National Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | NLP |
| Leader | John Bean |
| President | Andrew Fountaine |
| Founder | John Bean |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Dissolved | 1960 |
| Preceded by | League of Empire Loyalists |
| Succeeded by | British National Party |
| Newspaper | Combat |
| Ideology | Neo-Nazism British nationalism |
| Political position | Far-right |
TheNational Labour Party (NLP) was a Britishneo-Nazipolitical party founded in 1957 byJohn Bean. The party campaigned on a platform ofwhite nationalism,antisemitism, and opposition to non-whiteimmigration.[1]
Bean had been a leading figure within theLeague of Empire Loyalists (LEL), although he had become disillusioned with its emphasis on publicity stunts and lack of political action. The problem came to a head in 1957 afterA. K. Chesterton sent Bean and Phil Burbidge to the home ofMalcolm Muggeridge in order to throw soot on the commentator after he criticised QueenElizabeth II on a TV show.[2] Although the action was not carried out, for Bean it was a prime example of the pointless and childish activism with which the LEL had become synonymous and he soon wrote to Chesterton, bemoaning the weak campaigning of the LEL, its refusal to contest elections, its attachment to a narrowBritish nationalism and its strong links to theConservative Party.[3]
Soon after, Bean left the LEL along withJohn Tyndall to set up the new party, deliberately picking the name to appeal toLabour supporters who were put off byimmigration.[4] The nominal party President was to beAndrew Fountaine, although Bean's role as policy director gave him effective control. Producing a journal namedCombat, the NLP used its pages to campaign for a reduction in the sentences of those convicted over the1958 Notting Hill race riots.[5]
A very small party, the NLP secured some decent results in theLondon council election, although theLabour Party objected to the NLP's use of its name. At the time, however, ballot papers listed only the names of the candidates, not the names of the parties, so it was probably less likely than it would be today that Labour voters might vote for the NLP by mistake.[citation needed] Buoyed by its minor success, the party organised aStop the Coloured Invasion rally inTrafalgar Square with banners displayed proclaimingKeep Britain White in May 1959 which drew a crowd of 3,000 to hear speeches by Bean, Fountaine andWhite Defence League leaderColin Jordan. The monitors at the rally wore white armbands emblazoned with ablack sun.[6]
The party was even briefly linked to theLondon gangsterAlbert Dimes, who hoped to use NLP members against his rival, Jack Como (aliasJack Spot), aJewish gangster who was involved in funding the43 Group,[7] ananti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen. Other 43 Group funders included the boxing promoterJack Solomons, the businessman SirCharles Clore andBud Flanagan, the music hall entertainer, who sent a £30 cheque every month.[8]
The party stood a single candidate in the1959 general election with former boxer Bill Webster running inSt Pancras North. The decision to run a candidate was largely driven by the realities of racial tension in the area, as exposed by the previous year's riots.[9] During the campaign, a number of NLP supporters attacked a meeting at the local Town Hall whereKenneth Robinson was a featured speaker. A number of arrests were made over the incident, which made national news and thus served to publicise the name of the NLP.[10] In the election, the party received 4.1% of the vote in St Pancras North, and lost its deposit.
| Election year | # of total votes | % of overall vote | # of seats won | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 |  1,685 | 0.00% |  0 | 14 |
The aftermath of the event, however, was the decline of the NLP. Bean served 30 days in jail for his part in the riot[11] and whilst he was incarcerated Webster left to join theUnion Movement and Tyndall also resigned from the party.[12] With the NLP demoralised and closer links to Colin Jordan having been developed, the party merged with the White Defence League on 24 February 1960. Although the name Racial Nationalist Party was initially considered it was ultimately decided to name the new entity theBritish National Party.[13]
In 1981,National Front activist John King, the candidate forRochester and Chatham in the1979 election, broke from that group and formed his ownminor party also using the name National Labour Party. This version, which was not connected to Bean's, took aPowellite line onimmigration although it was significantly less economicallyneo-liberal than Powell. This group contested two elections, the1983 Bermondsey by-election and theAshford constituency in the1983 general election, without making any impact.[14]