associated with the Official National FrontOfficial National FrontThe Official National Front was one of two far-right groups to emerge in the United Kingdom in 1986 following a split within the National Front...
. - David McCaldenDavid McCaldenWilliam David McCalden was a figure in the British political far right. As co-founder of the Institute for Historical Review, he is notable for his Holocaust denial.-Early life:...
, a former NF writer who later emigrated to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he was a founder of Holocaust denial organization the Institute for Historical ReviewInstitute for Historical ReviewThe Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
. - Roy PainterRoy PainterRoy Painter is a British Conservative politician and once candidate who for a time became one of the leading figures on the British far right....
, a leading Conservative Party member from Enfield - Denis PirieDenis PirieDenis Pirie is a veteran of the British far right scene who took a leading role in a number of movements.He began his career as a member of the 1960s British National Party and was appointed a member of the party's national council not long after its foundation...
, a veteran of the National Socialist Movement who was later involved in Martin WebsterMartin WebsterMartin Guy Alan Webster is a former leading figure on the far-right in British politics.-Early political activism:An early member of the Young Conservatives, from which he claimed to have been expelled, Webster was associated loosely with the League of Empire Loyalists until he joined the National...
's Our Nation.
Other members of note included
- Steve Brady, an influential figure in LoyalistUlster loyalismUlster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
circles in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
as well as the League of Saint GeorgeLeague of Saint GeorgeThe League of St. George is a Neo-Nazi organization based in the United Kingdom.-History:The League was formed around 1974 as a political club by Keith Thompson and Mike Griffin as a breakaway from the Action Party, founded by British fascist, Oswald Mosley. The League sought to continue what it...
. - Anthony HancockAnthony Hancock (publisher)Anthony Hancock has been a member of various far right groups in the United Kingdom and, as a publisher, has produced literature for almost all of Britain's right-wing extremists....
, a former British MovementBritish MovementThe British Movement , later called the British National Socialist Movement , is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement , which was founded in 1962...
member who was widely regarded as the leading publisher of far right material in the 1970s in Britain (he and his father Alan HancockAlan HancockAlan Vivien Hancock was one of the early leaders of the Racial Preservation Society . He was formerly a member of the British Union of Fascists which was formed in 1932 by ex-Labour government minister Sir Oswald Mosley and was a union of several small, extreme nationalist parties...
owning a printing firm). - Richard "Jock" Spooner, who emigrated to AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where he became a leading activist in the One Nation Party.
Miscellaneous
The party should not be confused with the Nationalist Party which, although having similar roots to the National Party, was an alternative name for the Constitutional MovementConstitutional Movement
The Constitutional Movement was a right wing political group in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1979 by Andrew Fountaine as the National Front Constitutional Movement, a splinter group from the National Front...
of 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...
. Similarly it had no connection to the National Party which briefly emerged from the National Fellowship
National Fellowship
The National Fellowship was a minor far right political party in the United Kingdom.The party was launched under Chairman Edward Martell on 1 January 1962, with full page advertisements in national broadsheets. The advert referred to the organisation as part of a movement spearheaded by The New...
.
National Party elections
Given that its brief history fell between two general elections the NP only ever contested three by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s for Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
seats. In each of the three elections the NP finished behind the NF candidates, namely 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...
, Joseph Parker and Paul Kavanagh respectively.
| Date of election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 March 1976 Coventry North West by-election, 1976 The Coventry North West by-election, in Coventry, on 4 March 1976 was held after the death of Labour Member of Parliament Maurice Edelman. A safe Labour seat, it was won by Geoffrey Robinson, who would go on to retain the seat in 1979.-Party performance:... |
Coventry North West 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... |
John Kingsley Read John Kingsley Read John Kingsley Read was chairman of the British National Front 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... |
208 | 0.6 |
| 4 November 1976 Walsall North by-election, 1976 The Walsall North by-election on 4 November 1976 was held after the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament John Stonehouse. Elected as a Labour candidate, Stonehouse was a member of the English National Party when he resigned, after an interlude in which he faked his own death... |
Walsall North | Marian Powell | 258 | 0.7 |
| 24 February 1977 City of London and Westminster South by-election, 1977 The City of London and Westminster South by-election on 24 February 1977 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament Christopher Tugendhat resigned the seat upon his appointment to the European Commission... |
City of London and Westminster South Cities of London and Westminster (UK Parliament constituency) Cities of London and Westminster is a borough constituency covering the area comprising the City of London and southern portion of the City of Westminster in Central London... |
Michael Lobb | 364 | 1.7 |