TheTraditional Britain Group (TBG) is a Britishfar-rightpressure group that describes itself astraditionalist conservative and "home to the disillusioned patriot".[1][2] It was founded in 2001 by Gregory Lauder-Frost, withMerlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley as its president.[3] Sudeley was still in office when he died in 2022.[4]
| Abbreviation | TBG |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2001 |
| Purpose | Traditionalist conservatism |
| Location |
|
President | Vacant |
| Website | https://traditionalbritain.org |
Advocacy groupHope not Hate claimed in 2017 that TBG is part of a UK-wide network linked to the Europeanalt-right.[5]Private Eye has described TBG as far-right and a successor to theWGI.[6]
History and ideology
editTBG was founded in 2001. It opposes non-white immigration to the UK and, prior toBrexit, it opposed the UK'sEuropean Union membership.[7][8][9] The organisation's stated principles include opposition to egalitarianism; the centrality of the heterosexual family as the primary social unit; traditionalChristian values and maintaining theChurch of England as England'sestablished church; rolling back of thewelfare state; and opposition to immigration,multiculturalism,political correctness andMarxism.[10]
TBG is in favour of state-sponsoredrepatriation. Their Facebook page carried a post calling for the deportation of anti-racist campaignerDoreen Lawrence and "millions of others ... to their natural homelands".[11] Gregory Lauder-Frost, the founder of TBG, called Lawrence aspiv.[7] Lauder-Frost was formerly the officer of the Conservative pressure groupMonday Club and vice-president of theWestern Goals Institute (WGI).[12][13]
Speakers
edit
TBG has been addressed by speakers such asSimon Heffer[14] andSir Roger Scruton.[15] In 2011,Gerard Batten, former leader of theUK Independence Party (UKIP) spoke at the group's annual dinner; upon his election as leader, UKIP said Batten "does not share the views of TBG. He is invited by many organisations to speak and TBG had a list of reputable speakers such as Simon Heffer previous to his invitation. Since he attended things have come to light. He would not consider a further invitation."[15][16]
TBG came to national prominence whenLiberal Conspiracy saidConservativeMPJacob Rees-Mogg spoke as a guest of honour at the TBG's 2013 annual dinner. Three months later, this led to criticism of Rees-Mogg, who then said he had not properly checked the organisation before speaking, despite being warned bySearchlight about TBG's far-right associations prior to attendance; Rees-Mogg disassociated himself from the group and apologised for his attendance, calling it "a mistake".[6][7][11] It was also attended by formerUlster Unionist Party MPJohn Taylor, Baron Kilclooney.[17] Two months later, American white nationalistRichard Spencer was invited to address the group.[18]
Hope not Hate noted the 2017 annual conference was addressed byAnne Marie Waters, former UKIP candidate and founder of theFor Britain party;Martin Sellner, leader of theAustrian Identitarian Movement (German:Identitäre Bewegung Österreich) and attended byMark Collett, former leader ofthe youth wing of theBritish National Party.[19] In March of that year, theBow Group granted TBG a special concession to its 65th anniversary celebrations.[20]
In October 2018, James Thompson, a former senior lecturer atUCL, pulled out of his speaking slot at the group's annual conference at the last minute following pressure from the media.[6] Thompson lost his honorary professorship at UCL afterPrivate Eye "revealed he had been organising secretive conferences on racial eugenics – and inviting notorious white supremacists" (seeLondon Conference on Intelligence controversy).[6] The columnistKatie Hopkins spoke at TBG's 2018 annual conference.[21]
Estonian Finance MinisterMartin Helme addressed the 2019 conference,[22] as did the vice-chairman of the PolishNational MovementKrzysztof Bosak.[23]
Katie Fanning, a former director of UKIP,[24] spoke at the 2021 conference on the subject of "anti-white messaging andcritical race theory-based teachings"[25] in Britain's universities, and that she was suing her former university for discrimination.[25]Gunnar Beck, a German far-right politician, academic and lawyer, spoke to the group on the "Strange Death of Europe".[26]
DanesHelmuth Nyborg andEmil Kirkegaard spoke at the 2022 conference.[27]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Pitel, Laura (9 August 2013)."Right wingers urge Doreen Lawrence to return 'home'".The Times. p. 4. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^Legal Challenges to the Far-Right: Lessons from England and Wales, Natalie Alkiviadou,Routledge,ISBN 036740706X, chapter 1
- ^Holehouse, Matthew (8 August 2013)."Jacob Rees-Mogg's shock at dinner with group that want to repatriate black Britons".The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^"Obituary, the Lord Sudeley, 1939-2022, Traditional Britain President | Traditional Britain Group".
- ^Batchelor, Tom (20 September 2017)."Anti-fascist activist goes undercover with 'alt right' to expose movement's rapid European expansion".The Independent. p. 10. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^abcd"Far-right & wrong".Private Eye (1481): 9. October–November 2018.
- ^abcMcSmith, Andy (9 August 2013)."Gregory Lauder-Frost exposed: The Tory fringe group leader with Nazi sympathies".The Independent. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^Hayek: A Collaborative Biography: Part XIII: 'Fascism' and Liberalism in the (Austrian) Classical Tradition, Robert Leeson,Palgrave Macmillan,ISBN 9783319913575, page 36
- ^Ukip is finished after electing Gerard Batten, but Nigel Farage is set to make a comeback,The Independent, 19 February 2018
- ^About, Traditional Britain Group website, accessed 18 October 2018.
- ^ab"Rees-Mogg's dinner speech 'mistake'".BBC News. 9 August 2013. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^Briggs, Billy (18 November 2019)."Race hate Scots 'go home' threat targeted female student".Daily Record. Retrieved14 October 2020.
- ^Hannan, Martin (27 July 2019)."Scots community council chairman and far-right group VP fined for racist abuse".The National. Retrieved14 October 2020.
- ^"STATEMENT: Traditional Britain Group on race row".ITV News. 8 August 2013. Retrieved3 March 2022.
- ^abBloom, Dan (18 February 2018)."UKIP's new leader shared black-tie dinner table with right winger filmed calling Vanessa Feltz a 'fat Jewish s**g'".The Mirror. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^Lowles, Nick (19 February 2018)."Ukip is finished after electing Gerard Batten, but Nigel Farage is set to make a comeback".The Independent. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^Traditional Britain Group (17 May 2013)."Traditional Britain Dinner with Jacob Rees-Mogg MP".TraditionalBritain.org.
- ^Renton, David (16 August 2021).Labour's Antisemitism Crisis: What the Left Got Wrong and How to Learn From It. Routledge. p. 10.ISBN 978-1-000-42348-8.
- ^Mulhall, Joe (22 October 2017)."Waters and Sellner speak at Traditional Britain Group conference".Hope not Hate. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^Briggs, Billy (5 October 2018)."Far-right group with Tory links invites speakers from groups linked to neo-Nazis".Daily Record. Retrieved3 March 2022.
- ^Townsend, Mark (23 September 2018)."Katie Hopkins to speak at far-right rally with Holocaust denier".The Guardian. Retrieved19 October 2018.
- ^"EKRE deputy chair attends far-right conference in London".news.postimees.ee. 29 October 2019.
- ^Traditional Britain Group (28 October 2019)."Krzysztof Bosak _ Traditional Britain Conference 2019".YouTube. Retrieved3 March 2022.
- ^Halliday, Josh (27 May 2019)."Humiliated Tommy Robinson sneaks out of election count early".The Guardian. Retrieved3 March 2022.
- ^ab"Katie Fanning – University Discrimination – TGB 2021 Conference Speeches".Traditional Britain Group. November 2021. Retrieved1 March 2022.
- ^Traditional Britain Group (31 October 2021)."Gunnar Beck, MEP, Alternative for Germany (AfD)".YouTube. Retrieved1 March 2022.
- ^State of Hate 2023.Hope not Hate. p. 119.