For Britain Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Anne Marie Waters |
| Founder | Anne Marie Waters |
| Founded | 12 October 2017 |
| Registered | 9 March 2018 |
| Dissolved | 13 July 2022 |
| Split from | UK Independence Party |
| Headquarters | Fairfax House 6A Mill Field Road Cottingley Business Park Bradford BD16 1PY[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[2][3] |
| European affiliation | Identity and Democracy Party[4] (2019–2022) |
| Website | |
| forbritain.uk | |
TheFor Britain Movement was aminor[5]far-right[2][3][6]political party in the United Kingdom, founded by theIslamophobic and "counter-jihad"[7] activistAnne Marie Waters after she was defeated in the2017 UK Independence Party leadership election.
The far-right activist Anne Marie Waters left UKIP and formed For Britain after she and her supporters were described as "Nazis and racists" byHenry Bolton and UKIP's former leaderNigel Farage. The party's name was taken from her UKIP leadership campaign slogan, "Anne Marie For Britain". Waters said that the party would "speak to the forgotten people".[3] On 9 March 2018, For Britain registered with theElectoral Commission, a requirement for any political party wishing to put up candidates in elections and to solicit donations for campaigns, as "The For Britain Movement".[1]
The party received the support ofTommy Robinson, the former leader of theEnglish Defence League (EDL).[2] Its platform included reducing Muslim immigration to the UK to near zero, and trying to "bring the entire EU project down".[8] Sean O'Driscoll, writing inThe Times after Waters had announced her intention to form a party, but before it had been launched, described the proposed party as intending to fill the space left by the demise of theBritish National Party (BNP).[9] In November 2017, the far-right British nationalist political partyLiberty GB merged into For Britain.[10] In April 2018, the singer and songwriterMorrissey declared his support for For Britain.[11]
The party fielded 15 candidates in the 2018 local elections, none being elected.[12] The party came last in almost all the seats it contested.[13] In June 2018, the party expelled two of its local election candidates afterHope Not Hate linked one of them to the proscribed neo-Nazi groupNational Action and the white nationalist groupGeneration Identity, and showed that another had posted racist and anti-Semitic content on social media.[12] The party briefly had one councillor, who sat onStoke-on-Trent City Council. Richard Broughan, who was elected as a UKIP councillor in 2015, had previously been suspended from UKIP and suspended from a group of local independents before being expelled after a caution for assault.[14] Broughan lost his seat toLabour in the2019 local elections, coming in last place in his ward.[15]
Some former BNP figures who were unable to join UKIP headed For Britain meetings, including former councillors and the expelled former election chiefEddy Butler.[16] The party has been associated with a number of figures from the extreme right, including the Traditional Britain Group and Generation Identity.[17] In September 2018, the media personalityKatie Hopkins and the writer and political commentatorIngrid Carlqvist, who has been accused ofHolocaust denial, spoke at For Britain's conference. The American authorRobert Spencer, then banned from entering the UK, appeared via video.[18] Before the conference, Hope Not Hate published results of an internal poll from the party, showing nearly half of For Britain's members supported a ban on immigration from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.[19]
The party made a complaint to theIndependent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) about a newspaper column inThe Northern Echo which described the party as far-right. IPSO ruled in favour ofTheNorthern Echo, saying that many of the party's characteristics "are established conventions of both national socialism and far-right ideology".[20] In November 2020, Julian Leppert, a For Britain councillor onEpping Forest District Council, was formally sanctioned by the council and made to attend classes onequality and diversity. He had spread false claims about local asylum seekers, and answered in the affirmative when asked byThe Guardian if he wanted to set up a "whites-only enclave".[21] In December 2020, Karen King, a councillor for the party in Hartlepool, described coverage of theCOVID-19 pandemic as "scaremongering".[22]
On 13 July 2022, the party chair, Anne Marie Waters, announced on the party's website that the party was ceasing operations immediately.[23] Two councillors who were elected standing for the For Britain Movement then joined the far-rightBritish Democratic Party.[24]
Waters contested the2018 Lewisham East by-election, receiving 266 votes (1.2% of the total) and losing her deposit.[25] In April 2019, the For Britain candidate, Hugh Nicklin, came last in theNewport West by-election with 159 votes, a 0.7% share.[26] Waters contested the2021 Batley and Spen by-election[27] coming 12th of 16 candidates. The party nominated Frankie Rufolo for the2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election.[28]
| Date of election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 June 2018 | Lewisham East | Anne Marie Waters | 266 | 1.2[29] |
| 4 April 2019 | Newport West | Hugh Nicklin | 159 | 0.7[30] |
| 1 July 2021 | Batley and Spen | Anne Marie Waters | 97 | 0.26[31] |
| 23 June 2022 | Tiverton and Honiton | Frankie Rufolo | 146 | 0.3 |
In the2019 local elections, For Britain lost its only incumbent councillor, Richard Broughan (elected as UKIP to Stoke City Council) who had defected to the party. The party won two seats, one in De Bruce ward onHartlepool Borough Council,[32] and one in Waltham Abbey Paternoster onEpping Forest District Council.[33]
In the2021 local elections, For Britain nominated 60 council candidates, of which the advocacy group Hope Not Hate identified ten as former members of the BNP.[34] The party had no successes, with 25 of the 47 candidates whose election results were published first receiving under 50 votes each.[35] The party's councillor for De Bruce ward in Hartlepool lost her seat, serving only two years due to changes in council boundaries. Waters also unsuccessfully stood for election for the party in De Bruce ward.[36]
In the2022 local elections, the party targeted 14 seats, including the home ward of Waters, De Bruce inHartlepool.[37] No candidates were elected, with Waters receiving 203 votes, and the two candidates inEpping Forest District Council receiving 11 and 16 votes.[37]
