It is abundantly clear
that despite the best efforts of anti-fascist groups, far-right extremism in
the UK continues to prosper, albeit that electorally their performance in
recent years can only be described as abysmal. This is not to say to suggest
they do not have a small, but dedicated group of ‘, but despite this they
remain unable to achieve any noticeable in-roads towards gaining power.
Even a simple analysis reveals
how their membership has been fluid over the years and people who were once members
of the National Front chose to move on to the British National Party as it
declined, then, as that also failed they found new homes in ‘Britain First’.
‘Patriotic Action’, ‘British Democrats’ or the recently formed ‘Homeland Party,
or within extra-Parliamentary organisations such as ‘Casuals United’, the
‘Football Lads Alliance’, ‘North West Infidels’ or ‘Generation Identity’. This
is to name only a few of the dozens of options available to them as the
far-right movement generally is so badly fractured that it is often impossible
to keep up with the creation and dissolution of groups as they rise and fall.
Most of these are often
labelled online as ‘fascist’, although the popular press tends to be more
circumspect and prefers to refer to them as ‘far-right’, probably taking a more
cautious route, not because of some desire for accurate use of terminology, but
from fear of possible litigation.
“Fascist thugs from Britain First were lambasted today for
storming a Midlands hotel that was temporarily housing refugees and directing a
torrent of abuse at terrified residents.”
(Morning Star Online).
“Patriotic Alternative (PA) is a British far-right, fascist,
neo-Nazi and white nationalist hate group which states that it has active
branches nationwide.”
(Wikipedia).
“A shadowy neo-Nazi mob which wants to remove all non-white
people from the UK has been organising outdoor gatherings in the Scottish
countryside. Patriotic Alternative staged an event last week, bragging online
that it was operating in defiance of lockdown rules.”
(Daily Record Online
accessed 13th June, 2023).
Equally,
anti-fascist organisations are happy to bandy the term ‘fascist’ when referring
to far-right movements. Take the following:
“In 2021, Patriotic Alternative (PA) consolidated its place as
the dominant force in UK fascist politics.” (‘State of Hate Report, 2022 – Hope
not Hate)
“No surprise but despicable that fascist Britain First
head goon, Paul Golding, posts such inflammatory bile ….” (Unite Against
Fascism – Twitter account)
Few would argue that many
of these far-right groups are annoying, a nuisance, and in some cases dangerous,
but this does not answer the question of whether these groups are actually. In
fact, most of these groups go out of their way to deny any links with fascism
and instead try to present themselves as patriots and fervent supporters of the
democratic process.
“Britain
First is a movement of patriotism, nationalism, conservatism and
traditionalism.
We
reject the false, misleading and outdated labels of ‘right-wing’ or ‘left-wing’
... We fight for traditional moral values, for genuine representative
democracy, for a patriotic revolution in national priorities and the promotion
of our indigenous British history, culture, traditions and customs.”
(Britain
First website accessed 12th June, 2023)
While
Britain First use this argument to counter accusations of any links to fascism,
it is worth noting that it was Paxton (20040 who argued this response to the
Right-Left political map was also rejected by fascist movements, who argued
their policies and actions made it obsolete as they transcended such outdated
divisions. Given this, the attempt by Britain First to extricate itself from
being linked to fascist ideology must be seen as weak.
Paul Golding
Leader of Britain First
Other
far-right groups have attempted to rid themselves of any association with
fascist ideology:
“The
BNP exists to give the British people that choice, and thus to restore and
defend the basic democratic rights we have all been denied. We favour more
democracy, not less, at national, regional and local levels.”
(British
National Party website accessed 12th June, 2023)
“We
are committed to government of the people, by the people, for the people. Those
with power to affect our way of life must be answerable to the people.
Democracy is much more than the ability to choose, from time to time, between
broadly similar parties which compete amongst themselves for power. Real
democracy is measured by the ability of the people to manage their political,
economic, physical, and cultural environment.”
(English
Democrats website accessed 12th June, 2023)
What is clear from their
propaganda is that these parties and movements want to appear as though they
are willing to operate within and continue to maintain a liberal democracy with
Parliament and the rule of law as its head. Of course, this has never been
tested as none of them have achieved sufficient electoral success to achieve
power.
However, even though
they indicate a willingness to operate with a democratic system this does not
mean these groups may not be fascist. After all, both Hitler and Mussolini
during their early years campaigned politically within a liberal democratic
system and once they had achieved some representation within it, each used
their association with other conservative forces to ultimately achieve power.
It was only then that both fascist leaders implemented laws that eliminated
democracy and the supremacy of parliament.
Furthermore, few
theorists see the denial of liberal democracy as the essence of a fascist
minimum, if indeed such a phenomenon exists. After all, it was Rauschning
(1938) who argued that fascism lacks any clear ideological base other than a
commitment to nihilistic violence. On the other hand, Kitchen argued that
fascist ideology was characterised by irrational concepts such as authority,
obedience, honour, duty, the fatherland, or race (Kitchen, 1976).
Undoubtedly there is evidence
of these elements in early National Front propaganda, particularly while under
the leadership of John Tyndall. His commitment to fascism and National
Socialism was made explicit when he joined Colin Jordan in the National
Socialist Movement and while they had personal and political agreements, There
can be little doubt of how Tyndall hero worshipped Adolf Hitler and saw in the
political behaviour of Nazism a way for him to achieve power in this country. Speaking at a meeting at NSM Headquarters shortly before his departure, Tyndall
said:
“Hitler
roped in the riff-raff and put them in camps. Some of them may have died from
starvation, but there was a food shortage ... We want to see the whole
democratic regime come crashing down ... we shall get power with whatever means
are favourable
... the Conservatives are degenerate, the greatest betrayers of our nation,
utterly decadent.”
(cited
in Walker, M. 1977 p.68)
Further inspection of
his later writings soon reveals that fundamentally he remained committed to
those same fascist values and beliefs throughout his life (see Tyndall, 1988)
In order to understand
the nature of modern far-right politics and determine whether they are indeed
‘fascist’ it becomes critical to identify whether any of these groups or
parties satisfy a ‘fascist minimum’. In other words, the minimum conditions
that a certain political movement must meet in order to be considered
"fascist".
In many of the more
recent far-right parties like For Britain, Britain First and the recently
formed Homeland party the notion of a ‘fascist minimum’ is unclear, especially
as opinion is divided on what it is and what are its constituent parts. For
example, Nolte (1968) argued some of the more common aspects found within
fascist groups that may be deemed a fascist minimum include:
- NationalismMilitarism
- Imperialism
- Corporatism
- Violence
While Milza (1987)
suggested a four-stage model that included:
· Authoritarianis
· Nationalism
· Militarism
· Hierarchy
and elitism
While violence is a
common theme among many far-right groups as has been seen recently at some of
the demonstrations outside asylum seeker hostels, it is not universal.
Certainly, post-war far-right politics has had a strong association with
violent Behaviour as has been since in their links to Combat 18, Column 88,
North West Infidels and, of course, National Action.
Additionally, few of the
established far-right groups show evidence of any commitment to militarism
(excluding small fringe groups like the New British Union), imperialism or
corporatism. Indeed, the latter has (with the exception of early National Front
propaganda) largely been dropped from the agenda of most far-right groups.
Against this,
nationalism (or indeed ultra-nationalism) – a key defining aspect of fascism (Griffin,
1991) remains an important mainstay of most far-right thought. Indeed it is
within the parameters of nationalism that we may see answers as to whether these
political movements are, in fact fascist. Eatwell (1992) argued that
nationalism is crucial to fascism and analysis of the political ideology of
most 21st century far-right groups reveals how it is also central to
all of their political platforms.
“The
BNP will protect our unique and precious British identity from Mass
Immigration, multi-culturalism, health’n’safety killjoys and globalisation.”
(British
National Party Ibid.)
“Britain
First is committed to the maintenance of British national sovereignty,
independence and freedom. Our people must enjoy full self-determination, free
from the interference and meddling of foreign organisations …”
(Britain First.
Ibid)
However, this notion of
‘nationalism’ has been interpreted by the far-right, like it was for various
fascism movements throughout Europe in at least two ways. For some, it
symbolises something that has already existed, a return to earlier values and
traditions. For others it has a more radical/ revolutionary theme where there
is a need for the nation, with the party as its political vanguard to create
something new out of the ashes of the old.
It is within the latter
that we see aspects of Patriotic Alternative’s (PA) approach to nationalism when
they call for a ‘New Britain’ and their aim to create:
- Physical
communities in geographical terms where patriots are living in close proximity
to one another;
- Community
activists in positions of influence in neighbourhoods
- A
nation where no immigrant-descended person should ever be allowed to take
decisions regarding the ethnic composition of the UK
For PA, as with some other
far-right groups, nationalism means a revolutionary rebirth of the state where
laws would be created to make it free from mass immigration and where those of
immigrant descent, even though they have British citizenship, would have no
right to take part in any decision making process with the ‘democracy’ they
would create.
This type of approach
(referred to by Griffin as palingenetic ultra-nationalism) demands a “…
populist drive towards mobilising the energies of all those considered
authentic members of the national community …” (Griffin, 2012 p. 6).
Mark Collett - Leader of Patriotic Alternativewith his ex-girlfriend
It is not difficult to
see that in many ways the recent anti-immigration campaigns organised by groups
like Britain First, Homeland Party and Patriotic Alternative are part of this revolutionary
mobilisation and are aimed at creating a mass movement that would challenge the
current political system and is motivated by a set of ‘mobilising
passions’ (Paxton, 2004) that include:
|
Paxton’s
Mobilising
passions
|
21st
Century far-right groups response
|
|
A sense of
overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of ordinary solutions
|
Evidence of unabated
mass immigration resulting in a loss of nationhood and culture
|
|
The primacy of the
group towards which one has duties superior to every other right
|
Ultra-patriotism and
nationalism establishing the supremacy of the British people
|
|
The belief that one’s
group is a victim
|
During 47 years of
membership of the EU, British nationalism was eroded. Add to that the impact
of international bodies (UN, European Court of Justice etc) unabated
immigration, and the decline of ‘law and order,
|
|
Dread of the group’s
decline under the effects of liberalism and alien influence
|
The two-party system
and the electoral system have facilitated the deterioration of British
identity
|
|
The need for clear
integration of a purer community
|
Mass repatriation of
all immigrants/ non-British citizens
|
Within this analysis
there are certain failings that fail to establish whether the fascist minimum
has been realised when aimed at modern far-right groups. In particular, Paxton’s
thesis assumes a fascist movement is led by a charismatic, or natural leader
who is capable of understanding and achieving goals that will secure the
advance of the British people. However, what we see in the present leaderships
is a largely narcissistic, unskilled hierarchy with a lack of direction or
purpose. Unlike the ‘ideal type’ of fascist natural leader their government is essentially
reactive rather than active.
As an example of this, Mark
Collett’s empire in Patriotic Alternative is collapsing as more members
haemorrhage from the party and turn to Kenny Smith’s new Homeland party.
Meanwhile, Paul Golding continues to oversee Britain First and looks likely to
fill the void created by the demise of both the British National Party and the
National Front. Despite this, his position is not secure as he has a
history of violence and criminal convictions, so one has to wonder whether he
will face any future ‘holidays’ at His Majesty’s pleasure. In broad political
terms the party has a miniscule membership and with evidence reported by HOPE
not Hate of the party scamming supporters for money his tenure as leader many
be coming to an end. .
National Front in Action
The early successes of
British fascism in the 1930s were held in part by the poor economic position of
this country (something that seems unlikely to be repeated) and the presence of
a charismatic fascist leader in Oswald Mosley, who could attract huge crowds,
some of whom would go on to support him for the rest of their lives. Mosley,
and many of the fascist leaders of that time were politically astute,
experienced and talented orators as well as skilled writers who could deliver
cogent (albeit distasteful) political solutions. The present cohort of
far-right leaders in this country (thankfully) are unable to offer any of those
skills and as such are unlikely to ever achieve any political, or electoral
success.
What is more clear is
that this country appears to have moved into an era of post-fascism where many
of the old ground rules that could be applied so readily to parties like the
British Union of Fascist or the Imperial Fascist League no longer apply. The
Public Order Act no longer allows political parties to parade in militaristic
style uniforms and indeed, it is questionable as to whether the electorate
would welcome such a display if it were presented. While the war and memories
of Nazism fade into history and despite awareness of the Holocaust declining
year by year, the ongoing battle between antifascists and the far-right shows
there remains an underlying disquiet amongst people regarding a re-emergence of
fascism and Nazism.
Furthermore, since the
war there has never been any sign of a charismatic ‘fuhrer’ emerging from
within the far-right. It could be argued that for a very short time, Nick
Griffin offered them some hope but despite his re-emergence with groups like
Liberty Defenders and the British Freedom Party, his own bankruptcy and political
ineptitude became his ultimate downfall.
Add to that the fact
that modern Conservativism and the Radical Right have ‘stolen’ some of the core
beliefs previously held exclusively by the far-right. Historically, some Tory
MPs have unashamedly retweeted Tommy Robinson, include Bob Blackman and Nadine
Dorries and Tom Hunt, MP for Ipswich, was accused last year of fuelling racism
after appearing to blame crime in his constituency on “certain communities”.
More recently, Suella
Braverman’s approach to dealing with asylum seekers is something that thirty
years ago would have sat well within the far-right political play book. There
is nothing new in this approach – while publically uncomfortable with his
analysis there was considerable private support within the Conservative for
Enoch Powell and his attitude towards immigration. While the majority of the
Conservative party distance themselves from the ‘Great Replacement Theory’,
there are many MPs who, in their speeches are not far removed from current
far-right thinking. In doing this, they have effectively normalised
anti-immigration and, in so doing, indirectly taken the powder out of the
far-right’s guns.
In all this, what
becomes clear is that the far-right have been forced to ‘cherry pick’ aspects
of fascism so that instead of presenting themselves as unashamed fascists in
the traditional sense, they have been forced to present an image that is socially
acceptable.
Conclusion,
If fascism is little
more than revolutionary ultra-nationalism with the aim of creating a national
rebirth then it is not difficult to argue that many of Britain’s far-right
groups are fascist. However, it is quite clear that fascism, or indeed fascisms
are far more complicated and are comprised of many different elements, some of
which were easier to see in historical fascism than in current far-right
groups. In part this is because some of those elements (militarism) are
prohibited by law, while others (superiority of the natural leader) have never
presented themselves to any of the existing movements.
Add to this the
realisation amongst members of the far-right of the necessity to work within a
liberal democratic system and with it came the realisation that a manifesto
burdened with promoting an authoritarian or corporate state would fail to
achieve any kind of mandate.
With all this in mind we
must conclude that in broad terms, most of the existing far-right groups like
Britain First and Patriotic Alternative cannot be described as ‘fascist’ within
the traditional meaning of the word, or when compared with historical fascist
parties. However, if we see post-war fascism has, of necessity evolved into
something new then it changes things. What then becomes evident is there are
some elements of fascist ideology present in modern far-right thought, but
equally others, like the refutation of liberal democracy that have been
dismissed.
Despite this, I think it
is reasonable to say there is sufficient evidence to argue that most of far-right
groups are, at least for the most part, fascistic (in the traditional sense of
the word) and simply because they have never discovered a ‘natural leader’ does
not mean they would not embrace one should he appear. Given this, we must
assume this element cannot be denied, but can only be described as untested.
What we do know is that
all political parties often change direction and it is therefore not
inconceivable that any, or indeed all, of these groups might renege on their
commitment to the democratic principle. Indeed historical evidence has shown
how this has happened in the past (for example the Patriotic Party in the
1960s that originally described
themselves as ‘True Tories’ then went on to commit to traditional extreme
right-wing politics).
With all this at the
front of our thought, we can only conclude that many of the existing far-right
parties should be seen as fascist in principle, if not in practice
REFERENCES:
Britain First website https://www.britainfirst.org/ accessed
12th June, 2023
British National Party
website https://bnp.org.uk/policies/british-culture/
accessed 12th June, 2023
Eatwell (1992)Towards a
new model of generic Fascism. Journal of
Theoretical Politics. 4(2) 161-194
Griffin, R. (1991) The Nature of Fascism London. Pinter. Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies
1(1) p. 1-17
Griffin, R. (2012)
Studying fascism in a post-fascist age: from New Consensus to new wave.
Kitchen, M. (1977 Fascism. London, Macmillan.
Milza, P. |(1987)
Fascisme francaise: pásse et present Flammarion. Paris
Nolte, E. (1969) Three Faces of Fascism. New York. Mentor
Paxton, R.O. (2004) The Anatomy of Fascism. London. Penguin
Rauschning, H. (1938) Die revolution des Nihilismus. Zurich. Europa
Verlag.
Tyndall, J.(1988) The
Eleventh Hour: A Call for British Rebirth. London: Albion Press.
Walker, M. (1977) The National Front. London. Fontana
