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British nationalism
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. It then moved on from its benign beginnings to acquire racial connotations, being usurped in the 1960s and 1970s by self-proclaimed far right individuals and organisations that oppose 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 ethnic minority equality rights and asylum seekers. British Nationalism in UK politics History Post-War and the decline of Empire 1960s-1980s - The National Front and anti-immigration The 1990s and the anti-Europe movement Influential Figures in British Nationalism See also 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. On the extreme right, the neo-fascist National Front and the Far-right British National Party have been strongly anti-immigration. They have encouraged the repatriation of ethnic minorities, and have been associated, until the 1990s at least, 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. 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 UKIP, The Countryside Alliance and Veritas. They initially aimed to counter the break up of the British Empire, and have also been strongly against immigration. There has been a long history of Euroscepticism in these groups, which became focused in the parties such as UKIP in after the Maastricht Treaty was passsed. At one time, the Conservative Monday Club included a number of MPs, though this group has now been disowned by the Conservative Party. Other nationalist parties on the right have never had an MP, but both Veritas and UKIP have a number of MEPs and Councillors. The British Nationalist movement rose out of the dying embers of the British fascist movement. Although leader Oswald Moseley 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 Two, became members of parties attempting to defend the British Empire. The Empire had begun to break down as nationalist movements rose in the early Twentieth 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. 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 was a known supporter, and the group promoted a Shire-esque view of an idealized UK. 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 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 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. 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 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. 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. 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 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 Euronationalism, espousing the traditional nationalist methods of extra-parliamentary movements, and concentrated instead on the ballot box. 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 councilors were won. However, policies of anti-immigration continued, and a damaging BBC documentary lead to Griffin being charged with the incitement of racial hatred. 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 a highly funded attempt to assert British national independence. Alongside the Referendum Party, who took a more single issue approach to British withdrawal from the EU and which was absorbed into UKIP, it has been the most successful British nationalist party in elections. Despite some internal divisions, which lead to MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk forming his own splinter party Veritas, which went on to get thirty local councilors and 10 MEPs before it dissolved. Many of these have come from the Conservative Party, who 'disowned' the Monday Club in 2001 and who have become less Eurosceptic. Mainstream parties have continued in their attempts to reclaim British national identity from the nationalist groups. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, recently suggested the introduction of a British national holiday, in the way that the French celebrate Bastille Day. Influential Figures in British Nationalism A. K. Chesterton John Bean Andrew Fountaine Enoch Powell Nick Griffin John Tyndall Martin Webster See also British Nationalist Party (BNP) United Kingdom Independence Party Rivers of Blood speech Notable Names from Britain’s far Right BNP's Nick Griffin British ‘Neo –Nazi’ Parties
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