British Nationalism is the term given to describe a political movement that has been in existence in the United Kingdom since the end of the Second World War. It initially developed as a wish to protect and defend the British Empire. British nationalism then moved on to acquire racial connotations, being controlled in the 1960s and 1970s by self-proclaimed White Nationalist individuals and organisations that oppose non-white and Muslim immigration and multiculturalism such as the British National Party (BNP) and the National Front (NF). Since the 1980s, the term has mainly been used to express the wish of such groups to remove the UK from the European Union, to preserve British culture, and to actively campaign against the presence of non-indigenous ethnic minorities and what they perceive to be an excessive amount of asylum seekers. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... // White nationalism (WN) advocates a racial definition (or redefinition) of national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. ... The multicultural national representation of the countries of origin at the student union of San Francisco City College. ... The British National Party (BNP) is a white nationalist political party in the United Kingdom. ... In the United Kingdom, the British National Front (most commonly called the National Front or NF) is a far right political party that had its major political activities during the 1970s and 1980s. ... This article is about the concept of a minority. ...

British nationalism in UK politics

Broadly speaking, there can be two strands of nationalism identified in British politics, since the split in the League of Empire Loyalists in the late 1950s. The White Nationalist National Front and the British National Party have been strongly opposed to non-white immigration. They have encouraged the repatriation of ethnic minorities, the NF favors compulsory repatriation while the BNP favors a slightly more moderate approach, and have been associated, the BNP was until the 1990s, with race riots and violent politics. They have never had representation in the House of Commons, although they have had a number of local councillors in inner-city areas of East London and the mill towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire, such as Burnley and Keighley. The League of Empire Loyalists was a pressure group campaigning against the dissolution of the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s. ... // White nationalism (WN) advocates a racial definition (or redefinition) of national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. ... Type Lower House Speaker of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Harriet Harman, QC, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, PC, (Conservative) since December 6, 2005 Members 646 Political groups... East London area East London is the name commonly given to the north eastern part of London, England on the north side of the River Thames. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... , Burnley is a large market town in the north-east of Lancashire in north-west England with a population of 73,021[1] (2001 census). ... Keighley (pronounced Keith-ly or ) is a town and civil parish in the county of West Yorkshire, England, northwest of Bradford, on the meeting point of the River Aire and the River Worth. ...

To the centre-right, a more moderate form of nationalism has existed in the League of Empire Loyalists, Conservative Monday Club, - both pressure groups within the Tory party - and more lately in United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Veritas, which both campaign against European Union membership and have also been strongly against uncontrolled immigration. There has been a long history of Euroscepticism in these groups, which became focused in the parties such as UKIP after the Maastricht Treaty was passed. At one time, the Conservative Monday Club included a number of Members of Parliament (MPs), though this group has now been disowned by the Conservative Party. Other nationalist parties on the right have never had an MP, but UKIP has a number of MEPs and Councillors. The centre-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote political parties or organizations (such as think tanks) that stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. ... The Conservative Monday Club (widely known as the Monday Club) is a British right-wing [1] pressure-group with its origins in the Conservative Party. ... An advocacy group, interest group or lobbying group is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a British political party. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. ... The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty of European Union, TEU) was signed on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, Netherlands after final negotiations in December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP)[1] is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ...

History

Post-War and the decline of Empire

The British Nationalist movement rose out of the dying embers of the British fascist movement. Although leader Oswald Mosley actually went on to form a pro-European party, a number of members of the British Union of Fascists, which was banned during World War II, became members of parties attempting to defend the British Empire. Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests subordinate to the needs of the state, and seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on, but not limited to, ethnic, cultural, or racial attributes. ... Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (November 16, 1896 – December 3, 1980), was a British politician known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The flag of the British Union of Fascists showing the Flash and Circle symbolic of action within unity The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a political party of the 1930s in the United Kingdom. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The Empire had begun to break down as nationalist movements rose in the early 20th century, though this had largely been resisted in the UK. After 1945, pressure from the United Nations and the financial damages that had resulted from the war lead to a general acceptance that the empire was both immoral and economically unsustainable, and needed to be disbanded. This occurred over a thirty year period, with the larger territories and Dominions being first to gain independence in the late 1940s - India in 1947 as an example. UN and U.N. redirect here. ...

The League of Empire Loyalists was the main group to develop in this era. Founded by A. K. Chesterton in 1954, they were actually a pressure group, rather than a political party, and refused to contest elections. The majority of their members were part of the Conservative Party, and they were known for their politically-embarrassing stunts at party conferences. J. R. R. Tolkien is claimed on the flimsiest evidence to have been a supporter ^[1], despite his expressed dislike of "Britain", the British Empire and especially apartheid (see Tolkien's letters passim). It has been argued that the majority of this group were more 'Colonel Blimpish' traditionalists, rather than fascists. However, its more extreme elements wanted to make the group more political. The League of Empire Loyalists was a pressure group campaigning against the dissolution of the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Arthur Keneth Chesterton (1896 — August 16, 1973) was an ultra right-wing politician and journalist, instrumental in founding a number of right-wing organisations in Britain, primarily in opposition to the break-up of the British Empire, and later adopting a broader anti-immigration stance. ... An advocacy group, interest group or lobbying group is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... “Tolkien” redirects here. ... The cartoonist David Low first drew Colonel Blimp for Lord Beaverbrooks London Evening Standard in the 1930s: pompous, irascible, jingoistic and stereotypically English. ...

This led to a number of splinter groups forming, including the White Defence League and the National Labour Party. These both stood in local elections in 1958, and merged in 1960 to form the British National Party The White Defence League was a British extreme right-wing political group. ... The National Labour Party was founded in 1957 by John Bean. ... The British National Party was a far right political party that operated in the United Kingdom from 1960 to 1967. ...

1960s-1980s - The National Front and anti-immigration

With the decline of the British Empire becoming inevitable, Britain's nationalist parties turned their attention to internal matters. The 1950s had seen a lot of immigration to the UK from its colonies, particularly from India, Pakistan, the Caribbean and Uganda. Lead by John Bean and Andrew Fountaine, The British National Party opposed the introduction of these people to the UK. A number of their rallies, such as a 1962 rally in Trafalgar Square, ended in race riots. After a few early successes, the party went into difficulty and was destroyed by internal arguments. In 1967, it joined forces with John Tyndall and the remnants of Chesterton's League of Empire Loyalists to form the National Front at another violent rally. “West Indian” redirects here. ... John Bean is a veteran of the far right scene in Britain. ... Andrew Fountaine (1918-1997) was a veteran of the far right scene in British politics. ... Trafalgar Square viewed from the northeast corner. ... John Tyndall John Hutchyns Tyndall (July 14, 1934 – July 19, 2005) was a far-right British nationalist politician best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and for founding the British National Party in the 1980s. ...

The NF quickly grew to be the biggest nationalist party in the UK. It polled 44% in a local election in Deptford, London and finished third in three by-elections. The party supported extremist unionism in Northern Ireland and attracted Conservative members who had become disillusioned after Harold Macmillan had recognized the right to independence of the African colonies, and had criticized the Apartheid ^[2] government. During the 1970s, their violent rallies became a feature of British politics. Election results remained strong in working class urban areas, with a number of council seats won. It was during this period that British nationalism and patriotism became linked with violence in the public conscience. Deptford is an area of the London Borough of Lewisham, on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Unionism, in the context of Ireland, is a belief in the continuation of the Act of Union 1800 (as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920) so that Northern Ireland (created by the 1920 Act) remains part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ...

Other political groups also developed to support British Nationalism. The Conservative Monday Club was a division of the Conservative Party whose aim was 'to safeguard the liberty of the subject and integrity of the family in accordance with the customs, traditions, and character of the British people'. Again, this meant a general opposition to post-colonial states, to immigration and those immigrant communities in the UK, as well as support for the hard-line unionism in Northern Ireland. The Conservative Monday Club (widely known as the Monday Club) is a British right-wing [1] pressure-group with its origins in the Conservative Party. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...

However, the rise of Margaret Thatcher and an economically successful 1980s reduced the support for these two groups. They maintained anti-immigration policies - the Monday Group calling for an end to race relation laws in 1981. There was a move, however, towards a more inclusionist vision of the UK, and to opposition towards the European Union. The National Front, for example, began to support non-white radicals such as Louis Farrakhan. This led to the splintering of the various groups, with radical political soldiers such as a young Nick Griffin forming the Third Way group, and traditionalists creating the Flag Group. Membership of the Monday Club, meanwhile, fell to under 600 by 1987 Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and to date only woman to hold either post. ... Louis Farrakhan (born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933), is the head of the Nation of Islam (NOI). ... Political Soldier was a political group within Britains National Front, centred on young radicals Nick Griffin, Patrick Harrington and Derek Holland, that began to emerge in the late 1970s with new destinations in mind for the movement. ... Nicholas John Nick Griffin (born 1959) is a British far-right politician. ... Third Way General Election poster displayed by Party supporters in their windows National Liberal Party - The Third Way poster The Third Way is a British political party that was formed on 17 March 1990. ... The Flag Group represented aone of the two wings of the British National Front in the 1980s and stood in opposition to the Political Soldier wing. ...

The 1990s and the anti-Europe movement

The New National Front had been formed by John Tyndall in 1980, and changed its name to the British National Party in 1982. They, alongside the Monday Club, campaigned against the increasing integration of the UK into the EU. They developed a policy of nationalism, espousing the traditional nationalist methods of extra-parliamentary movements, and concentrated instead on the ballot box. The British National Party (BNP) is the largest political party of the far-right in the United Kingdom. ... The British National Party (BNP) is a white nationalist political party in the United Kingdom. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ...

The National Front continued to decline, whilst the more media-friendly BNP, lead by Nick Griffin, grew in popularity. Around the turn of the 21st century, a number of councillors were won. However, policies of anti-immigration continued,^[3] and a damaging BBC documentary lead to Griffin being charged with the incitement of racial hatred (although he was found innocent).^[4] The 2006 local elections saw the BNP have the most successful campaign of any far right party in British history. They gained thirty three seats, the second highest gain of any party at the elections; in Barking and Dagenham, they gained twelve councillors. Nicholas John Nick Griffin (born 1959) is a British far-right politician. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Local government elections took place in England (only) on Thursday May 4, 2006. ... The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is a London borough in East London and forms part of Outer London. ...

A less radical branch of nationalism was also born in the 1990s. The United Kingdom Independence Party, formed by Alan Sked in 1993, came out of failed attempts to block the Maastricht Treaty. It has been an attempt to assert British national independence. Alongside the Referendum Party, which took a more single issue approach to British withdrawal from the EU and many of whose members subsequently joined UKIP, it has been the most successful British nationalist party in elections. Despite some internal divisions, which led to MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk forming his own splinter party Veritas it went on to get 10 MEPs in the 2004 Euro-election. There have since been a number of divisions within the party, with many members leaving to join the English Democrats and the Popular Alliance. The United Kingdom Independence Party (commonly known as UKIP, pronounced //) is a British political party. ... Dr Alan Sked (born 1947) is a senior lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics. ... The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty of European Union, TEU) was signed on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, Netherlands after final negotiations in December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. ... The Referendum Party were a single-issue party in the United Kingdom formed to contest the 1997 General Election. ... Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk (born 19 May 1942) is a British politician and is well-known as the presenter of his former daytime television confessional talk show Kilroy. ... Veritas is a political party in the United Kingdom, formed in February 2005 by politician-celebrity Robert Kilroy-Silk following a split from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). ... The English Democrats Party is the largest English Nationalist political party in England committed to the formation of a devolved English Parliament with at least the same powers as those granted to the Scottish Parliament. ... The Popular Alliance is a political party in the United Kingdom that was formed in March 2006 by former members of the Veritas Party. ...

Many of these have come from the Conservative Party, who 'disowned' the Monday Club in 2001 and who have become less Eurosceptic. Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. ...

Mainstream parties have continued in their attempts to reclaim British national identity from the nationalist groups. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in 2006 suggested the introduction of a British national holiday,^[5] in the way that the French celebrate Bastille Day. This, some have suggested, has been a reaction to a growing importance of the West Lothian question;^[6] It has been suggested that Gordon Brown, a Scottish politician, would see his future career impeded if England were to become disillusioned with the United Kingdom. It must be noted, however, that those that are politically engaged do not hold Gordon Brown's 'Scottishness' to be an issue.^{[citation needed]} The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ... For the Battlestar Galactica episode, see Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica). ... The West Lothian question was a question posed on 14 November 1977 by Tam Dalyell, Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, during a British House of Commons debate over Scottish and Welsh devolution (see Scotland Act 1978 and Wales Act 1978): For how long... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Influential figures in British nationalism

• A. K. Chesterton
• John Bean
• Andrew Fountaine
• Enoch Powell
• Nick Griffin
• John Tyndall
• Martin Webster
• Oswald Mosley

Arthur Keneth Chesterton (1896 — August 16, 1973) was an ultra right-wing politician and journalist, instrumental in founding a number of right-wing organisations in Britain, primarily in opposition to the break-up of the British Empire, and later adopting a broader anti-immigration stance. ... John Bean is a veteran of the far right scene in Britain. ... Andrew Fountaine (1918-1997) was a veteran of the far right scene in British politics. ... John Enoch Powell, MBE (June 16, 1912 – February 8, 1998) was a British politician, linguist, writer, academic, soldier and poet. ... Nicholas John Nick Griffin (born 1959) is a British far-right politician. ... John Tyndall John Hutchyns Tyndall (July 14, 1934 – July 19, 2005) was a far-right British nationalist politician best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and for founding the British National Party in the 1980s. ... Martin Guy Alan Webster (born May 1943) was a leading figure on the far-right in British politics. ... Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (November 16, 1896 – December 3, 1980), was a British politician known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists. ...

See also

• Britishness
• Cool Britannia
• English Nationalism
• Welsh Nationalism
• Scottish Nationalism
• Ulster Loyalism
• Irish Nationalism

Cool Britannia is a media term that was used in the late 1990s to describe the contemporary culture of the United Kingdom. ... Englands (in red) location within the United Kingdom English nationalism is the name given to a nationalist political movement in England that demands self-government for England, via a devolved English Parliament. ... Welsh nationalism is a popular political and cultural movement that emerged during the nineteenth-century. ... Walter Thomas Monningtons 1925 painting called Parliamentary Union of England and Scotland 1707 hangs in the Palace of Westminster depicting the official presentation of the law that ended Scottish independence. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Irish nationalism refers to political movements that desire greater autonomy or the independence of Ireland from Great Britain. ...

References

1. ^ The Barnes Review:Tolkien’s Mythos.
2. ^ Harold Macmillan's "Winds of Change" Speech: A Case Study in the Rhetoric of Policy Change.
3. ^ BNP Polices.
4. ^ BBC News: BNP leader cleared of race hate.
5. ^ BBC News: Brown speech promotes Britishness.
6. ^ The Times (Dead Link).

Further Reading

• A history of fascism in the UK
• The Phora: British Nationalism Forum