Official National Front
Encyclopedia
The Official National Front (ONF) was one of two far-right groups to emerge in the United Kingdom
in 1986 following a split within the National Front. Following ideological paths that were mostly new to the Far right in the United Kingdom the ONF stood opposed to the more traditionalist Flag Group
.
, Derek Holland, Patrick Harrington
and David Kerr became attracted to Third Position
ideas and, eschewing the route of electoral politics favoured by the National Front up to that point, hoped to develop a cadre of devoted nationalist revolutionaries. Emphasising a strong anti-capitalist
as well as anti-communist
line, the ONF began to emerge as the most powerful group within the NF after the series of splits in late 1979 and early 1980 though they did not come to prominence within the NF until 1984 when Martin Webster was expelled from the Party.
The Political Soldier faction initially had the support of chairman Andrew Brons
but before long differences between the two factions began to show. This came to a head in 1986 when the party split in two, with around 2,000 of the NF's 5,000 membership following Griffin into the ONF and the rest departing for the Flag Group. The ONF maintained the monthly newspaper the National Front News and took control also of Nationalism Today during this period.
With control assured the ONF took on responsibility for instructing its members ideologically and gained the backing of Rosine de Bounevialle, a veteran of the League of Empire Loyalists
and the publisher of the anti-Semitic journal Candour
, who allowed these training seminars to be held on her Hampshire
estate. Subsequently these were moved to specially prepared buildings on land owned by Nick Griffin's father Edgar.
, whose Terza Posizione
held similar views, the ONF developed an ideology that stressed the need for a "New Man" with the cadre structure influenced by the "nest" system of the pre-Second World War Romania
n Iron Guard
. The two main sources of ideology for the ONF were the journal Rising published from 1983 to 1986 and The Political Soldier, a 1984 book by Derek Holland. Within the pages of these works the ONF committed itself to a revolt against modernity, echoing many of the words of the likes of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola
. The party put emphasis on the values of ruralism with Nick Griffin, who lived on a farm in Wales, running a "Smash the Cities" campaign for the ONF that has been compared by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
to Pol Pot
ism.
Unlike the earlier NF, that had emphasised British identity, the ONF showed sympathy towards indigenous nationalism
s within the United Kingdom
. The ONF adopted a policy of support for Ulster nationalism
, a fringe idea within Northern Ireland
, and through this shift forged links with the Ulster Defence Association
and in particular John McMichael
who was advocating such an idea at the time. Separate links were also maintained with sometime Democratic Unionist Party
activist George Seawright
who, although not avowedly an Ulster nationalist, was the brother of ONF activist David Seawright. Although there was no evidence of a direct connection between the two groups the ONF broke from the exclusively British nationalist vision of its predecessors to praise the activities of the Welsh nationalist Meibion Glyndŵr
.
The desire for the development of a fanatical Political Soldier also led the ONF to follow their Italian
counterparts in expressing some admiration for a similar fanaticism that they saw in Islam
. This idea led to the publication of the most notorious issue of NF News which featured a cover extolling the 'new alliance' of the party with the Ayatollah Khomeini
, Muammar Gaddafi
and Louis Farrakhan
, a previously unthinkable stance in the NF. Indeed during a march for Quds Day in 1988 Patrick Harrington and Graham Williamson took their place alongside a group of Islamic fundamentalists.
The 'scientific racism
' that had been the cornerstone of NF ideas up to that point was abandoned by the ONF in favour of an emphasis on ethnopluralism
and expressions of admiration for Black separatist leaders such as Farrakhan and Marcus Garvey
, a new departure illustrated by the August 1987 edition of National Front News in which the slogan 'Black is beautiful
' appeared. Copies of the Nation of Islam
-linked newspaper The Final Call
could also be purchased from the ONF.
s that the ONF still had links with. The ONF saw the skinheads as a source of eager footsoldiers for their revolutionary struggles, a factor that led the ONF to host Rock Against Communism
concerts in the mid 1980s. However disillusionment set in with the ONF's esoteric ideas and in 1987 sometime NF member and Skrewdriver
singer Ian Stuart Donaldson
joined with British Movement
organiser Nicky Crane
to set up Blood and Honour
, initially as a magazine before developing it into a movement for White power bands independent of the parties. The departure of these groups also meant a loss of one of the ONF's main sources of revenue and the split proved fairly divisive with B&H supporters dubbing the ONF the "Nutty Fairy Party" due to their unusual ideas and rumours of homosexuality
within the leadership. The split came at a bad time as membership had already been curtailed by the decision in 1986 to double the price of membership fees and to restrict membership to those considered worthy of Political Soldier status by the leadership. The group's devotion to the likes of Evola and Codreanu also damaged its chances as these thinkers were virtually unknown in Britain and as such the ONF's ideas were considered too foreign to be relevant to a British context.
In an attempt to gain much needed funds Griffin and Holland travelled to Libya
in 1988 in the hope of persuading Muammar Gaddafi
to provide money to bankroll the ONF. However, the pair were able to secure only a consignment of copies of the colonel's political testament The Green Book, meaning that the group's finanical woes were not alleviated. Breaking from its own ban on electoral activity Harrington ran as a candidate in the Vauxhall by-election, 1989
, during which his rival candidates included the Flag Group's Ted Budden
who confusingly was standing as a "National Front" candidate. Both men received derisory vote shares.
In 1989 Harrington, who was by then effective leader of the group, approached The Jewish Chronicle
with a view to opening dialogue with the Jewish community. The move proved unpopular with Griffin and Holland who broke off in 1989 to form the International Third Position
(ITP), which advocated anti-capitalist Strasserite views, as well as continuing anti-Zionism. With the ONF in disarray, Harrington (by then effective leader, although the ONF had eschewed an individual leader at their peak) wound up the group in January 1990 and reconstituted it, along with about fifty NF members, as the Third Way
, which continued to offer a programme akin to that of the Political Soldier movement. The Flag Group
, led by Martin Wingfield
and Ian Anderson
, reclaimed the NF name and identity and sought to reposition the NF once again by following the example of the base itself on the Front National, which was experiencing growth in France
through right-wing populism
.
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...
in 1986 following a split within the National Front. Following ideological paths that were mostly new to the Far right in the United Kingdom the ONF stood opposed to the more traditionalist Flag Group
Flag Group
The Flag Group was a British political party, formed from one of the two wings of the National Front in the 1980s. Formed in opposition to the Political Soldier wing of the Official National Front it took its name from The Flag, a newspaper the followers of this faction formed after leaving and...
.
Development
The ONF emerged in the early 1980s when young radicals such as Nick GriffinNick 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....
, Derek Holland, Patrick Harrington
Patrick Harrington
Patrick "Pat" Harrington is a British Politician, currently General Secretary of Solidarity – The Union for British Workers an organisation affiliated to the British National Party, and a Director of the Third Way think-tank...
and David Kerr became attracted to Third Position
Third Position
Third Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
ideas and, eschewing the route of electoral politics favoured by the National Front up to that point, hoped to develop a cadre of devoted nationalist revolutionaries. Emphasising a strong anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
as well as anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
line, the ONF began to emerge as the most powerful group within the NF after the series of splits in late 1979 and early 1980 though they did not come to prominence within the NF until 1984 when Martin Webster was expelled from the Party.
The Political Soldier faction initially had the support of chairman Andrew Brons
Andrew Brons
Andrew Henry William Brons is a British politician. Long active in far right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the British National Party at the 2009 European Parliament election...
but before long differences between the two factions began to show. This came to a head in 1986 when the party split in two, with around 2,000 of the NF's 5,000 membership following Griffin into the ONF and the rest departing for the Flag Group. The ONF maintained the monthly newspaper the National Front News and took control also of Nationalism Today during this period.
With control assured the ONF took on responsibility for instructing its members ideologically and gained the backing of Rosine de Bounevialle, a veteran of the League of Empire Loyalists
League of Empire Loyalists
The League of Empire Loyalists was a British pressure group , established in 1954, which campaigned against the dissolution of the British Empire. The League was a small group of current or former members of the Conservative Party led by Arthur K...
and the publisher of the anti-Semitic journal Candour
Candour
Candour is a British far right-wing magazine founded and edited by A.K. Chesterton until his death in 1973.It was founded in 1953 as the successor to Truth newspaper of which he had been deputy editor...
, who allowed these training seminars to be held on her Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
estate. Subsequently these were moved to specially prepared buildings on land owned by Nick Griffin's father Edgar.
Ideology
Aided by Roberto FioreRoberto Fiore
Roberto Fiore is an Italian nationalist politician and a founding member of the European third position movement which is against both communism and capitalism...
, whose Terza Posizione
Terza Posizione
The Terza Posizione was a far right group founded in Rome in 1978 . The TP rejected both capitalism and socialism, looking instead to found a political and economic Third Position, with its main influence being Julius Evola...
held similar views, the ONF developed an ideology that stressed the need for a "New Man" with the cadre structure influenced by the "nest" system of the pre-Second World War Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
. The two main sources of ideology for the ONF were the journal Rising published from 1983 to 1986 and The Political Soldier, a 1984 book by Derek Holland. Within the pages of these works the ONF committed itself to a revolt against modernity, echoing many of the words of the likes of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola
Julius Evola
Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...
. The party put emphasis on the values of ruralism with Nick Griffin, who lived on a farm in Wales, running a "Smash the Cities" campaign for the ONF that has been compared by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke B.A. , D.Phil. is a professor of Western Esotericism at University of Exeter and author of several books on esoteric traditions....
to Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
ism.
Unlike the earlier NF, that had emphasised British identity, the ONF showed sympathy towards indigenous nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
s within the United Kingdom
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...
. The ONF adopted a policy of support for Ulster nationalism
Ulster nationalism
Ulster nationalism is the name given to a school of thought in Northern Irish politics that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without becoming part of the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovereign state separate from England, Scotland and Wales...
, a fringe idea within Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern 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...
, and through this shift forged links with the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
and in particular John McMichael
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
who was advocating such an idea at the time. Separate links were also maintained with sometime Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
activist George Seawright
George Seawright
George Seawright was a controversial unionist politician in Northern Ireland who was assassinated by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation during the Troubles.-Early life:...
who, although not avowedly an Ulster nationalist, was the brother of ONF activist David Seawright. Although there was no evidence of a direct connection between the two groups the ONF broke from the exclusively British nationalist vision of its predecessors to praise the activities of the Welsh nationalist Meibion Glyndŵr
Meibion Glyndwr
Meibion Glyndŵr was a Welsh nationalist movement violently opposed to the loss of Welsh culture and language. They were formed in response to the housing crisis precipitated by large numbers of houses being bought by wealthy English people for use as holiday homes, pushing up house prices beyond...
.
The desire for the development of a fanatical Political Soldier also led the ONF to follow their Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
counterparts in expressing some admiration for a similar fanaticism that they saw in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. This idea led to the publication of the most notorious issue of NF News which featured a cover extolling the 'new alliance' of the party with the Ayatollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
, Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
and Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
, a previously unthinkable stance in the NF. Indeed during a march for Quds Day in 1988 Patrick Harrington and Graham Williamson took their place alongside a group of Islamic fundamentalists.
The 'scientific racism
Scientific racism
Scientific racism is the use of scientific techniques and hypotheses to sanction the belief in racial superiority or racism.This is not the same as using scientific findings and the scientific method to investigate differences among the humans and argue that there are races...
' that had been the cornerstone of NF ideas up to that point was abandoned by the ONF in favour of an emphasis on ethnopluralism
Ethnopluralism
Ethnopluralism or ethno-pluralism is a European New Right theory of multiculturalism which contrasts with liberal multiculturalism."Cultural differentialism" is the view that cultures are clearly bound entities with a specific geographical location...
and expressions of admiration for Black separatist leaders such as Farrakhan and Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
, a new departure illustrated by the August 1987 edition of National Front News in which the slogan 'Black is beautiful
Black is beautiful
Black is beautiful is a cultural movement that began in the United States of America in the 1960s by African Americans. It later spread to much of the black world, most prominently in the writings of the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko in South Africa...
' appeared. Copies of the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
-linked newspaper The Final Call
The Final Call
The Final Call is a newspaper published in Chicago. It was founded in 1979 by Minister Louis Farrakhan and serves as the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam.-History:...
could also be purchased from the ONF.
Decline
The desire to build a Political Soldier leadership meant that the ONF was by its nature exclusive and limited. Membership in its strictest sense was effectively closed off with outsiders only allowed to become "Friends of the Movement" and full membership being only open to those chosen by the leadership. The ideas held less appeal for the racist skinheadNazi-Skinheads
White power skinheads are a white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations....
s that the ONF still had links with. The ONF saw the skinheads as a source of eager footsoldiers for their revolutionary struggles, a factor that led the ONF to host Rock Against Communism
Rock Against Communism
Rock Against Communism started out as series of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, and is also a name for the subsequent music genre. Despite its name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism...
concerts in the mid 1980s. However disillusionment set in with the ONF's esoteric ideas and in 1987 sometime NF member and Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver
Skrewdriver was an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. They later evolved into one of the first neo-Nazi rock bands, playing a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement and becoming known as the most prominent white power skinhead...
singer Ian Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart Donaldson was a British Neo-Nazi singer, musician and songwriter, most known as the frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock band that later became a white power rock band...
joined with British Movement
British Movement
The 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...
organiser Nicky Crane
Nicky Crane
Nicola Vincenzio "Nicky" Crane was a British neo-Nazi skinhead activist. He came out as gay before dying from an AIDS-related illness in 1993....
to set up Blood and Honour
Blood and Honour
Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and political group founded in 1987 with links to Combat 18 and composed of white power skinheads and other white nationalists....
, initially as a magazine before developing it into a movement for White power bands independent of the parties. The departure of these groups also meant a loss of one of the ONF's main sources of revenue and the split proved fairly divisive with B&H supporters dubbing the ONF the "Nutty Fairy Party" due to their unusual ideas and rumours of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
within the leadership. The split came at a bad time as membership had already been curtailed by the decision in 1986 to double the price of membership fees and to restrict membership to those considered worthy of Political Soldier status by the leadership. The group's devotion to the likes of Evola and Codreanu also damaged its chances as these thinkers were virtually unknown in Britain and as such the ONF's ideas were considered too foreign to be relevant to a British context.
In an attempt to gain much needed funds Griffin and Holland travelled to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in 1988 in the hope of persuading Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
to provide money to bankroll the ONF. However, the pair were able to secure only a consignment of copies of the colonel's political testament The Green Book, meaning that the group's finanical woes were not alleviated. Breaking from its own ban on electoral activity Harrington ran as a candidate in the Vauxhall by-election, 1989
Vauxhall by-election, 1989
A by-election for the United Kingdom House of Commons was held in the constituency of Vauxhall on the 15th June 1989, following the resignation of sitting Member of Parliament Stuart Holland....
, during which his rival candidates included the Flag Group's Ted Budden
Ted Budden
Edward Budden was a veteran of the far right in the United Kingdom who was well known in such circles for his satirical columns that appeared in a number of publications down the years....
who confusingly was standing as a "National Front" candidate. Both men received derisory vote shares.
In 1989 Harrington, who was by then effective leader of the group, approached The Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Chronicle
The Jewish Chronicle is a London-based Jewish newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.-Publication data and readership figures:...
with a view to opening dialogue with the Jewish community. The move proved unpopular with Griffin and Holland who broke off in 1989 to form the International Third Position
International Third Position
International Third Position ' was a neo-fascist organization formed by the breakaway faction of the neofascist British National Front and Italian neofascists led by Roberto Fiore....
(ITP), which advocated anti-capitalist Strasserite views, as well as continuing anti-Zionism. With the ONF in disarray, Harrington (by then effective leader, although the ONF had eschewed an individual leader at their peak) wound up the group in January 1990 and reconstituted it, along with about fifty NF members, as the Third Way
Third Way (UK)
The National Liberal Party – The Third Way is a United Kingdom political party that was formed on 17 March 1990 as The Third Way. In 2006, the Third Way registered the name National Liberal Party – The Third Way with the Electoral Commission....
, which continued to offer a programme akin to that of the Political Soldier movement. The Flag Group
Flag Group
The Flag Group was a British political party, formed from one of the two wings of the National Front in the 1980s. Formed in opposition to the Political Soldier wing of the Official National Front it took its name from The Flag, a newspaper the followers of this faction formed after leaving and...
, led by Martin Wingfield
Martin Wingfield
Martin Wingfield is a long-standing figure on the far right in British politics. He and his wife, Tina WIngfield, have contested several elections.-National Front:...
and Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (politician)
Ian Hugh Myddleton Anderson was a leading figure on the British far-right in the 1980s and 1990s.- Early background :Anderson was born in Hillingdon...
, reclaimed the NF name and identity and sought to reposition the NF once again by following the example of the base itself on the Front National, which was experiencing growth in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
through right-wing populism
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
.