Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors
James Bloodworth

GET UPDATES FROM James Bloodworth
 

What Would British Fascism Look Like?

Posted: 30/04/2012 00:00

It has been reported that the National Front (NF) is planning on fielding 35 mayoral and local election candidates in May, the largest number it has put up for election since 1983.

An outfit that most of us thought had disappeared in the 1980s has re-emerged due to splits that are currently ravaging the British National Party (BNP).

All being well of course, NF candidates will take a thorough battering at the polls next month. Fortunately, the economic crisis that began in 2008 has not yet been marked by the racial tensions that characterised large economic crises of the past.

And yet, were a far-Right government ever to win power in Britain - and never get too complacent, for a Searchlight poll last February found a staggeringly high number of voters who said they would be prepared to vote for party of the far-Right if it renounced violence - what might it do in its first year of power?

This is pure speculation of course, but interesting all the same, I think.

Isolationism

Recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are often simplified into a Left/Right question: if you are on the Left you were against them, if you are on the Right you supported them. This is crude and misleading. In the tradition of isolationism, the British far-Right is concerned with foreigners only when they directly threaten the national interest. This includes foreigners dying at the hands of barbaric regimes.

The far-Right believes barbarism to be a product of uncivilised peoples or cultures which cannot exist in this country unless imported from the outside. A far-Right government would see its role only as the protector of the British people from this perceived threat.

The first year in power of a far-right government would most probably see a withdrawal from NATO, an exit from the European Union and an end to all overseas aid spending. Foreign massacres would be dismissed as "savagery". Actual military spending, however, would be doubled.

Which leads me neatly on to...

The worship of monarchy and the armed forces

One of the problems a government of this sort would have is that although the British people like pomp and ceremony, they don't much go in for compulsory pomp and ceremony. People of the Left recoil at widespread enthusiasm for the Royal Family, while forgetting that a good deal of it is based on little more than a detestation of the political class. The Royals are quite obviously establishment figures - they are the establishment - but when set against politicians there is a widespread belief that they are somehow less a part of the ruling class than Parliament is. Such a dynamic only works, however, so long as the monarchy is not viewed as an extension of the government.

With regard to the military, huge hostility would be whipped-up, with the aid of the media, towards any figure who publicly criticised military spending or the increasing deployment of troops to quell internal unrest and break strikes. Such people would be branded "unpatriotic" and denounced as Communists. Several military figures would probably enter the Cabinet within the first year of government.

The economy

Initial nationalisations would see elements of the far-Left align themselves with the new government in the manner of previous alliances with "anti-imperialist" movements abroad. A renegade former Labour MP is perhaps the most prominent Left-spokesperson for the new regime, playing up the Government's anti-American credentials while ignoring the widespread suppression of minority rights.

During unrest the army is drafted in. This is incredibly popular until the children of the middle classes feel the brunt of it. They are protesting at the general decline in living standards brought about by UN sanctions imposed for Britain's treatment of religious minorities. Great fanfare is now made in the press about the "great British tradition of protest".

The minimum wage is abolished along with the right to strike. State intervention in the economy increases albeit unaccompanied by any understanding, let alone indictment, of capitalism as a system. The living standard of workers falls while foreign investment is scared away.

Immigration

All immigration from "culturally foreign" countries - a catch-all term conveniently catching almost all non-whites -is brought to an end. Large numbers of people leave the country, including thousands of white Britains with non-white spouses. Discrimination against non-whites is not enshrined in law but institutional racism is ignored. Racial theorists are regularly given a voice in the media and an atmosphere of general hostility is whipped-up towards Muslims in particular.

A distinction is created in the public mind between 'good' and 'bad' minorities on an arbitrary basis. Wealthy non-white businessmen occasionally line-up alongside the Government to denounce recent immigrants, who they describe as work-shy and lazy.

The government imposes quotas for white players on English Premier League football teams.

Culture

The BBC is told to impose a strict limit on the number of non-white people in its soap operas. LGBT characters are categorically banned. There is a new trend toward jingoist documentary making and revisionism about the British Empire. Most BBC programming harks back to a world that no longer exists and probably never did. The most popular TV entertainment show is Top Gear.

Widespread rioting and looting of Muslim areas breaks out when England are knocked out of the football World Cup by Iran. The government, backed by a formerly prominent member of Ukip, labels all Arabs 'cheats', not realising that Iran is not in fact an Arab country.

An attempt to severely limit abortion causes a split in the Cabinet as some members see it as a potentially effective way of controlling the poor. Homosexuality is outlawed and an attempt is made to re-introduce Victorian sexual morals. The attempt fails when half the cabinet are found to have been having affairs and the wife of a working class minister is found to have once posed in Escort Readers' Wives.

In London, Saturday mornings see uniformed Right-wing militias parading in Hyde Park. The militias are regularly purged due to widespread homosexual activity. Animal rights charities report an increase in donations and the most recent census indicates an unprecedented rise in the number of vegetarians.

 

Follow James Bloodworth on Twitter: www.twitter.com/obligedtooffend

FOLLOW UK POLITICS
It has been reported that the National Front (NF) is planning on fielding 35 mayoral and local election candidates in May, the largest number it has put up for election since 1983. An outfit that mos...
It has been reported that the National Front (NF) is planning on fielding 35 mayoral and local election candidates in May, the largest number it has put up for election since 1983. An outfit that mos...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 53
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2  Next ›  Last »  (2 total)
06:55 PM on 05/07/2012
you say that the NF would not worry about 'foreigners' dying at the hands of barbaric regimes. That is probably true. But over the last ten years just as many 'foreigners' have died at the hands of the US and British forces, than were ever killed by barbaric regimes.
And never mind the non white people who the NF might try to stop entering the UK, how would the NF stop the white people who have been leaving the UK in ever growing numbers to live abroad.
A right wing Government would probably do exactly the same as any other Government we have had over the years, nothing.
12:22 PM on 05/07/2012
You give the far-right too much credit. If Britain wants to leave governing to a bunch of people who probably couldn't be trusted with a potato gun, so be it. Can you just imagine the BNP, NF or EDL slack-jawed buffoons trying to formulate education or health care policies? Hahahahahahahaha! The mainstream politicians are often quite useless but I would take them any day over the prospect of the crazies on the far right anywhere near number 10. They would destroy this country in a very short space of time. Britain's credibility on the world stage would never recover. People will do to Brits what we love to do to Germans, remind them ad infinitum that they actually let someone like Adolf Hitler near the corridors of power. Do we care that the Germans nowadays weren't responsible? Not really. Shame on us if we ever make the same mistake.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
08:46 AM on 05/02/2012
Bloodworth, I have read this article several times and all I can say is are you trying to promote facism?
photo
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
James Bloodworth
02:16 PM on 05/03/2012
If that's all you can say why have you put a question mark at the end of your sentence?
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
LLCoolCal
03:41 PM on 05/01/2012
OH yeah-forgot about all of our embarrasing moments trying to kick out Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, and all the islamic extremists- imagine a time where after a conviction they are put on the first plane out in days
instead of years of legal wranglings and The Euro courts of human rights telling us what to do !
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
LLCoolCal
03:38 PM on 05/01/2012
Some parts I like !
immigration halted
better military
out of EU
out of NATO
no more foreign wars
keep the royals
no more eastern european gangs, african gangs
we'll deal with our own troublemakers
not having to wonder if Strasbourg will overrule us
has to be non violent and the UK running the UK not europe
WHERE do I sign up !!
02:05 AM on 05/01/2012
Peace to all.
02:03 AM on 05/01/2012
I feel that in some way, British fascism already exists. It's sold as peace, and whilst millions of British families live in poverty; whilst millions of African children die needlessly and whilst millions of innocent Iraqi people continue to lose their lives or be forced into a life of poverty. This is the here, the now.. it's not hypothetical. The same is happening over the pond - the Yanks talk about security and terrorism, at a time when their border with Mexico is breached so many times a day, it's set to be the most significant cause of their population increase. Yet American troops die fighting for their country overseas..defending liberty?!! What liberty? Seems the bloody top dogs are hell-bent on repealing the constitutional rights of American citizens, and 'continuing' to ensure offshore interests take care of their own debt. Seems to me that you don't have to hypothesize about a party that isn't even in power to see the problems created by the parties that already are..
01:44 AM on 05/01/2012
Dismissing the BNP is futile, and does not create sustainable solutions. For example, what about Islamic birth rates? We HAVE to address these issues if we are to develop clear, democratic solutions. We simply do not have infinite resource with which to accommodate this increase, including land mass. Muslim countries don't either - would it be fare to force them to under the guise of multiculturalism (corporatism)? Issues like this aren't simply hatred of someone else, they're based on tangible evidence that has still to find someone with the balls to address them. Where are the green lobby on this very pertinent issue? What about our vanishing countryside? The fact is, multiculturalism in Europe and the United States doesn't appear to be in any way shape or form sustainable. We are not dealing with the same scenario we were 100's of years ago, the demographics have changed significantly and so has the earth's population density.

But let's not face reality..local election's are here again; time for the left to attack the BNP, or rather, it's time for a pig to complain about the smell from its own sty.
FrancisKing
Unitarian Christian
05:27 PM on 05/07/2012
"For example, what about Islamic birth rates?"

Muslims make up about 5% of the population. Even with higher birth rates, a population of that size will not eclipse, dwarf or dominate other sections of the population.
01:40 AM on 05/01/2012
I respectfully disagree about the stance taken on the purported 'potential' fascist rule, here in this article.

It's a bit hypocritical to say the only fascists are the BNP. It's downright dangerous. Has the author ever heard of corporate fascism? The kind of fascism that's a lot more subvert and manipulative than any right-wing nationalist. It's corporations that have made this country what it is, in the name of progress.. and you don't need to tell anyone here about the effects; they live them every single day in the jobs they do, the wages they earn, the prices they pay for their goods and the living standards many of them endure. This is real - it's not a hypothetical situation.

But it can be worse, much worse. It's corporate fascism that turns one race against another; that starts wars (Iraq and Iran to name but a few), it has no intention of resolving. It's easy to blame it on someone else and - low and behold - every single time the election comes round it's easy and convenient to point the finger at the BNP..

With respect, I generally find citing Searchlight akin to a pot calling the kettle black? The left can be just as militant as the right, can it not?
07:51 PM on 04/30/2012
fascism is better then Sharia Law by far?? what would you choose
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Paul Wagland
Resistance is fertile
08:15 PM on 04/30/2012
Neither.
09:30 PM on 05/01/2012
I'd prefer the liberal/tolerant country we had before all this multicultural BS/mass immigration came along personally..
12:01 PM on 05/07/2012
Britain was liberal and tolerant before was it? Tell that to the people in the 53 (yes 53) former colonies. Britain is merely reaping what it has sown for centuries. This is what imperialism gets you; a third of the world's population thinking that Britain is their 'mother' country. Yes, the fact is that colonisation was about greed and boundless profit without cost but there is a cost, isn't there? Now we must pay the price for operating with impunity on a global scale and causing misery to millions and millions of people over centuries by trying to take what didn't belong to us under the thin guise of bringing 'civilisation'. I'm not saying we didn't and don't do good but we did and do a lot of very bad things and expect there to be no consequences. It just doesn't work that way.
06:30 PM on 04/30/2012
"The most popular TV entertainment show is Top Gear''

Really? surely it would more likely be 'Jim Davidson pisses on a minority (and only stops when they thank him for letting them into this beautiful country)' ?
06:29 PM on 04/30/2012
If you're looking for fascism in Britain you'll find it in the areas of the country that look as though they're under the control of the Taliban. There has been Over 200 convictions for terrorism (more than any other country in the world) from people driven by their fascist ideology, this of course seems to be conveniently set aside or skipped over by those of a certain misguided sense of political correctness.
05:54 PM on 04/30/2012
I suspect the reason they would vote for parties other than the three main parties is quite simple. They are virtually clones with very similar policies and with widely different views from the public. The public overall is against the EU because it is antidemocratic and a force for globalisation i.e. for reducing the standard of living for the UK public through imposed immigration as far as the UK public are concerned.

Both EU and UK politicians work for the benefit of companies who buy the decisions their businesses need by lobbying. This is amply illustrated by the fact that is it the very rich who continue year in year out to increase their wealth while it's the public who are faced with reduced lifestyles. The EU parliament admits there are over 4000 lobbyists http://www.euractiv.com/pa/eu-lobbyists-scramble-exact-numbers/article-173152

Galloway won against all three main parties because he was seen as the only party representing the public interest. In London UKIP are likely to get as many votes as the Lib Dems. This shows a marked lack of trust in the three main parties by the UK public throughout the UK.

The public are looking for politicians to represent their interests over the interests of more global unaccountable bodies such as the EU and the rich. In France Marine Le Pen's vote could come close to challenging both main parties.
03:58 PM on 04/30/2012
"What would British fascism look like"? .... look no further than the lib/lab/con and the banking elite
03:32 PM on 04/30/2012
You lost me with:

"The most popular TV entertainment show is Top Gear"

C'mon man, if you dont like it, dont watch it, just dont link it with Facism...