England First Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | EFP |
| Leader | Mark Cotterill, 2003– 2012 |
| Founded | 2 September 2003 |
| Dissolved | 14 June 2012 |
| Ideology | Ethnic nationalism English nationalism English independence Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| National affiliation | Nationalist Alliance (2005-2008) |
| Colours | Black White |
| Website | |
| efp.org.uk(Archive) | |
TheEngland First Party (EFP) was anEnglish nationalist andfar-rightpolitical party. It had two councillors onBlackburn with Darwen council between 2006 and 2007.
They were formed in 2004 byMark Cotterill who had been the founder and chairman ofAmerican Friends of the British National Party. However, he began to disagree with the BNP politically, and so formed the EFP, after a spell in theWhite Nationalist Party.
The EFP differed from the BNP in its analysis of theUnited Kingdom. It criticisedBritish nationalism and supportedEnglish nationalism instead. Most members of the EFP were former BNP members like their chairman, Cotterill.
The EFP campaigned against the creation ofregional assemblies across England. They also campaigned on issues such as opposingimmigration in England and opposing the UK's continued membership of theEuropean Union.
On the economy, the EFP supported the gradualnationalisation of most national andpublic services in attempts to achieveautarky. While not aiming to abolishcapitalist ownership, the EFP claimed the interests of workers to be paramount and subsequently supportedworker co-operatives. The EFP also aimed to end the connections betweentrade unions and the Labour Party while encouraging trade union membership and re-nationalising and re-opening coal mines which had a "reasonable working life".
According to the accounts filed with theElectoral Commission the party had 27 full members at year-end 2004 and 85 "supporters".[1] By the end of 2005 this had increased to 39 paid members and 97 registered supporters.[2] For the year end 2007 the party recognised "100 supporters".[3] By year end 2010, England First had 42 full members and recognised 111 supporters.[4]
It sold a magazineHeritage and Destiny, which ran issues every year from July 1999.[5] It provided news on the progress of racial nationalism in Britain, Europe and America.
The EFP was criticised for a section of its manifesto that promised "the abolition of all non-European faiths and religions".[6] On 4 June 2010 Mark Cotterill issued a statement that "[f]ar from wishing to "abolish" any religion (from the East or West!), the EFP is committed to traditional English values of religious freedom."[7] A later version of the party manifesto, last edited 28 April 2010, did not contain the call for abolition of non-European religions.[8]
In their first electoral test, a local government by-election in February 2004 for theHeysham South ward inLancaster, the EFP polled 14%. In the May 2004 local elections, the EFP contested three seats inBlackburn,Preston andMacclesfield, polling an average of 18% of the vote.
Two candidates contested the May 2006 local elections in Blackburn, polling an average of 37% of the vote and both were elected as councillors. In a by-election in the East Rural ward of Blackburn in September 2006, they polled 13%. They also contested a by-election in the Danehouse and Stoneyholme ward inBurnley in February 2007, polling 7%. Despite the party campaigning for a ban on mixed-race marriages it was revealed that one of the two elected councillors was reported to have a great-grandmother from theWest Indies and a grandfather fromWales.[9] Steven Smith and Simon Bennett stood in the Cliviger with Worsthorne and Queensgate wards respectively, at the2007 Burnley council elections. Smith came a very distant second with Bennett third in a closer vote.
The EFP fielded seven candidates for the 2010 local elections[10] three of them to compete against the BNP in Stoke, but it did not stand in the general election and they had encouraged EFP supporters to vote for theNational Front.[11]
It came fourth place with 606 votes in the Longton North ward,[12] fifth place with 117 votes in the Weston and Meir ward[13] and sixth place in the Fenton ward with 236 votes[14] in the Stoke-on-Trent local elections.
In the Preston Ribbleton ward,Mark Cotterill came fourth place with 315 votes; it came fourth place in the St James ward in Oldham with 425 votes,[15] in the Bradley ward of Pendle it received 279 coming fourth place[16] and sixth place in the Ince ward of Wigan with 134 votes.[17]
In March 2007 the EFP's two councillors announced their intentions to quit. Michael Johnson stated that he would be joining a new party created by himself and Tony MeliaFor Darwen, while Mark Cotterill signalled his intention to stand down as a councillor and party leader at the 3 May local elections. Johnson's move followed a rift with the party after he objected to ananti-Islamic cartoon ofJesus onYouTube, while Cotterill—who remained a leading EFP activist—has put his decision down to a work-related move to Preston.[18]
On 1 May 2009, a formerBritish National Party councillor, John Gamble, confirmed that he had defected to the EFP, after criticising the BNP. In the preceding months, he had become increasingly disillusioned with the BNP's national and local leadership, this resulted in him being expelled from the BNP. He sat as an independent for a few days and then he decided to "join a party that offers a serious, radical challenge to the corrupt political establishment".
On 12 March 2010, John Gamble defected from the EFP to theNational Front.[19] This was after he toldThe Star newspaper in Sheffield he had "jumped ship" to the NF because he wanted to join a "more active" organisation than England First.
On 1 April 2010, Gamble defected back to England First because he stated toThe Star, "I am not aware of the severity of these opinions" when some of the NF's recorded views were put to him. On 5 April 2010 England First refused to take him back. England First's chairman, Mark Cotterill, said: "While we have nothing against Cllr. Gamble, the fact is that despite his various and contradictory public statements he has had no involvement with the EFP – and is no longer an EFP member." Mr Cotterill went on to release a statement toThe Sheffield Star saying, "We don't want anything to do with Councillor Gamble. He has done nothing for the party, and when he left we washed our hands of him."
In May 2009, the England First Party decided to stand a candidate in the County council elections in Lancashire but did not stand any European candidates.[20] For the European Parliament, the England First Party worked with theEnglish Democrats and attended and spoke at the English Democrats' conference in Darwen. Cotterill stated that the parties had differences on race, immigration and independence but they had in common withdrawal from EU and putting England first.[21]
The party was de-registered on 14 June 2012, and as such the name "England First Party" cannot be used on ballot papers by candidates at elections.
