Fighting for race and nation at the ballot box

While the rest of Europe is engaged in elections for a ‘Parliament’ that has little genuine power over European institutions, nominations were published this weekend across the UK for the General Election on 4th July.

H&D readers will have varying views on the efficacy of contesting such elections, but we can all agree that the list of candidates reflects a slow but perceptible recovery from the disaster inflicted on our movement by Nick Griffin’s destruction of the BNP more than a decade ago.

There are two main groups of nationalist candidates. The British Democrats, who achieved a handful of strong results at the local council elections last month, are fighting four constituencies: Basildon & Billericay (where Chris Bateman is standing against Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden); Faversham & Mid Kent (Lawrence Rustem); Maidstone & Malling (Gary Butler); and Doncaster North (where Frank Calladine is up against former Labour leader Ed Miliband).

Mr Calladine is the only racial nationalist candidate in the UK who will not have a Reform UK opponent.

Three of the British Democrat candidates are already parish councillors. They understand that in present circumstances it’s difficult to contest parliamentary elections – party chairman and H&D patron Dr Jim Lewthwaite has emphasised that nationalism is a long-term project – but it’s important to offer the British people a genuine choice, and to take a step forward in rebuilding nationalism amid the collapse of the Tory party and the transformation of mainstream politics.

The English Democrats (unlike the Brit Dems) are primarily a civic nationalist party, but their candidates this year include several staunch racial nationalists, as well as others whose main focus is on constitutional reform. The party’s platform highlights a pledge to “end immigration now!”

The fifteen ED candidates nationwide include the well-known anti-immigration campaigner Steve Laws in Dover & Deal, and four members of Patriotic Alternative: Thomas Bryer in Makerfield, Craig Buckley in Leigh & Atherton, Patrick McGrath in Bolton West, and Matthew Darrington in Newark.

Also standing for the EDs are party chairman Robin Tilbrook (Brentwood & Ongar), former Brexit Party founding chairman Catherine Blaiklock (Great Yarmouth), and longstanding campaigners for an English Parliament such as Steve Morris (contesting Bury South for the first time, having earlier stood in many council elections).

Two former BNP activists are standing as independents on anti-immigration manifestos: Joe Owens in Liverpool Wavertree, and Dr Andrew Emerson in Chichester.

Later this week H&D will analyse the campaign so far, and examine potential benefits for our cause from the present political drama.

Best of luck to all racial nationalist candidates today

Polling stations closed a few minutes ago in those areas of England and Wales that are electing local councillors, mayors, and/or police and fire service commissioners.

As H&D explained last month when nominations were filed for these elections, there are very few racial nationalist candidates this year, reflecting the general state of our movement, which has yet to recover from the damage inflicted by Nick Griffin when he destroyed the BNP more than a decade ago.

That damage coincided with the rise of the pro-Brexit movement which distracted many of our natural voters (and quite a few of our activists), who became deluded into believing that Nigel Farage and his successive parties (UKIP, the Brexit Party, and now Reform UK) would save our nation, and that withdrawal from the European Union would solve the immigration crisis and related problems.

Unlike Farage and his spiv capitalists, and unlike the various fringe conspiracy theorist sects that have proliferated in recent years, racial nationalists share an ideology rooted in scientific reality and political honesty.

For the time being candidates are few in number, and divided among various parties and factions. But the courage and commitment of each of these candidates is a fine example to the rest of our movement. Whatever the results today, these candidates have taken an important step forward for our cause.

We are sure that all H&D readers will joining us in sending best wishes to the racial nationalist candidates standing today –

British Democrats:
Dr Jim Lewthwaite (party chairman), Wyke ward, Bradford
Chris Bateman, Castledon & Crouch, Basildon
Julian Leppert, Waltham Abbey North, Epping Forest
Lawrence Rustem, Shepway, Maidstone

Homeland Party:
Roger Robertson, Hartley Wintney, Hart

Independent:
Callum Hewitt, Central & West Bank, Halton
Gary Butler, Shepway, Maidstone

Despite our serious differences with civic nationalist parties, we also wish the best of luck to their candidates standing today –

English Democrats:
Maxine Spencer – Dearne North, Barnsley
Janus Polenceusz – Dearne South, Barnsley
Steve Morris – Besses, Bury
Val Morris – Holyrood, Bury
Robin Tilbrook – Rural East, Epping Forest
Robin Tilbrook – Essex Police & Crime Commissioner
David Dickason – Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner
Henry Curteis – West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner

National Housing Party UK:
John Lawrence – Hollinwood, Oldham

Britain First:
Nick Scanlon – London Mayor
Nick Scanlon – Greater London Assembly
David Bamber – Cokeham, Adur
Amanda Peel – Bablake, Coventry

As always, H&D will report on the election results as they are declared tonight and tomorrow. And we shall reflect on the implications for our movement when analysing these results, both here on the website and in the next edition of our magazine.

Civic nationalism falls at first hurdle in 2024 local elections

This afternoon local councils across England published their lists of confirmed candidates for next month’s local elections. There are more than 2,600 council seats up for election across England on 2nd May, as well as eleven Mayoral elections (including London), the Greater London Assembly, and 37 Police & Crime Commissioners. Apart from the latter, there are no elections in Wales this year, and there are no elections in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Given the scale of public concern about the failure of mainstream political parties, and the continuing crises over immigration, crime, and other race-related issues, readers might have expected a significant challenge to the political establishment at these elections.

In fact, the anti-establishment challenge – whether from civic nationalists, racial nationalists, or even from the far left – is feeble.

H&D readers know that there are many reasons for the weak state of racial nationalism in the UK. Our movement has yet to recover from catastrophic damage caused by the collapse of the BNP more than a decade ago, a collapse that was mainly self-inflicted by former BNP leader Nick Griffin.

The best we can say is that there are good people in our movement presently engaged in the long task of rebuilding racial nationalism from that wreckage.

Within the racial nationalist political spectrum, there are four candidates from the British Democrats (including former councillors Julian Leppert in Epping Forest, Jim Lewthwaite in Bradford, and Lawrence Rustem in Maidstone).

The newly registered Homeland Party has one candidate, Roger Robertson in Hart, Hampshire (who is already a parish councillor).

Patriotic Alternative has not yet registered as a political party, so its name cannot appear on ballot papers, but PA activist Callum Hewitt is standing as an Independent candidate in Halton, Cheshire.

Another well-known nationalist standing as an independent is former NF and BNP candidate Gary Butler in Maidstone.

The anti-Islam but multiracialist party Britain First is contesting the London Mayoral and GLA elections, where their candidate in each case is former Generation Identity activist Nick Scanlon. But elsewhere in England Britain First has only two candidates, far fewer than expected.

A more radical but still multiracialist anti-Islamic party, the National Housing Party, has one candidate in Oldham.

The English Democrats, whose campaign for an English Parliament is supported by many racial nationalists even though the party itself is multiracialist, have five council candidates as well as three Police and Crime Commissioner candidates, including party leader Robin Tilbrook.

But the real shock is at the civic nationalist end of the spectrum.

Reform UK, which has dismayed many of its supporters in recent weeks but which is easily the largest and best funded party operating to the ‘right’ of the Conservatives, will have just 328 council candidates this year, well down on last year’s total of 480.

This failure even to get onto the ballot paper in the vast majority of elections makes a mockery of Reform UK’s opinion poll ratings, and of Nigel Farage’s efforts to portray himself as a serious political figure.

Some Reform UK supporters are urging Farage to step back into the front line and take back official leadership of the party from his stooge, Richard Tice. But with the party having so obviously failed to put down substantial roots at local level, what could Farage seriously hope to achieve?

Farage’s old party UKIP confirmed it is close to death, with only seventeen candidates nationwide this year.

A rival UKIP splinter group – the Heritage Party – is also declining but shows slightly more vigour than UKIP, with 34 candidates nationwide including a slate of seven in Southend where it looks to have taken over most of the old UKIP branch.

But yet another UKIP breakaway – the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom – seems to have disappeared from ballot papers this year. The ADF under its Malaysian leader Dr Teck Khong recently signed a grandiose ‘alliance’ with the remnants of the anti-vaxx party Freedom Alliance (which has only five candidates across the whole of England this year, after suffering multiple splits and defections). They will probably pick up the crankier, Covid-obsessed defectors from Reform UK, but as H&D has repeatedly explained, this is not a basis for serious election campaigns.

The one thing that is abundantly clear from these local elections – even before a single vote has been cast – is that there remains a vacuum in British politics which a real nationalist party ought to fill.

H&D will publish lists of nationalist candidates standing at the May elections, and will have full reports and analysis both on this website and in forthcoming editions of our magazine.

British Democrats win town council by-election

British Democrat candidate Ken Perrin won yesterday’s by-election in the Slade Lode South ward of Chatteris Town Council in Cambridgeshire. He gained 47.5% of the vote, ahead of Labour’s Richard Hirson on 27.7% and an Independent on 24.8%.

Much of the campaign focused on local housing/planning issues, which are often ones where racial nationalist ideas come into sharp focus for ordinary voters.

As Mr Perrin pointed out in an interview with his local newspaper, developers were planning “to build on land that is actually a run-off for flood water”.

In the broader context, the British Democrats have emphasised that “there isn’t a housing crisis in this country; there’s an immigration crisis causing a housing shortage!”

Town councils, sometimes called parish councils or community councils, sometimes operate in a non-partisan manner and the wards are usually much smaller than a borough ward or a county council division.

But on housing and other planning applications they can have an important role – and as several nationalist parties including the Brit Dems have pointed out, gaining experience on a parish council can be an important step in winning back credibility for our movement.

Congratulations to Ken Perrin and his campaign team on bringing H&D readers some good news! Chatteris is best known historically as the place where Boudicca and her Iceni warriors made their last stand against the invading Romans. So it’s an appropriate place to take a political stand against our 21st century invaders!

Videos from 2023 H&D Meeting now online

Despite many loud threats from the ultra-left and their financial backers, the 2023 H&D meeting went ahead unimpeded, at a hotel in the Lancashire countryside, just outside Preston.

We are have now uploaded videos from this event, courtesy of our media team who put in many hours of hard work on the day and during the following week.

Laura Towler, from Patriotic Alternative, paid tribute to the political legacy of Sir Oswald Mosley, one of the four men honoured at this year’s meeting, 75 years after the foundation of Mosley’s postwar Union Movement. Some of us at H&D knew veteran Mosleyites, and we are certain that they (and especially Lady Mosley) would have been very happy to know that Laura, her husband Sam, and the PA team are advancing the patriotic cause in 2023!

PA’s founder and leader Mark Collett gave the penultimate speech (which for technical reasons is only available in audio).

Mark spoke about his years in the BNP during the first decade of the millennium. As older viewers will remember, he was one of the most effective and hardworking BNP officers of that era, but his work and that of many other sincere patriots came to nothing, due to the corruption and incompetence of BNP leader Nick Griffin. In this frank and cogent analysis, Mark describes what was good about the BNP, and what went so badly wrong.

Professor John Kersey, Vice-President of the Traditional Britain Group, addressed the broken state of British politics and society, and emphasised that “musical freedom comes the moment you say it isn’t about the money or the fame, or about what anyone, powerful or not, thinks of it. It’s about the need to engage with our culture and community, to create, to communicate and to inspire. The reward isn’t money or fame. The reward is doing it and making your audience feel that you have connected with them in a way that nothing else can.”

‘Anti-fascist’ hysteria during the two weeks since the meeting has focused on our European correspondent, Isabel Peralta, who spoke of her conviction that political faith, loyalty, honour and fanaticism can move mountains.

Isabel called on racial nationalists to show the spirit of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans defending Europe at Thermopylae, and of the national socialist martyrs who fell in Munich in 1923, almost a decade before the triumph of their cause.

The true European spirit is alive in our hearts and will triumph: those H&D readers and European nationalists lucky enough to know Isabel Peralta will never doubt it.

The closing speech was given by H&D’s assistant editor Peter Rushton, who also writes the Real History blog. Peter explains who the real “terrorists” are, and exposes their connections to the same establishment and ‘antifa’ organisations that sought to impede this year’s meeting; the same sinister forces that pulled the strings behind UK border security to harass fellow speaker Isabel Peralta.

Paying tribute to the four men honoured at this year’s event – Derek Beackon, Andrew Brons, Sir Oswald Mosley, and Ian Stuart – Peter emphasised that our enemies’ fear is a sign that the flame of European nationalism burns brightly in 2023. As Sir Oswald Mosley told his followers: “Together in Britain we have lit a flame that the ages shall not extinguish. Guard that sacred flame, my brother Blackshirts, until it illumines Britain and lights again the path of mankind.”

Dr Jim Lewthwaite, retired archaeology lecturer, Orangeman, and chairman of the British Democrats, based his speech around an analysis of Professor Nigel Biggar’s new book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning – which was reviewed in Issue 115 of H&D.

Jim talked about the positive side of the British Empire, as well as slavery and how the British were the first of the major powers of the time to ban it. The British Democrats are now beginning to attract significant numbers of experienced activists as well as those new to electoral politics. Despite disappointing council election results earlier this year, they are presently the main electoral force on the British nationalist scene. And unlike the tragic rump of the BNP (which lives off legacies and does no serious political work), the Brit Dems do not pay any staff. All their funds are spent on building the movement and spreading information about the present crisis of our nation.

Stephen Frost, National Secretary of British Movement, acknowledged that our movement of resistance to multicultural decay is a ‘broad church’ of patriots, not all of whom by any means are national socialists (as represented by BM and Colin Jordan’s earlier organisations). Yet as he emphasised, BM has always been prepared to lend its support to sincere comrades from other groups and parties – at demonstrations, election campaigns and at meetings such as this one.

Steve added that the task of all nationalists is to spread propaganda for our cause by any and every means and format: whether old-school with hard copy leaflets and newspapers or by more modern means using the internet including social media. The propaganda war is bringing increasing numbers to realisation of the essential truth of our values. Stephen Frost and BM have utilised these propaganda methods, via such means as the ‘Under the Sunwheel’ podcast. Colin Jordan’s political legacy continues to inspire new generations of activists.

Stephen Frost’s co-host at ‘Under the Sunwheel’, Benny Bullman, lead singer of the Rock Against Communism band Whitelaw, spoke in tribute to Ian Stuart, founder of Blood & Honour and lead singer of Skrewdriver, who tragically died 30 years ago this month.

Benny pointed out that Ian Stuart’s dedication to race and nation led him to turn his back on a lucrative career in ‘mainstream’ music (an industry controlled by the usual suspects). Ian achieved far more than the wealth and fame that was accrued by some of his contemporaries after they sold out. The legacy of Ian Stuart and Skrewdriver continues to inspire new generations of patriots throughout the White world.

Due to a slight technical problem with sound at the end of the video (now resolved) our US correspondent Ken Schmidt’s speech to the conference has only just been posted online.

Ken has been an activist and writer in the American nationalist movement since the 1980s. He writes a regular column in H&D entitled “From the other side of the Pond”. He is a member of the League of the South, although he is now living back in the north – in New Jersey.

He spoke firstly about Donald Trump and the US presidential election and then about how the USA as a country is breaking up due to multi-racialism/multi-culturalism. And then about the various movements who support secession and the break-up of the USA as the only long-term solution if White people are to have any future in North America.

Remembering Four Great British Nationalists – H&D Annual Meeting salutes Derek Beackon, Andrew Brons, Sir Oswald Mosley and Ian Stuart

On 9th September in the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, just to the east of Preston, over 80 nationalists – mainly from the North-West and Yorkshire – attended the annual H&D meeting. Over the past fifteen years or so H&D have hosted cross-party memorial meetings in and around Preston and that tradition continued.

This year the meeting was entitled “Honour the Past – Conquer the Future” and we honoured four great British nationalists, Derek Beackon, Andrew Brons, Sir Oswald Mosley and Ian Stuart Donaldson.

Despite the best efforts of the Lancashire Post, the Preston Blog, Labour Party, SWP, Red Flare (a nutty online Marxist Republican group) and local LGBTQ+ loons to stop it, H&D‘s annual meeting went ahead as planned, with no serious problems.  All credit to Lancashire Police who respected our right to hold a legal political meeting in our free and democratic society and did not interfere with it.

While we were holding our successful 80 strong meeting in a first-class hotel in the beautiful Lancashire countryside, the loony lefties could only muster twenty-one (yes 21!) to their pathetic demonstration on Lune Street, many miles away in Preston city-centre! How ironic the loonies holding their demo on Lune Street!

Chaired by former NF and BNP organiser, and longstanding H&D subscriber Keith Axon, the meeting got underway with the traditional one minute’s silence for all the H&D subscribers who had passed away since our last meeting in September 2022, including Mr Ian Lofthouse, Dr. Roger Pearson, Mr K.D. Russell, Mr M. Sharp, Mr Ken Stead and Mr. P. Trelawney.

For only the second time we had two women speakers. This was one of many aspects of this year’s meeting that both on the panel and in the audience (over 20% were female) showed the increasing diversity of European nationalism.

Also, for only the second time we had two overseas speakers; H&D‘s European correspondent Isabel Peralta, who overcame another detention by UK Border Force at Manchester Airport; and Ken Schmidt H&D‘s American correspondent, who thankfully entered the UK without any problems.

Our Spanish and American guests were delighted to meet so many excellent new comrades from all over Great Britain, especially the large delegations from the British Movement and Patriotic Alternative.

After Keith Axon’s opening remarks, he introduced the first speaker of the afternoon; Benny Bullman, a British Movement activist, and the lead singer of the RAC band Whitelaw. Benny gave a fine tribute to the founder of Blood & Honour, Ian Stuart, who was born 66 years ago in the Lancashire town of Poulton-le-Fylde. It’s 30 years now since his death in 1993, but Benny emphasised that great comrades such as Ian Stuart still live with us in spirit, and we are all determined to be worthy of their legacy.

Our second speaker was Professor John Kersey, educationalist and musician, who leads several international university-level institutions dedicated to bespoke professional education for high achievers, gave a cogent analysis of the burgeoning threats to traditional British values and freedoms – and to the Christian values that are the bedrock of British and European civilization. The dictatorial grip of the political establishment is at last being resisted: the forces of resistance are no longer marginalised – our agenda of maintaining and restoring British traditions is now at the centre of political debate.

Our third speaker was Laura Towler, deputy leader of Patriotic Alternative. Laura talked both about Sir Oswald Mosley – this being the 75^th anniversary since he formed his Union Movement, after the end of WWII in 1948 – and Patriotic Alternative, which for the past four years has been fighting to get across the message that White Lives Matter – across a broad front of activities from demonstrations to leafletting, mountain hikes to tea retailing! PA has grown rapidly in its four years of existence. Despite the setbacks of the Electoral Commission constantly rejecting their applications to register as a political party, the PA has combined some of the best veterans of older nationalist parties with a proven ability to attract the best of the younger online nationalist community.

Just before the lunch break, Keith Axon and meeting organiser Mark Cotterill auctioned off a number of books, a George Lincoln Rockwell magazine, framed photographs, Ulster flags and a Whitelaw LP that had been donated by H&D subscribers. The auction raised over £300.

The meeting was then adjourned for a twenty-minute lunch break. An excellent buffet was provided by the BM’s Women’s Division, who as always put on a fine spread.

Keith Axon then opened the second part of the meeting and introduced the afternoon’s fourth speaker Dr. Jim Lewthwaite, an archaeologist and former Bradford city councillor, now chairman of the British Democrats. His speech was based around Nigel Biggar’s new book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning – which was reviewed in Issue 115 of H&D. Jim talked about the positive side of the British Empire, as well as slavery and how the British were the first of the major powers of the time to ban it. The British Democrats are now beginning to attract significant numbers of experienced activists as well as those new to electoral politics, however their results at this year’s council elections were disappointing.

Our fifth speaker of the afternoon was Isabel Peralta (speaking in Spanish with an English translation being read by Peter Rushton): she explained that the NS revolution did not end with the defeat at Berlin in 1945, and that faith in the true European cause was capable of moving mountains. She spoke of the great Spartan army, led by Leonidas, whose 300 Spartans stood fast and fought to the death against the mighty 200,000 strong Persian Army at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The Spartans showed the true spirit of Europe that we again need now.

The spirit of unity in the real Europe which Isabel spoke about, will soon be reflected in stronger connections between European nationalists – keep checking our website and magazine for details!

Our sixth speaker was Stephen Frost:  National Secretary of the British Movement, longstanding friend of Colin Jordan and author of the Colin Jordan biography ‘TWAS A GOOD FIGHT’! He acknowledged that our movement of resistance to multicultural decay is a ‘broad church’ of patriots, not all of whom by any means are national socialists (as represented by BM and Colin Jordan’s earlier organisations). Yet as he emphasised, BM has always been prepared to lend its support to sincere comrades from other groups and parties – at demonstrations, election campaigns and at meetings such as this one. He said the task of all nationalists is to spread propaganda for our cause by any and every means and format: whether old-school with hard copy leaflets and newspapers or by more modern means using the internet including social media. The propaganda war is bringing increasing numbers to realisation of the essential truth of our values.

Just before the second break of the afternoon H&D Editor Mark Cotterill held the raffle, ably assisted by one of the young ladies who were manning the H&D merchandise stall. There were around thirty raffle prizes this year – again all kindly donated by H&D subscribers.     

Keith Axon then opened the third and final part of the meeting and introduced the afternoon’s seventh speaker Ken Schmidt. Ken has been an activist and writer in the American nationalist movement since the 1980s. He writes a regular column in H&D entitled “From the other side of the Pond”. He is now a member of the League of the South, although he is now living back in the north – in New Jersey.

He spoke firstly about Donald Trump and the US presidential election and then about how the USA as a country is breaking up due to multi-racialism/culturalism. And then about the various movements who support secession and the break-up of the USA as the only long-term solution if White people are to have any future in North America.

Our eighth speaker was Mark Collett, the former chairman of the young BNP, director of publicity and editor of the BNP magazine Identity. Mark is the leader of Patriotic Alternative which he formed in September 2019. Mark has been an active nationalist since the turn of the century and is the most debanked person in the UK! The PA is the fastest growing nationalist organisation in Great Britain and holds regular activities and events every single week.  Mark’s speech was about his ten years inside the BNP, working his way up from the very bottom to the very top – what the BNP did right and what they did wrong, and how modern-day nationalists can learn from their mistakes.

Be sure to check this website in a few days time so that you can see videos of our event’s speeches, including Mark’s excellent insight into our movement’s recent history, which conveys important lessons for a new generation of activists.

Our ninth and final speaker of the afternoon was Peter Rushton: H&D‘s Assistant Editor and webmaster, historian, author of the new Real History Blog, and TV commentator. In his speech concluding the event, Peter mocked those ludicrous fake leftists who (with lavish funding from the usual suspects) had set out to stop our meeting. They had pulled out all the stops to defeat us, not because they feared “terrorism”, but because they feared the truth. “Anti-fascists” and their useful idiots (some of whom call themselves “nationalists”) spend most of their time spreading foul slanders (including against some of our guest speakers), but we carry on regardless with the task of rebuilding the true Britain and the true Europe.

This is the legacy of the four men whom we honoured at this event. If the authorities or the anti-fascists wished to talk about terrorists, Peter said, we were very happy to do so. We are happy to talk about the Zionist terrorists who bombed London, one of the worst of whom is still alive in Paris and untouched by the British counter-terrorist squad, who prefer to carry out political harassment of H&D writers such as Isabel, Peter and Mark. And we are happy to talk about the IRA terrorists to whom Conservative and Labour governments alike have betrayed our nation.

We should be in no doubt, Peter concluded, that reactionary Conservative capitalists are an even worse enemy than the so-called “Left” – the Tweedledum and Tweedledee whom Mosley ridiculed decades ago. Soon after the arrival of the Windrush in the 1940s, Labour MPs had warned about the consequences of mass non-White immigration, using language that would nowadays lead to them being raided by police. Peter thanked Mark Cotterill and his colleagues who have to remain nameless, for making this excellent event possible. He said he was proud to be fighting alongside his fellow speakers and audience members – drawn from many different groups and tendencies within the racial nationalist family – confident in the ultimate victory of our race and civilisation.

H&D editor Mark Cotterill ended the meeting by thanking everybody who helped organise the event and those in the audience who had made the effort to attend, some travelling considerable distances, including two from the USA, Germany and Spain.

Before the meeting and during the two intervals our audience browsed the many literature/merchandise stalls. Apart from the H&D table there were stalls from British Movement, Candour, Patriotic Alternative, The Supplement, Historical Review Press and Yorkshire Forum.

The evening before the meeting we held a social in a nice city centre pub, and after the meeting we returned back to the very same pub, as the landlord (an ex-squaddie himself) was so welcoming the first night, we thought we would give him another evening’s business! Around twenty nationalists attended both socials, some staying until just after 1am on the Saturday – a few sore heads on Sunday morning were reported!    

And finally, special thanks again to the British Movement Women’s Division who provided an excellent buffet; and to the British Movement Leader Guard who carried out security duties in their usual highly efficient manner to ensure that our speakers and audience were entirely safe from the loonies of Lune Street, had they been able to afford the bus fare up to Samlesbury – which of course they could not!

Hopefully we can hold another similar event next year, maybe in a different part of the country, but only time will tell.

Local Elections 2023

for updated list of this year’s nationalist results, click here

England’s last racial nationalist councillor – Julian Leppert in Waltham Abbey Paternoster ward, Epping Forest – was defeated in Thursday’s elections. Julian polled 187 votes (25.2%), which is likely to be the best nationalist election result this year, but lost his seat to a Conservative candidate.

This year Julian was standing as a British Democrat, having been elected four years ago for the now-defunct For Britain Movement (and having been a BNP councillor a decade ago).

Most of England held local elections on 4th May – a first chance for voters to give a verdict on the latest reinvention of the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. These elections were also a final chance for Reform UK, the civic nationalist party that grew out of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party but has so far failed to make any serious impact.

For H&D readers, one of the most interesting results was in Walkden North ward, Salford, where Ashlea Simon of Britain First polled 405 votes (18.2%).

This was down from 508 votes (21.6%) last year, but realistically it was another good result for Ms Simon and her party, given that this year they faced opposition from Reform UK, who finished bottom of the poll with only 68 votes (3.0%).

Britain First focused a great deal of effort on this Salford campaign, and the result contrasted with nearby Broadheath ward, Trafford, where their candidate Donald Southworth polled 153 votes (3.6%). Paul Harding managed 214 votes (13.1%) in Hockley & Ashingdon ward, Rochford; Nick Lambert 108 votes (12.6%) in Ballard ward, New Forest; and Nick Scanlon 61 votes (10.2%) in Darenth ward, Dartford. The Britain First candidates in Bideford South ward, Torridge, polled 15%, benefiting from the fact that the Tories did not contest the ward. Ironically the second-worst Britain First result was for their leader Paul Golding, who polled 6.9% in Swanscombe ward, Dartford.

Former BNP councillor Graham Partner achieved another of the best nationalist results overnight, with 94 votes (15.9%) as independent candidate for Hermitage ward, NW Leicestershire. Another nationalist standing without a party label was David Hyden, backed by activists from the new Homeland Party: he polled 81 votes (5.7%) in Cannock South ward, Cannock Chase.

The National Front’s sole candidate this year was Tim Knowles, who polled 40 votes (1.8%) in Codnor, Langley Mill & Aldercar, Amber Valley.

One of England’s newest (civic) nationalist parties – the National Housing Party UK – had three candidates this year. Callum Leat polled 228 votes (10.3%) in Dodington ward, South Gloucestershire. Former BNP and For Britain Movement activist Gary Bergin polled 149 votes (4.1%) in Claughton ward, Wirral. And NHPUK leader John Lawrence polled 205 votes (7.6%) in Hollinwood ward, Oldham.

Dr Andrew Emerson, a former BNP candidate who has for some years been the sole candidate of his own small party Patria, polled 6.4% in Chichester East ward, Chichester.

The first British Democrat results overnight were in Essex. In Kursaal ward, Southend, former East London BNP activist Steve Smith polled 42 votes (2.6%), finishing narrowly ahead of a candidate from the Heritage Party (a civic nationalist splinter from UKIP) who polled 2.1%. Mr Smith’s Brit Dem colleague Chris Bateman fared slightly better in Laindon Park ward, Basildon, with 89 votes (4.2%).

The British Democrats had better news during today’s counts, with Julian Leppert’s 25.2% (see above) being easily the best nationalist result this year, though David Haslett faced a tough campaign in the multiracial Saffron ward, Leicester, and polled 34 votes (1.9%). In Wyke ward, Bradford, Brit Dem leader Dr Jim Lewthwaite polled 140 votes (5.1%), finishing five votes ahead of a Reform UK opponent.

Some very poor overnight results for Reform UK indicated that they have very little genuine local activism, despite high profile backing at national level from the likes of Nigel Farage and GB News. (Speaking of GB News, one of their political commentators Sophie Corcoran was heavily defeated as Tory candidate for Chadwell St Mary ward, Thurrock.)

Even in Lichfield, where former Tory mayor Barry Gwilt defected to Reform UK earlier this year, neither Mr Gwilt nor any other Reform UK candidate stood for election this week.

The only good news for Reform UK so far has been in by far their best branch – Derby – where they retained six seats across their two wards, Alvaston North and Alvaston South.

One of the very few really active Reform UK branches is in Bolton, where they had 34 candidates, but none were elected. (Their strongest Bolton vote was 17% in Farnworth North.)

Even in areas such as Lincolnshire’s South Kesteven council (which includes Margaret Thatcher’s birthplace Grantham), where Sunak’s Conservatives lost many votes and seats, the ‘protest vote’ went to independents rather than to Reform UK or any of the UKIP splinter parties (two of which have already closed down). It seems that the Farage era is very definitely over.

Further confirmation of this came from Boston, another Lincolnshire council, which was one of the main UKIP and Brexit Party target areas of the past decade. UKIP lost their last remaining Boston council seat yesterday. Reform UK contested just one Boston ward, where they finished with only 4%, behind an English Democrat candidate on 7%.

English Democrat leader Robin Tilbrook polled 10.3% in Shelley ward, Epping Forest. Nationwide the EDs had five candidates, including Steve and Val Morris in Bury who polled 6.1% and 2.9% respectively.

Election counts continued this afternoon. H&D will have full reports and analysis on results as they arrive throughout the day.

(There were no elections this week in Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland’s local elections are on 18th May.)

On the campaign trail in Bradford

H&D‘s assistant editor visited Bradford yesterday to campaign with our patron Dr Jim Lewthwaite, chairman of the British Democrats, who is contesting Wyke ward at the Bradford City Council elections on 4th May.

Jim was a councillor for Wyke ward from 2004-2007 and was among the first campaigners to draw attention to the city’s infamous ‘grooming’ scandal.

H&D is a non-party publication and we encourage our readers to support racial nationalist candidates regardless of faction.

Dr Jim Lewthwaite, a Cambridge-educated archaeologist, has been a regular speaker at H&D‘s John Tyndall Memorial Meetings, including last September’s event in Preston which also commemorated Colin Jordan and Richard Edmonds.

UK Local Elections 2023

Nominations have closed for more than 8,000 contests at this year’s local elections in England and Wales. (Northern Ireland’s council elections have a slightly different timescale, and there are no elections in Scotland this year.)

The nationalist and broadly patriotic cause in the UK is still going through its post-Brexit transition, and this is reflected in the small numbers of candidates from racial nationalist parties. You can find a comprehensive list of candidates and parties by clicking this link, but these are the main headlines.

• The British Democrats are the main electorally focused racial nationalist movement, and have five candidates this year, including Julian Leppert who will be defending the seat he won four years ago in Waltham Abbey Paternoster ward, Epping Forest. Mr Leppert won that seat as a candidate of the now defunct For Britain Movement, but he joined the Brit Dems after FBM leader Anne-Marie Waters closed down her party.
• Britain First, led by former BNP official Paul Golding, is the main electoral voice of the anti-Islam movement. It is in principle a non-racial, anti-Islam party, though it includes several veteran racial nationalists. They have eight candidates this year, and their main campaign is likely to be in Walkden North, Salford, where Ashlea Simon will seek to build on the 21.6% she won last year.
• Another anti-Islamist party which has grown slightly during the past year is the National Housing Party, which has three candidates this year, including former BNP and FBM activist Gary Bergin in Claughton ward, Wirral.
• Patriotic Alternative (the country’s most active racial nationalist movement) is still not registered as a political party and therefore unable to contest elections.
• The British National Party, which during the 2000s won many council seats and elected two Members of the European Parliament, has effectively ceased to exist: once again this year there are no BNP candidates anywhere in the UK, and in all likelihood there never will be again.
• The National Front, which during the 1970s was one of Europe’s largest racial nationalist parties, still ticks over as a guardian of racial nationalist ideals, but has only one candidate this year: Tim Knowles in Codnor, Langley Mill & Aldercar ward, Amber Valley.
• Former BNP organiser Dr Andrew Emerson is again standing in his home city of Chichester for his small party Patria.
• Two nationalist independents are standing this year: former councillor Graham Partner in Coalville, NW Leicestershire, and Gary Butler in Shepway, Maidstone.
• The English Democrats, who are a non-racial party but who campaign for an English Parliament as well as immigration restrictions and other issues of interest to H&D readers, have five candidates this year, including party leader Robin Tilbrook in Shelley ward, Epping Forest, and husband and wife team Steve and Val Morris in Bury. Two former ED activists have defected to the rival English Constitution Party and will stand in Barnsley.
• Various civic nationalist parties that grew out of UKIP remain bitterly divided and ideologically confused. Reform UK (by far the largest and best funded) have 480 candidates this year, but unless they can make a serious impact this might be their last serious campaign. UKIP itself has only 48 candidates this year, while rival splinter groups include the Heritage Party with 64 (plus a mayoral candidate) and the Alliance for Freedom & Democracy with 23.

(Please note that election reports and statistics on the H&D site do not usually include parish/town council elections. We only focus on the borough/district council level and above.)

Nigel Farage’s UK Independence Party (which was the main vehicle for the pro-Brexit cause) split in 2018 with Farage founding the Brexit Party, which eventually evolved into today’s Reform UK, led by Farage’s close associate Richard Tice.

Reform UK remains by far the largest vehicle for the broadly civic nationalist cause in the UK, but it is ideologically poles apart from most H&D readers. Tice’s party is blatantly non-racist, and economically liberal. H&D has long argued that the slow death of Reform UK (and of Farageist politics in general) is necessary before the British racial nationalist tradition can revive.

After at least two years of generally dismal election results, Reform UK has (on paper) done well to field 480 candidates at this year’s council elections. But it has very few serious functioning branches. Tice’s best branch by far is in Derby, where the entire council is up for re-election, including the six seats presently held by Reform UK who have a full slate of 51 candidates for the new council.

In addition to Derby, Reform UK has three other really substantial slates of candidates: Bolton (34), Amber Valley (28), and Sunderland (24).

Who is standing where in the 2023 local elections

On this page you will find a comprehensive list of nationalist results at the 2023 elections, and also lists from various parties that grew out of the pro-Brexit movement and that some would consider broadly nationalist/patriotic despite being multiracialist.

Nationalists standing this year included –

British Democrats: 5 candidates

Wyke ward, Bradford: Dr Jim Lewthwaite 140 votes (5.1%)
Laindon Park, Basildon: Chris Bateman 89 votes (4.2%)
Waltham Abbey Paternoster, Epping Forest: Julian Leppert 187 votes (25.2%)
Saffron, Leicester: Dave Haslett 34 votes (1.9%)
Kursaal, Southend: Steve Smith 42 votes (2.6%)

Britain First: 8 candidates

Darenth, Dartford: Nick Scanlon 61 votes (10.2%)
Swanscombe, Dartford: Paul Golding 107 votes (6.9%)
Ballard, New Forest: Nick Lambert 108 votes (12.6%)
Hockley & Ashingdon, Rochford: Paul Harding 214 votes (13.1%)
Walkden North, Salford: Ashlea Simon 405 votes (18.2%)
Bideford South, Torridge: Philip Green and Anne Townsend 108 and 96 votes (15.0%)
Broadheath, Trafford: Donald Southworth 153 votes (3.6%)

National Front: 1 candidate
Codnor, Langley Mill & Aldercar, Amber Valley: Tim Knowles 40 votes (1.8%)

Patria: 1 candidate
Chichester East, Chichester: Dr Andrew Emerson 92 votes (6.4%)

National Housing Party: 3 candidates
Hollinwood, Oldham: John Lawrence 205 votes (7.6%)
Dodington, South Gloucestershire: Callum Leat 228 votes (10.3%)
Claughton, Wirral: Gary Bergin 149 votes (4.1%)

English Democrats: 5 candidates
Old Leake & Wrangle, Boston: David Dickason 75 votes (7.0%)
Besses, Bury: Steve Morris 139 votes (6.1%)
Holyrood, Bury: Val Morris 102 votes (2.9%)
Leighton Linslade North, Central Bedfordshire: Antonio Vitiello 133 votes (4.0%)
Shelley, Epping Forest: Robin Tilbrook 34 votes (10.3%)

English Constitution Party: 2 candidates
Dearne North, Barnsley: Maxine Spencer 118 votes (8.2%)
Dearne South, Barnsley: Janus Polenceusz 37 votes (2.1%)

Independents:
Cannock South, Cannock Chase: David Hyden 81 votes (5.7%)
Shepway North, Maidstone: Gary Butler 114 votes (7.0%)
Hermitage, NW Leicestershire: Graham Partner 94 votes (15.9%)

A broader analysis of the results and their significance will appear on this website during the weekend. Candidates from civic nationalist and pro-Brexit parties included:

Reform UK: 480 candidates
Amber Valley 28
Ashford 1
Barnsley 4
Basildon 1
Bedford 2
Blaby 1
Blackpool 5
Bolsover 1
Bolton 34
Boston 1
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 1
Bracknell Forest 1
Bradford 3
Braintree 4
Breckland 2
Brentwood 1
Broadland 5
Bromsgrove 1
Bury 1
Canterbury 3
Castle Point 2
Central Bedfordshire 6
Charnwood 6
Cheshire East 2
Cheshire W & Chester 3
Chichester 2
Colchester 4
Coventry 1
Crawley 1
Dacorum 4
Dartford 5
Derby 51
Dover 1
Dudley 4
East Hampshire 3
East Herts 1
East Lindsey 1
East Riding of Yorks 4
East Staffs 2
Eastbourne 2
Eastleigh 1
Elmbridge 2
Epping Forest 2
Exeter 1
Fenland 1
Folkestone & Hythe 3
Fylde 1
Gateshead 1
Gravesham 3
Great Yarmouth 2
Halton 1
Harborough 1
Harlow 1
Hart 1
Hartlepool 10
Havant 1
Herefordshire 6
Hertsmere 2
High Peak 1
Hinckley & Bosworth 4
Horsham 2
Hull 1
Hyndburn 1
Ipswich 1
Kirklees 1
Leeds 3
Leicester 1
Lewes 1
Lincoln 5
Lincolnshire 1 [county council by-election]
Liverpool 1
Luton 2
Maidstone 1
Malvern Hills 2
Manchester 2
Mansfield 1
Medway 2
Mid Devon 1
Mid Suffolk 2
Milton Keynes 7
Newark & Sherwood 1
North Herts 2
North Kesteven 5
North Norfolk 2
North Tyneside 5
NW Leics 2
Peterborough 1
Plymouth 2
Portsmouth 2
Redcar & Cleveland 2
Reigate & Banstead 1
Rochford 2
Rugby 2
Runnymede 1
Rushcliffe 1
Rushmoor 1
St Albans 1
Salford 1
Sandwell 9
Sefton 1
Sevenoaks 1
Sheffield 5
South Gloucs 2
South Holland 1
South Kesteven 3
South Norfolk 1
South Oxfordshire 2
South Tyneside 1
Southampton 5
Spelthorne 2
Stafford 7
Staffs Moorlands 1
Stevenage 1
Stockport 4
Stockton-on-Tees 10
Stoke on Trent 1
Stratford on Avon 1
Sunderland 24
Surrey Heath 2
Swale 4
Tamworth 1
Teignbridge 1
Tendring 4
Thanet 2
Thurrock 3
Tonbridge & Malling 2
Trafford 2
Tunbridge Wells 1
Uttlesford 3
Vale of White Horse 1
Wakefield 2
Walsall 9
Warwick 1
Watford 5
Waverley 2
Wealden 1
Welwyn Hatfield 3
West Berkshire 2
West Devon 2
West Lindsey 6
West Suffolk 2
Wigan 3
Winchester 1
Windsor & Maidenhead 1
Wirral 5
Wolverhampton 1
Worcester 1
Worthing 1
Wychavon 2

UKIP: 48 candidates
Braintree 1
Breckland 1
Brighton & Hove 3
Cambridge 1
Chelmsford 1
East Cambridgeshire 1
Eastbourne 3
Elmbridge 1
Folkestone & Hythe 1
Hinckley & Bosworth 1
North Lincs 1
North Tyneside 4
Nottingham 2
Pendle 1
Rother 10
South Staffs 2
Surrey 1 [county council by-election]
Tamworth 2
Tendring 1
Test Valley 1
Thurrock 1
Torridge 2
Warwick 1
Wealden 2
West Berkshire 1
Wigan 2

Heritage Party: 64 council candidates + 1 Mayoral
Arun 3
Bedford – Mayoral Election
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 1
Bracknell Forest 1
Braintree 1
Broadland 1
Burnley 1
Cambridge 1
Chelmsford 1
Chichester 1
Cotswold 1
Crawley 3
Dover 1
East Devon 1
East Hampshire 1
East Herts 1
East Suffolk 1
Elmbridge 3
Hart 1
Horsham 1
Ipswich 1
King’s Lynn & W Norfolk 1
Maidstone 1
Medway 1
Milton Keynes 1
North Lincs 1
N Warwicks 1
Plymouth 2
Runnymede 1
Rushmoor 1
Slough 1
South Hams 2
South Staffs 1
Southend 2
Swale 1
Tandridge 1
Teignbridge 7
Test Valley 1
Tonbridge & Malling 1
Warwick 1
Watford 1
West Berkshire 1
West Oxfordshire 2
Wigan 1
Woking 3
Wokingham 1
Worthing 1

Alliance for Democracy & Freedom: 23 candidates
Blackburn with Darwen 1
Broxtowe 1
Charnwood 1
Cheshire W & Chester 1
Coventry 1
East Riding of Yorks 1
Fenland 2
Fylde 1
Havant 1
Ipswich 1
Leicester 1
Oldham 3
Preston 1
Rochford 1
South Ribble 3
Wyre 3

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