Edward Budden was a veteran of the 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...

 in 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...

 who was well known in such circles for his satirical columns that appeared in a number of publications down the years.

Rivalled only by John Graeme Wood

John Graeme Wood

John Graeme Wood was an English politician who was prominent on the nationalist scene from the late 1950s until his death.-Career:Wood was a member of Sir Oswald Mosley's Union Movement and became a Branch Leader...

 in terms of his longevity on the British far right, Budden began his career as a low level member of the British Union of Fascists

British Union of Fascists

The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...

. Budden did not come to prominence, however, until the 1960s when, after a period of involvement in a number of local groups, he became a leading member of the Racial Preservation Society

Racial Preservation Society

The Racial Preservation Society was a right-wing pressure group opposed to immigration and in favour of white nationalism, national preservation and protection in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.-Background:...

, whilst also taking a senior role in the John Bean

John Bean

John Edward Bean is a long-standing participant in the British far right, who has been active within a number of movements during the course of his life and is the voice behind the BNP election broadcasts.-Early life:...

's British National Party (not to be confused with the current party of the same name). Bean credits Budden, who was closely linked to the publishers Alan

Alan Hancock

Alan 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...

 and Anthony Hancock

Anthony 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....

, with playing a leading role in negotiating a merger between the two groups and 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...

 that led to the foundation of 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 ....

.

Budden initially played a leading role in the NF and in the general election of 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,...

 he was chosen to fight his home constituency of Hove

Hove (UK Parliament constituency)

Hove is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

. However the election was to prove singularly unsuccessful for Budden as his 442 votes (0.8% share) was the NF's lowest vote of the election. He fared no better in 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...

 when an outing in Brighton Kemptown saw him win only 290 votes (0.7%), although by that time the NF vote had dropped off consistently.

Much more than his electioneering, Budden became known for his column, which was a regular feature of a number of NF publications, including 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...

. Although offering the standard views of racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...

 and the like associated with the far right, it was appreciated by readers for its high level of satire

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 and became a long-running feature of various rightist publications.

During the 1980s Budden, as head of the NF's Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 branch, was closely associated with 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...

 (his column appearing regularly in The Flag) and was involved in one of the main incidents that exposed the lack of unity in the NF. Following the resignation of Stuart Holland

Stuart Holland

Stuart Kingsley Holland is a British Labour politician and academic.He represented the Vauxhall constituency in Lambeth, London from 1979 until 1989, when he applied for the Chiltern Hundreds to take up a post at the European University Institute, Florence...

, Budden was chosen by the Flag Group to represent the party in the resulting by-election

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....

. Amongst his opponents, however, was an Official National Front

Official National Front

The 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...

 candidate 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 as a result neither candidate polled at all well (although Budden finished behind Harrington, capturing only 83 votes). The whole event indicated just how much the NF had descended into in-fighting.

As the Flag Group ran its course, Budden went on to join the current 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...

 and, under 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...

, the Ted Budden Column became a feature of the party's monthly newspaper British Nationalist. Although previously dismissed 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....

 as 'an elderly bigot' Budden continued to write for the BNP until his death.

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,...	Hove Hove (UK Parliament constituency) Hove is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...	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 ....	442	0.8
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...	Brighton Kemptown	NF	290	0.7
15 June 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....	Vauxhall Vauxhall (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1960s:-Notes and references:...	NF 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...	83	0.3