Chesterton established the group in 1954 on the far right of the Conservative Party, effectively as a reaction to the more liberal forms of Toryism in evidence at the time, as typified by the policies of R. A. Butler. Chesterton feared the growth of the Soviet Union and of the United States. He concluded that Bolshevism and American-style capitalism were actually in alliance as part of a Jewish-led conspiracy against the British Empire, a mindset that informed the LEL from the beginning. The wide-reaching critiques that this conspiracy theory utilised meant that the LEL won membership from various sectors of right-wing opinion including former BUF activists like Chesterton himself and Barry Domvile, traditionalist patriots like General Sir Richard Hilton and young radicals like John Tyndall, John Bean, Colin Jordan and Martin Webster. Indeed, in its early years the LEL succeeded in attracting some leading members of the establishment to its ranks, including Field-Marshal Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, Lieutenant-General Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison and former British People's Party election candidate Air Commodore G.S. Oddie.

This is an AHRC-funded project about the history of British imperialism over more than two centuries, from the American war of independence in the late eighteenth century to the last wars of decolonisation at the end of the twentieth century. Its theme is collaboration - the history of the alliances, affiliations and co-options that made empire what it was. Without collaboration there would have been no British empire - loyalty to Britain was as much a part of the story of empire as were the more commonly studied themes of resistance and rebellion. Kenneth Lunn, Richard C. Thurlow, British fascism: essays on the radical right in inter-war Britain, Taylor & Francis, 1980, p. 213Commonwealth countries, unlike South Africa and Rhodesia, "our kith and kin", are beset by a chronic decadence that is hiding the true qualities that in other circumstances would further British destiny. Peter H. Merkl & Leonard Weinberg, Right-wing Extremism in the Twenty-first Century, Psychology Press, 2003 Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, p. 188 There still resides in the British people, albeit hidden under the visible surface of contemporary softness and spiritual decay, those fine qualities of courage, steadfastness, and endurance which have enabled Britons to thrive as a proud breed of men throughout the centuries." The wide-reaching critiques that this conspiracy theory utilised meant that the LEL won membership from various sectors of right-wing opinion, including former BUF activists like Chesterton himself and Barry Domvile, traditionalist patriots like General Richard Hilton and young radicals like John Tyndall, John Bean, Colin Jordan and Martin Webster. [4] Indeed, in its early years, the LEL succeeded in attracting some leading members of the establishment to its ranks, including Field-Marshal Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, Lieutenant-General Sir Balfour Oliphant Hutchison and the former British People's Party election candidate Air Commodore G. S. Oddie. [5]

Our Photo Prints are in a large range of sizes and are printed on Archival Quality Paper for excellent colour reproduction and longevity. They are ideal for framing (our Framed Prints use these) at a reasonable cost. Alternatives include cheaper Poster Prints and higher quality Fine Art Paper, the choice of which is largely dependant on your budget. Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, p. 177 Today it is difficult to get a sense of what really happened. Mainstream history, of course, has its narratives worked out — Britain was exhausted after its war with Germany and Japan, attitudes to race had been transformed, and the “Winds of Change” blew in shortly afterwards followed by the “Winds of Multiculturalism.” Thanks to the alternative history now possible due to the internet, this narrative now faces some opposition, but because the period is rather remote, such opposition usually comes from those with a particular axe of their own to grind. The analysis of these two groups, in the general context of imperial group activism, hints at a reading of British imperial consciousness that it more subtle than the one in much current literature. Imperialism was neither ubiquitous nor non-existent. A substantial number of activists in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century, estimated to exceed a million, cared about the Empire in various ways and with a range of intensity. Members of imperial activist groups came from all classes, although the leadership of imperial activism was often upper-class. However, imperialism mattered most when it was most ‘banal’ and most intertwined with a broader political Conservatism. Members of the Junior Imperial League rarely saw their imperialism as controversial or something separate from their broader political vision. They associated it with the governance of the Empire, its defence, trading relationships, education, and Anglo-Saxon feelings of ‘kith and kin’. The League of Empire Loyalists was a ginger group established in 1954, campaigning against the dissolution of the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a small group of current or former members of the Conservative Party led by Arthur K. Chesterton, a former leading figure in the British Union of Fascists, who had served under Oswald Mosley. The League found support from a number of Conservative Party members, although they were disliked very much by the leadership. [16] They were well known for various stunts at Conservative Party meetings and conferences (acting as a constant irritant to the party). As time progressed, the group became primarily concerned with opposing non-white immigration into Britain and were instrumental in the founding (with other right-wing and neo-Nazi groups) of the National Front in February 1967. [ citation needed] White Defence League [ edit ]Two years later, in Tomorrow We Live, he declared that BUF policy was in favour of a “united Europe” and a “New Europe”. This move, motivated by his previous link with Mosley’s party, was unsuccessful, but in 1953 Truth was acquired by new owners and subjected to an editorial policy in line with the internationalist outlook of the Conservative Party’s post-war leadership. A lesser man than A.K. might well have found a way to adjust to the new realities, but A.K’s response was to stay true to the spirit of what Truth had once been by founding the journal Candour.

a b Colin Liddell (14 February 2013). "The launch of the BDP". Radix. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Tempered Glass Mounts are ideal for wall display, plus the smaller sizes can also be used free-standing via an integral stand Many of these parties stem from either the legacy of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, or the political views held by either John Tyndall, Andrew Fountain, Eddy Morrison, Ian Anderson, Colin Jordan and A.K. Chesterton, along with those of their parties like the British National Party, National Front (United Kingdom), National Socialist Movement (1960s) and National Democrats (United Kingdom) over the last 40 years. For instance, the Waffen SS indoctrinated their recruits, 50% of whom were non-German, with a mix of anti-communism, anti-Semitism and pan-Europeanism, with slogans proclaiming a “New Europe”. Wright, Simon; Glaze, Ben; Cortbus, Colin (7 June 2014). "Exposed: Rise of Hitler-loving National Action group who want to 'ethnically cleanse' the UK". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 9 August 2014.The collection contains a range of material relating to various aspects of A. K. Chesterton’s later life including interviews with colleagues and his widow, examples of his literary, journalistic and political writings, papers, correspondence, scrapbooks and publications documenting the activities of the League of Empire Loyalists and copies of his view-sheet, Candour. As time progressed, the group became primarily concerned with opposing non-white immigration into Britain and were instrumental in the founding (with other right-wing and neo-Nazi groups) of the National Front in February 1967. Chesterton's personal anti-Semitism and devotion to conspiracy theories about the Jews and international capitalism also became more prominent in LEL ideology towards the end of the group's life. [16] The League was also strongly anti-communist and had close links with emigre groups such as the Ukrainian National Committee. [17] Decline and splits [ edit ] Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the 20th Century, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000, pp. 192–193 Although the LEL actively supported an independent candidate who was a member at the Lewisham North by-election, 1957, it was not a political party.

Jeffery’s generous donations during his lifetime, however, were essential to the running of Candour, as it was exactly the kind of publication that, in our pre-internet era, could not but lose money: British Empire Far Right League Of Empire Loyalists Pressure Group Protest Right Right Wing Secretary Stunt Although the majority of Ashcroft's papers date from the 1990s, when he was active in the National Front and British National Party, the collection does include publications from the 1970s. These include issues of the newspapers 'National Front News', Link opens in a new window 1977-1989, and 'Spearhead' Link opens in a new window, 1975-1992. Leamington Anti-Racist, Anti-Fascist Committee (LARAFC) was formed in 1977. The archive collection includes minutes, newsletters, press releases, circulars, press cuttings and photographs, as well as some examples of far right publications. Leamington Spa hit the national headlines in 1976, when the far right activist Robert Relf was imprisoned for contempt of court after refusing to take down a racist sign advertising the sale of his house. The sentence resulted in protests and counter-demonstrations, particularly in the Midlands.The formation of the National Front (NF) at the beginning of 1967 brought together much of the previously disunited extreme right in Britain. The League of Empire Loyalists, led by former Mosleyite A.K. Chesterton, regrouped with the British National Party (BNP) and with members of the Racial Preservation Society and, shortly after, another group, the Greater Britain Movement (GBM), dissolved to enable members to join the new organization. Both the BNP, led by Andrew Fountaine and John Bean, and the GBM, led by John Tyndall and Martin Webster, took the view that Chesterton had given too little attention to elections. Conversely, however, Chesterton and sections of the BNP were united in their initial reluctance to fuse with the Tyndall group which they saw as too overtly sympathetic to National Socialism for a credibly British nationalist movement. Tyndall’s admission represented a suspension of this doubt but the continued exclusion of yet another organization, the National Socialist Movement (subsequently British Movement), was intended to ensure that whatever subterranean sympathies for Nazism existed in National Front circles should at least remain unexpressed in public. Keywords Fielding, Nigel (1981). The National Front. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.20. ISBN 978-0710005595. National Action is a neo-Nazi organisation which was proscribed for glorifying terrorism in December 2016. The organisation was founded in 2013 by Benjamin Raymond and Alex Davies. Raymond is a former double-glazing salesman who graduated in Politics from Essex University and Davies is a former member of the Young BNP. Raymond has described his organisation as "like the BNP but more radical". The group was secretive and had rules to prevent members from talking openly about the organisation. [ citation needed] In 1940, shortly after the fall of France and Churchill’s arrival in Downing Street, Mosley – who was then calling for Britain to accept Hitler’s offer of peace – was interned under Defence Regulation 18B.