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'{{Short description|1939–1954 British far-right political party}} {{other uses of|British People's Party}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Infobox political party | name = British People's Party | native_name = | abbreviation = BPP | lang1 = | name_lang1 = | lang2 = | name_lang2 = | lang3 = | name_lang3 = | lang4 = | name_lang4 = | logo = | colorcode = <!-- HTML color code (e.g. red or #FF0000) or transparent for no coloring --> | leader = [[John Beckett (politician)|John Beckett]] | chairperson = [[Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford|Lord Tavistock]] | president = | secretary_general = | spokesperson = | founder = John Beckett, Lord Tavistock | leader1_title = | leader1_name = | leader2_title = | leader2_name = | leader3_title = | leader3_name = | leader4_title = | leader4_name = | leader5_title = | leader5_name = | slogan = | founded = 1939 | dissolved = 1954 | merger = | split = | predecessor = | merged = | successor = | headquarters = | newspaper = ''The People's Post'' | student_wing = | youth_wing = | wing1_title = | wing1 = | wing2_title = | wing2 = | wing3_title = | wing3 = | membership_year = | membership = | ideology = [[British fascism]]<br>[[Ultranationalism]]<br>[[Social credit]]<br>[[Pacifism]] | position = [[Far-right]] | religion = | national = | international = | european = | europarl = | affiliation1_title = | affiliation1 = | colors = <!-- use "colours" for British English --> | blank1_title = | blank1 = | blank2_title = | blank2 = | blank3_title = | blank3 = | seats1_title = | seats1 = <!-- {{Infobox political party/seats|seats_won|total_seats|hex=#ff0000}} --> | seats2_title = | seats2 = | seats3_title = | seats3 = | seats4_title = | seats4 = | symbol = | flag = | website = | country = the United Kingdom | country2 = | footnotes = }} The '''British People's Party''' ('''BPP''') was a British [[far-right]] political party founded in 1939 and led by ex-[[British Union of Fascists]] (BUF) member and [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] Member of Parliament [[John Beckett (politician)|John Beckett]]. ==Origins== [[File:History of British Fascism.png|thumbnail|left|A flowchart showing the history of the early British fascist movement]] The BPP had its roots in the journal ''New Pioneer'', edited by John Beckett and effectively the mouthpiece of the [[British Council Against European Commitments]], a co-ordinating body involving the [[National Socialist League]] (NSL), [[English Array]] and [[League of Loyalists]]. The main crux of this publication was opposition to war with [[Nazi Germany]], although it also endorsed [[fascism]] and [[anti-Semitism]].{{sfn|Benewick|1969|p=287}} The proprietor of this journal was [[Gerard Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth|Viscount Lymington]], a strong opponent of war with Germany.<ref name="Boothroyd">D. Boothroyd, ''The History of British Political Parties'', London: Politico's Publishing, 2001, p. 24</ref> Others involved in its production included [[A. K. Chesterton]] and the anthropologist [[George Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers]], whilst individual members, especially Lymington, were close to ruralist [[Rolf Gardiner]].{{sfn|Thurlow|1987|p=172}} ==Policy and structure== Beckett split from his NSL ally [[William Joyce]] in 1939 after Joyce intimated to the [[patriotism|patriotic]] Beckett that were war to break out between Britain and Germany he would fight for the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]]. This, along with a feeling that Joyce's virulent anti-Semitism was hamstringing the NSL, led Beckett to link up with [[Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford|Lord Tavistock]], the heir to the [[Duke of Bedford]], in founding the British People's Party in 1939.{{sfn|Benewick|1969|pp=287–288}} The new party supported an immediate end to the [[World War II|Second World War]], and was vehemently opposed to [[usury]], calling to mind some of the economic policies of [[Hilaire Belloc]].<ref>M. Kenny, ''Germany Calling'', Dublin: New Island, 2004, p. 149</ref> The group also brought in elements of [[Social Credit]], as Lord Tavistock had been a sometime activist in the [[Social Credit Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Social Credit Party]].{{sfn|Benewick|1969|p=288}} The party was controlled by an executive committee consisting of Tavistock as Chairman, Beckett as secretary and ex-Labour Party candidate [[Ben Greene]] (a noted [[pacifist]] and member of the [[Peace Pledge Union]]) as treasurer, with [[Gerard Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth|Viscount Lymington]] and former left-wing journalist John Scanlon also added.{{sfn|Benewick|1969|p=288}} Other early members of the party included [[Ronald Nall-Cain, 2nd Baron Brocket]], [[Richard St. Barbe Baker]], [[Sydney Arnold, 1st Baron Arnold]], [[Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch]] and [[Walter Erskine, 12th Earl of Mar]].{{sfn|Dorril|2007|p=453}} ==Activities== The party's activities were generally limited to meetings, the publication of a journal, ''The People's Post'' and the contesting of a single [[by-election]] in [[Hythe, Kent]] in 1939. The campaign for the [[1939 Hythe by-election]], in which former Labour Party member [[St. John Philby]] was the BPP candidate, was fought on an anti-war platform. Despite gaining the public support of the likes of Sir [[Barry Domvile]], leader of [[The Link (organisation)|The Link]], the campaign was not a success and Philby was unable to retain his [[deposit (politics)|deposit]].{{sfn|Benewick|1969|p=288}} Philby claimed that he agreed with none of the BPP's views apart from their opposition to war. He was more disposed towards the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] but felt they were becoming too pro-war. In Philby's mind, as well as popularly, the BPP were seen as more of a single issue anti-war party.{{sfn|Griffiths|1983|p=253}} ==During the war== After the outbreak of the [[Second World War]] the BPP was involved in [[British Union of Fascists]]-led initiatives to forge closer links between the disparate groups on the far right, although in private [[Oswald Mosley]] had a low opinion of the BPP, dismissing Beckett as a "crook", Tavistock as "woolly headed" and Greene as "not very intelligent".{{sfn|Dorril|2007|p=484}} Beckett's internment under [[Defence Regulation 18B]] in 1940 saw the party go into hibernation, although it was not subject to any government ban.<ref name="Boothroyd" /> The patronage of Lord Tavistock, who succeeded to the dukedom of Bedford in 1940, ensured that the BPP was exempted from proscription.{{sfn|Thurlow|1987|p=233}} The group was briefly involved in a clandestine alliance with A.K. Chesterton's National Front After Victory in 1944, a group that also attracted the interest of [[J.F.C. Fuller]], [[Henry Williamson]], [[Jeffrey Hamm]], [[William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield]] and Lymington (who had succeeded his father as [[Earl of Portsmouth]] in the meantime) amongst others.{{sfn|Dorril|2007|p=547}} However, the movement was scuppered when it was infiltrated by the [[Board of Deputies of British Jews]], who fed information to [[Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart]], whose speech about the dangers of a revival of fascism led to a crackdown on such movements.{{sfn|Thurlow|1987|p=241}} ==Final years== The BPP name was heard again in 1945 when the party organised an unsuccessful petition for clemency for Beckett's former ally William Joyce, who was executed for [[treason]].<ref>G. Macklin, ''Very Deeply Dyed in Black'', London: IB Tauris, 2007, p. 34</ref> Before long the BPP returned to wider activity after the war when party policy focused on [[monetary reform]] and the promotion of agriculture.<ref name="Boothroyd" /> With the [[Union Movement]] not appearing until 1948 the BPP initially attracted some new members, including [[Colin Jordan]], who was invited to join in 1946 and was associated with the group for a time before concentrating his efforts on the more hardline [[Arnold Leese]].{{sfn|Walker|1977|pp=27–28}} The party contested the [[1946 Combined English Universities by-election|Combined English Universities by-election]] on 18 March 1946 but received only 239 votes.<ref>[http://by-elections.co.uk/46.html#english By-election results] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821055113/http://by-elections.co.uk/46.html#english |date=21 August 2009 }}</ref> The BPP officially disbanded in 1954.<ref name="Boothroyd" /> ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite book|last=Benewick|first=Robert|title=Political Violence & Public Order: A Study of British Fascism|date=1969|publisher=Allen Lane|isbn=978-0713900859}} * {{Cite book|last=Dorril|first=Stephen|title=Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism|date=2007|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-025821-9}} * {{Cite book|last=Griffiths|first=Richard| author-link = Richard Griffiths (historian) | title=Fellow Travellers of the Right: British Enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, 1933-9|date=1983|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-285116-1}} * {{Cite book|last=Thurlow|first=Richard C.|title=Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918–1985|date=1987|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-0-631-13618-7|author-link=Richard Thurlow}} * {{cite book|last=Walker|first=Martin|title=The National Front|publisher=Fontana|year=1977|isbn=978-0-00-634824-5|location=London|author-link=Martin Walker (reporter)}} {{refend}} {{Social Credit}} {{Fascism}} {{UK far right}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Political parties established in 1939]] [[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1954]] [[Category:Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1939 establishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1954 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Far-right political parties in the United Kingdom]]'