The Flag Group was a British far-right political party, formed from one of the two wings of the National Front in the 1980s. Formed in opposition to the Political Soldier wing of the Official National Front , it took its name from The Flag , a newspaper the followers of this faction formed after leaving and regrouping outside the main and diminishing rump of the rest of the party.
41-599: During the early 1980s the Political Soldier wing of the NF held sway within the party and was on good terms with chairman Andrew Brons who, although a Strasserite by conviction rather than a disciple of Julius Evola and ruralism, largely supported the young radicals and co-operated with them to remove Martin Webster , the former ally of Brons' predecessor John Tyndall , from the party in 1984. However cracks between
82-671: A "Nazi and an admirer of Adolf Hitler ". In response Brons released a statement on his website, stating: In 1965, Brons joined John Bean 's British National Party (not the same as the current incarnation), which later merged with the League of Empire Loyalists to form the National Front (NF) in 1967. Brons was voted onto the National Front's national directorate in 1974, and "as the NF's education officer, he hosted seminars on racial nationalism and tried to give its racism
123-495: A dual view, in that I realise that he is well intentioned, I feel that our public image may suffer considerable damage as a result of these activities. I am however open to correction on this point." The second letter requested materials such as a swastika , a copy of the Horst-Wessel-Lied , and posters and stickers in furtherance of Brons' goal of forming a local NSM group. Questioned in 2009 about his membership of
164-613: A grudge against Tyndall and his father-in-law Charles Parker after Wingfiled had attempted, unsuccessfully, to replace the latter as NF organiser in Sussex some years earlier, a struggle that resulted in Wingfield's temporary expulsion from the NF. Nonetheless the parties did continue to co-operate unofficially whilst Tom Acton also managed to win support for the Group from the influential publisher Anthony Hancock who had initially favoured
205-587: A leading member and even wrote a number of articles for the Political Soldier -supporting Nationalism Today , he was generally opposed to the positions of the 'official' National Front and resigned from the chairmanship in November 1984. He left the 'official' party altogether in 1986 but, unlike Webster who had been expelled in 1984, Brons became involved with the Flag Group , an NF Fronde. It
246-632: A more "scientific" basis." Brons contested Harrogate for the National Front in both February and October 1974 general elections, polling 1,186 votes (2.3%) in February and 1,030 (2.3%) in October . When Labour's Roy Jenkins resigned his parliamentary seat on appointment as European Commission President in early 1977, Brons contested the Birmingham Stechford by-election for the National Front. He polled 2,955 votes (8.2%), forcing
287-513: A position he continued to hold until he joined the BNP, despite having to see off a challenge to his authority from Martin Wingfield . Parker's daughter Valerie married NF Chairman John Tyndall , who was also based in the Sussex area, in 1977 and as a result Parker became closely associated with Tyndall over the next number of years. Following Tyndall out of the NF in 1980 he became a leading member of
328-577: A press conference in a hotel in Victoria, London to announce the foundation of the new BNP. Parker became a leading figure within the BNP, continuing as head of the new group in Sussex, as well as providing much of the party's finances and acting as National Organiser. He also joined Hill in warning Tyndall against making any deals with the Official National Front , after one of its senior members, Joe Pearce , approached Tyndall about
369-709: A tactic that initially paid dividends. Brons had a history of low-level co-operation with the British National Party whilst he and BNP leader John Tyndall went back to the early 1960s when they were both active in the National Socialist Movement and so not long after the split Brons contacted Stanley Clayton-Garnett, the BNP's Northern leader, with a view to closer co-operation. Tyndall and Brons met formally in Leeds in May 1987 to discuss
410-418: Is supposed to have heard "white power" and "death to Jews". When a police officer of Malaysian origin asked the group to disperse, the policeman said that Brons replied: "I am aware of my legal rights. Inferior beings like you probably do not appreciate the principle of free speech," - an allegation which Brons has always denied. His appeal to Leeds Crown Court was unsuccessful. Although Brons continued as
451-751: The Epping Forest by-election of December 1988 , the European Parliament election of 1989 in which the West Midlands seat was fought by Wingfield and the Mid-Staffordshire by-election of March 1990 in which the party finished behind even parody candidate Screaming Lord Sutch . This policy of contesting elections, invariably with very disappointing results, left the Flag Group with a significant funding shortage. By 1989
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#1732780893361492-800: The European Elections 2009 in the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency , and upon becoming the BNP's first Member of the European Parliament he declined the college's offer. Brons stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Keighley constituency at the 2010 general election . He came fourth in the election with 1,962 votes. In August 2010, Brons and fellow members of the BNP Policy Committee were asked by
533-860: The European Parliament Brons was designated to the Delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee this being a joint delegation to create dialogue with the Croatian Parliament at the time Croatia was a candidate country . On 29/30 March 2010, the delegation including Brons met in Zagreb , Brons spoke in the Croatian Parliament on the state of play of the accession negotiations and EU-Croatia relations in
574-475: The Liberal candidate into fourth place. Following the poor showing by the National Front at the 1979 general election , and John Tyndall 's subsequent departure, Brons became Chairman of the NF in 1980 and in doing so broke with his former mentor. Brons, though, led the NF in name only. Initially Martin Webster , National Activities Organiser, exerted the most influence, before the Political Soldier wing of
615-589: The Third Way . This allowed the Flag Group to assume sole control of the name, mantle and traditions of NF and effectively signalled the end of the Flag Group as a name. Soon they would attempt to relaunch the NF as the National Democrats . Andrew Brons Andrew Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active in far-right politics in Britain, he
656-874: The University of York , and graduated in 1970. After graduation, Brons started working as a lecturer at Harrogate College in 1970, and worked there until 2005; lecturing in A-Level law and government, and politics. He has two daughters. Brons began his political career in 1964 when, aged seventeen, he joined the National Socialist Movement (NSM), a Neo-Nazi organisation founded on Adolf Hitler 's birthday by Colin Jordan . In 1980, Searchlight published two letters Brons had written in 1965 to Françoise Dior , Jordan's wife, in which he mentioned meeting an NSM member who "mentioned such activities as bombing synagogues", stating in response to this that: "On this subject I have
697-527: The white race being bred out of existence in their election literature. Steve Brady, formerly a leading figure in the National Party , championed this idea within the Flag Group although his other favoured idea, his opposition to Christianity in particular and religion in general and his desire to see a purely secular basis for Flag Group nationalism, was not taken up. Wingfield's strategy for growth included recruiting new members at football grounds,
738-713: The Croatian people, this time in the European Parliament. He used the opportunity to express his concerns over the double standards of the EU in relation to the Lisbon Treaty ; he also questioned member states governments' and media impartiality regarding the EU Question, saying: In November 2012, Brons and several other ex-BNP activists formed the British Democratic Party with himself as president of
779-572: The European Parliament, Brons and his fellow BNP MEP Nick Griffin were heavily critical of any legislation, current or pending, which they saw as designed to reduce the national sovereignty and independence of member states or to have a negative impact on Britain. He was a member of the Constitutional Affairs Committee and a substitute for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee . On entering
820-565: The Flag Group had around 1,500 members with most activity centred on the West Midlands . Another activity centre had been Tower Hamlets although following the failure of the 'Nationalist Alliance' initiative this group, which included future BNP Campaign Director Eddy Butler , switched en bloc to the BNP. As the 1980s drew to a close, the ONF disintegrated with its place being taken by the International Third Position and
861-463: The National Front (as the Flag Group became known on the dissolution of the 'official' party in 1989) until 1999. Upon his retirement, Brons joined the BNP in 2005. He subsequently wrote at least two articles for the BNP's official magazine Identity . Brons had a "tentative agreement" to return to work at Harrogate College in September 2009. He had however been selected as BNP lead candidate for
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#1732780893361902-660: The National Front Support Group before adopting their more usual Flag Group moniker. Activists such as Martin Wingfield , Ian Anderson , Joseph Pearce and Tom Acton emerged as the new leading figures within this group and the Flag Group initially grew at a much faster rate than the Official National Front, although this was in part due to the Political Soldiers closing off membership of their wing. The Flag Group rejected
943-764: The National Socialist Movement, Brons said, "People do silly things when they are seventeen. Peter Mandelson was once a member of the Young Communist League but we don't continue to call him a Communist." Brons was forced to return to the issue in March 2011 when – on the BBC 's Daily Politics programme – Dominic Carman , the Liberal Democrat candidate for the 2011 Barnsley Central by-election , called Brons, in his absence,
984-616: The New National Front and provided the financial backing that enabled the fledgling movement to gain a foothold. He took a major role in the attempts to reach out to other groups that the NNF initiated in the early 1980s and on 7 April 1982 he joined Tyndall, Ray Hill of the British Movement , Capt. Kenneth McKilliam , the founder of the NF's ex-servicemen's organisation and John Peacock of the British Democratic Party at
1025-484: The ONF in the split. As well as their monthly newspaper The Flag the group also published a monthly magazine Vanguard and Lonheart , a quarterly. As a separate group, the Flag Group contested Bristol East in the 1987 general election . By the 1989 Vauxhall by-election , they had resumed using the National Front name, even though their candidate Ted Budden faced opposition from Official National Front candidate Patrick Harrington . Other elections contested included
1066-551: The author of a work of holocaust denial , Did Six Million Really Die? Brons edited the National Front's 1983 general election manifesto, which "called for a global apartheid to prevent the 'extinction' of whites everywhere." The manifesto declared that "The National Front rejects the whole concept of multiracialism. We recognise inherent racial differences in Man. The races of Man are profoundly unequal in their characteristics, potential and abilities." On at least two occasions in
1107-486: The autumn. Following constitutional changes rushed through by Nick Griffin , the leadership election was brought forward to the summer. Brons was narrowly defeated, receiving 1,148 votes to Griffin's 1,157. On 16 October 2012, Brons resigned the BNP whip following disputes with the party leader Griffin, stating that Griffin had described him "in a text to his attack dogs as 'vermin'". He continued as an MEP until 2014 when he did not stand for re-election. Upon election to
1148-542: The chairman and advisory council to carry out a consultation of members about possible changes to the party's constitution, with particular reference to two areas, governance of the party nationally and the rules for internal elections. On 8 November, his findings were published online. At the end of May 2011, Brons announced that he would seek nomination for the leadership of the British National Party in an internal election which would have been held in
1189-413: The early-1980s, Brons' far-right activities caused difficulties for his employer: on 24 June 1981, more than 500 student and Anti-Nazi League campaigners marched through Harrogate, taking over the college building where Brons was teaching; six protesters were arrested. In February 1982, more than 300 protesters clashed with 100 National Front supporters outside Brons' classroom in central Harrogate, and in
1230-529: The formation of a 'Nationalist Alliance' to be organised along the lines of the SDP–Liberal Alliance in existence at the time. A Liaison Committee was set up as a result of this meeting and Brons put the idea to the Flag Group's steering committee that same July. The plan however came to nothing as it was rejected by the steering committee and so disavowed by Brons in October 1987. Within the Flag Group it
1271-451: The mysticism of the Political Soldiers and the ONF's technique of establishing contacts with non-white groups such as Black Power and Islamic fundamentalism activists. Despite these differences with the ONF the Flag Group was not a direct copy of the earlier NF as it was also influenced by ' left-wing ' economics ideals of Strasserism , albeit whilst emphasising anti-immigration and anti-Semitism alongside this. As time went on and Brons
Flag Group - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-429: The party became more important. Brons tended to support the Flag Group although he lost influence to Ian Anderson and faded from his leading position. Nevertheless, Brons had links to the Political Soldier wing and is credited with having introduced the concept of distributism into the party, which formed a central part of the new ideology of the NF. Brons co-edited the NF journal New Nation , with Richard Verrall ,
1353-461: The party. UK Parliament elections European Parliament elections Charles Parker (UK politician) Charles Parker was a leading member of the British National Party in its early years and provided the group with much of its funding. A businessman in Brighton , Parker and his wife joined the National Front (NF) in 1975. He soon took charge of the Sussex branch of the party,
1394-496: The presence of representatives of the Croatian Government . He went on to say: Although having, made a direct speech as a warning to the Croatian Parliament, Brons ended with an abstention in voting to continue negotiations. He justified this by stating: The remaining members of the committee voted unanimously in favour. On 30 November 2010, Brons again spoke of the negative impact that EU accession would have on
1435-548: The process two students were stabbed and six people arrested. In October 1983, Brons called upon the principal of Harrogate College as a character witness, when Brons was convicted by magistrates of using insulting words and behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace and fined £50. Brons had been leading a group leafleting in Leeds city centre. A shop assistant reported that the group had been shouting "National Front" and making clenched fist salutes , while an unnamed policeman
1476-489: The two factions soon began to show and a power struggle ensued. This culminated in 1986 when the two wings of the party split, with around 3000 of the 5000 registered NF members breaking away with Brons to form a new separate group. The immediate actual cause of the split had been the refusal of the Political Soldiers to contest elections and the Brons group made this the issue on which they started their own group, initially called
1517-513: Was Brons who, in 1987, approached Tyndall with a view to an electoral alliance between the Flag Group and the modern British National Party but the proposed deal fell through and was repudiated by Martin Wingfield in The Flag newspaper. After leaving the 'official' National Front, in 1986, Brons chiefly dedicated himself to the duties of his lectureship at Harrogate College until his retirement in 2005. However, he maintained his membership of
1558-640: Was born in Hackney , East London , two years after the end of the Second World War . He spent most of his childhood in Sidcup , on the outskirts of London, before his family moved to Harrogate when he was eleven years old. He attended Harrogate Grammar School until the age of sixteen, when he left to join the civil service, where he remained for 16 months before sitting part-time A-Levels in law and economics at Harrogate College . He studied politics at
1599-472: Was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the fascist British National Party (BNP) at the 2009 European Parliament election and held the seat until May 2014. He was the chairman of the National Front in the early 1980s. He resigned the BNP whip in October 2012 and became patron of the far-right British Democratic Party . He did not seek re-election in 2014. Brons, who has English and German ancestry,
1640-560: Was sidelined in favour of Wingfield and Anderson the Flag Group began to look more towards the populism of the Front National , which was enjoying comparative success in France at the time, resulting in a return to more basic racist sentiments and less emphasis on economics as opposed to Strasserism. Amongst their more crudely racialist policies the Flag Group stressed the importance of having large families and included ideas about
1681-414: Was widely reported that the rejection had happened because of a fear that Tyndall intended only to swallow up the party and make himself sole leader whilst within the BNP it was suggested that the Flag Group's Strasserism made them incompatible with the party. It has also been argued that Flag editor Martin Wingfield, who published an editorial denouncing notions of merger, sabotaged the move because he bore