Richard Edmonds
Encyclopedia
Richard Edmonds is a seasoned politician of British
nationalism. A former Deputy Chairman and National Organiser of the British National Party
, Richard was also a long-term supporter of John Tyndall
.
, where he held a number of positions during Tyndall's leadership. In the October 1974 general election
he was NF candidate at Deptford, polling 1731 votes (4.5%). At this time, he was employed as a mathematics teacher at Tulse Hill, a school which contained many black pupils. His election address said, "To young immigrants, Richard Edmonds says that they should study to the best of their abilities, for their duty and future lie in helping their compatriots to build up their own countries".
He followed Tyndall into the New National Front in 1980 and was appointed head of the youth section, editing Young Nationalist magazine.
Edmonds continued to hold influential positions within the newly-formed British National Party
, rising to deputy leader and effective caretaker leader for a spell in 1986 whilst Tyndall was serving a prison sentence for incitement to racial hatred. He also took a role in funding the party, notably in 1989 when he provided some of the money for the purchase of a new party headquarters/bookshop in Welling
. Edmonds ran the party's Welling premises, living over the shop, for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. Edmonds' leading role in the party was further strengthened by his success in the 1992 election
when his 3.6% share of the vote in Bethnal Green and Stepney
represented the party's best showing of that election.
Edmonds has at times been a controversial figure and has certain minor and 'spent' criminal convictions. In 1988, The Sunday Times
revealed that Holocaust News, a publication that claimed The Holocaust
was an "evil hoax", was being published by Edmonds, on behalf of a BNP front organisation, the Centre for Historical Review, and distributed by members. After this interview took place Edmonds gave Jon Craig and Jo Revell, the two journalists covering the story, his business card telephone number in the strictest confidence. Subsequently the published article contained the name of the company Edmonds worked for, even though it had no relevance to the matter being reported. The next day Edmonds was told he would have to leave and was deprived of his livelihood. The theme was re-visited in the 8 April 1991 edition of Panorama
in which Edmonds described the publication as 'a wonderful statement of the truth'. Edmonds also spent three months in custody over a 'racially-motivated' assault in 1993 and had previously been convicted for damaging a statue of Nelson Mandela
on London
's South Bank
. There was further controversy in 1993 when he told The Guardian
s Duncan Campbell
that 'we [the BNP] are 100% racist'.
Edmonds held the position of National Organiser until 1999 when he was forced to resign following the victory of Nick Griffin
in the leadership election. Edmonds remained Tyndall's closest ally but was not expelled from the party when Tyndall and another long-term ally John Morse
were expelled in 2003, before being subsequently reinstated. Edmonds continued to write for Spearhead
until it ceased publication on Tyndall's death in 2005. Although he has appeared at events sponsored by the Nationalist Alliance
, Edmonds remained a member of the BNP, playing a leading role in its Croydon
branch (which is somewhat aloof from the national leadership).
Surprisingly to some, Edmonds was co-opted by Griffin onto the BNP's Advisory Council in September 2008, thereby returning to the upper echelon of the party, and ending his period of apparent dissidence. However, in August 2010, following Eddy Butler's leadership challenge, Richard Edmonds was sacked from the Advisory Council due both to his open criticism of Griffin
's fundraiser, Jim Dowson, and also to his support for the leadership bid of Eddy Butler
.
Following the party's poor showing in the 2011 English local elections
, Welsh Assembly
and Scottish Parliamentary elections, Edmonds announced his candidature for the leadership of the BNP. According to The Guardian
Edmonds had little chance of success but the contest was expected to lead to a series of defections from the party. At the end of May 2011 Richard Edmonds stepped down from his challenge in favour of Andrew Brons
.
The National Front, in a report on its 2011 AGM, claimed that Edmonds had decided to rejoin the NF. Richard himself has made no public statement yet, either to confirm, or to deny, this report.
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...
nationalism. A former Deputy Chairman and National Organiser 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...
, Richard was also a long-term supporter of 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...
.
Biography
Richard Edmonds was born in wartime Hounslow, London. He holds a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Engineering, and a Masters degree in Mathematics. He began his political career as a member of the Labour Party, before joining the National FrontBritish 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 ....
, where he held a number of positions during Tyndall's leadership. In the October 1974 general election
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...
he was NF candidate at Deptford, polling 1731 votes (4.5%). At this time, he was employed as a mathematics teacher at Tulse Hill, a school which contained many black pupils. His election address said, "To young immigrants, Richard Edmonds says that they should study to the best of their abilities, for their duty and future lie in helping their compatriots to build up their own countries".
He followed Tyndall into the New National Front in 1980 and was appointed head of the youth section, editing Young Nationalist magazine.
Edmonds continued to hold influential positions within the newly-formed 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...
, rising to deputy leader and effective caretaker leader for a spell in 1986 whilst Tyndall was serving a prison sentence for incitement to racial hatred. He also took a role in funding the party, notably in 1989 when he provided some of the money for the purchase of a new party headquarters/bookshop in Welling
Welling
Welling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
. Edmonds ran the party's Welling premises, living over the shop, for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. Edmonds' leading role in the party was further strengthened by his success in the 1992 election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
when his 3.6% share of the vote in Bethnal Green and Stepney
Bethnal Green and Stepney (UK Parliament constituency)
Bethnal Green and Stepney was a parliamentary constituency in east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election.-History:...
represented the party's best showing of that election.
Edmonds has at times been a controversial figure and has certain minor and 'spent' criminal convictions. In 1988, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
revealed that Holocaust News, a publication that claimed The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
was an "evil hoax", was being published by Edmonds, on behalf of a BNP front organisation, the Centre for Historical Review, and distributed by members. After this interview took place Edmonds gave Jon Craig and Jo Revell, the two journalists covering the story, his business card telephone number in the strictest confidence. Subsequently the published article contained the name of the company Edmonds worked for, even though it had no relevance to the matter being reported. The next day Edmonds was told he would have to leave and was deprived of his livelihood. The theme was re-visited in the 8 April 1991 edition of Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
in which Edmonds described the publication as 'a wonderful statement of the truth'. Edmonds also spent three months in custody over a 'racially-motivated' assault in 1993 and had previously been convicted for damaging a statue of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
. There was further controversy in 1993 when he told The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Duncan Campbell
Duncan Campbell (The Guardian)
Duncan Campbell is a British journalist and author. He was a senior reporter/correspondent for The Guardian from 1987 until 2010. He was the Los Angeles and crime correspondent for the paper at one point.-Education:...
that 'we [the BNP] are 100% racist'.
Edmonds held the position of National Organiser until 1999 when he was forced to resign following the victory of 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....
in the leadership election. Edmonds remained Tyndall's closest ally but was not expelled from the party when Tyndall and another long-term ally John Morse
John Morse (British politician)
John Morse was a leading figure in the British National Party under John Tyndall, serving alongside Richard Edmonds as Tyndall's closest ally in the party....
were expelled in 2003, before being subsequently reinstated. Edmonds continued to write for Spearhead
Spearhead (magazine)
Spearhead was a British far right-wing magazine edited by John Tyndall until his death in July 2005. Founded in 1964 by Tyndall, it was used to voice his grievances against the state of the United Kingdom...
until it ceased publication on Tyndall's death in 2005. Although he has appeared at events sponsored by the Nationalist Alliance
Nationalist Alliance
The Nationalist Alliance is a far right movement in British politics, that aims to serve as an umbrella group for the various White nationalist groups in Britain...
, Edmonds remained a member of the BNP, playing a leading role in its Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
branch (which is somewhat aloof from the national leadership).
Surprisingly to some, Edmonds was co-opted by Griffin onto the BNP's Advisory Council in September 2008, thereby returning to the upper echelon of the party, and ending his period of apparent dissidence. However, in August 2010, following Eddy Butler's leadership challenge, Richard Edmonds was sacked from the Advisory Council due both to his open criticism of 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....
's fundraiser, Jim Dowson, and also to his support for the leadership bid of Eddy Butler
Eddy Butler
Eddy Butler is a former National Elections Officer of the British National Party and was dubbed the party's "elections guru" by its newspaper, Voice of Freedom, until being suspended and expelled from the BNP in 2010 by Nick Griffin.Butler was originally the Tower Hamlets organiser for the...
.
Following the party's poor showing in the 2011 English local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2011
The 2011 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 Metropolitan boroughs, 194 Second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place in all parts of England with...
, Welsh Assembly
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
The National Assembly for Wales election 2011 was the most recent election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the assembly's seats...
and Scottish Parliamentary elections, Edmonds announced his candidature for the leadership of the BNP. According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Edmonds had little chance of success but the contest was expected to lead to a series of defections from the party. At the end of May 2011 Richard Edmonds stepped down from his challenge in favour of 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...
.
The National Front, in a report on its 2011 AGM, claimed that Edmonds had decided to rejoin the NF. Richard himself has made no public statement yet, either to confirm, or to deny, this report.
UK Parliament elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
Deptford Deptford (UK Parliament constituency) Deptford was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Deptford district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.... |
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 .... |
1,731 | 4.5 |
| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
Lewisham East | BNP 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... |
288 | 0.7 |
| 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil... |
Bethnal Green & Stepney Bethnal Green and Stepney (UK Parliament constituency) Bethnal Green and Stepney was a parliamentary constituency in east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election.-History:... |
BNP | 1,310 | 3.6 |
Greater London Council elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 Greater London Council election, 1977 Turnout: 2,242,064 people voted-References:*... |
Deptford | NF | 1,463 | 7.2 |
| 1981 Greater London Council election, 1981 Turnout: 2,250,118 people voted. All parties shown.This was the last election to the GLC. The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher took the decision to abolish the council in the mid-1980s. For more information on this see the article, Greater London Council. Following the abolition of... |
Deptford | NNF 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... |
487 | 2.0 |