Andrew Brons | |
|---|---|
| President of theBritish Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2013 | |
| Leader | James Lewthwaite |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Member of the European Parliament forYorkshire and the Humber | |
| In office 14 July 2009 – 26 May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Corbett |
| Succeeded by | Richard Corbett |
| Chairman of theNational Front | |
| In office 1980–1984 | |
| Deputy | Richard Verrall |
| Preceded by | John Tyndall |
| Succeeded by | Martin Wingfield |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Henry William Brons (1947-06-03)3 June 1947 (age 78) Hackney, London, England |
| Political party | British Democratic Party (since 2013)[1][2] |
| Other political affiliations | BNP (2005–2012), National Front (1967–1999), BNP (1960) (1965–67), NSM (1964–65), |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Residence(s) | Spofforth,North Yorkshire, England.[3] |
| Alma mater | University of York |
| Occupation | Retired college lecturer,Harrogate College of Further Education[3] |
| Website | www.andrewbronsmep.eu/ |
Andrew Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active infar-right politics in Britain, he was elected as aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) forYorkshire and the Humber for thefascistBritish National Party (BNP) at the2009 European Parliament election and held the seat until May 2014. He was the chairman of theNational Front in the early 1980s. He resigned the BNP whip in October 2012 and became patron of the far-rightBritish Democratic Party.[4] He did not seek re-election in 2014.[5]
Brons, who hasEnglish andGerman ancestry, was born inHackney,East London, two years after the end of theSecond World War. He spent most of his childhood inSidcup, on the outskirts of London, before his family moved toHarrogate when he was eleven years old. He attendedHarrogate Grammar School until the age of sixteen, when he left to join the civil service, where he remained for 16 months before sitting part-time A-levels in law and economics atHarrogate College. He studied politics at theUniversity of York, and graduated in 1970.[6]
After graduation, Brons started working as a lecturer at Harrogate College in 1970, and worked there until 2005; lecturing in A-level law and government, and politics.[7] He has two daughters.[6]
Brons began his political career in 1964 when, aged seventeen, he joined theNational Socialist Movement (NSM),[8] aNeo-Nazi organisation founded onAdolf Hitler's birthday byColin Jordan. In 1980,Searchlight published two letters Brons had written in 1965 toFrançoise Dior, Jordan's wife, in which he mentioned meeting an NSM member who "mentioned such activities as bombing synagogues", stating in response to this that: "On this subject I have a dual view, in that I realise that he is well intentioned, I feel that our public image may suffer considerable damage as a result of these activities. I am however open to correction on this point."[9][10] The second letter requested materials such as aswastika, a copy of theHorst-Wessel-Lied, and posters and stickers in furtherance of Brons' goal of forming a local NSM group.[11]
Questioned in 2009 about his membership of the National Socialist Movement, Brons said, "People do silly things when they are seventeen.Peter Mandelson was once a member of theYoung Communist League but we don't continue to call him a Communist."[12] Brons was forced to return to the issue in March 2011 when – on theBBC'sDaily Politics programme –Dominic Carman, theLiberal Democrat candidate for the2011 Barnsley Central by-election, called Brons, in his absence, a "Nazi and an admirer ofAdolf Hitler".[13] In response Brons released a statement on his website, stating:
In 1965, Brons joinedJohn Bean'sBritish National Party (not the same as the current incarnation), which later merged with theLeague of Empire Loyalists to form theNational Front (NF) in 1967.[15] Brons was voted onto the National Front's national directorate in 1974, and "as the NF's education officer, he hosted seminars on racial nationalism and tried to give its racism a more "scientific" basis."[16]
Brons contestedHarrogate for the National Front in both February and October 1974 general elections, polling 1,186 votes (2.3%) inFebruary and 1,030 (2.3%) inOctober. WhenLabour'sRoy Jenkins resigned his parliamentary seat on appointment asEuropean Commission President in early 1977,[17] Brons contested theBirmingham Stechford by-election for the National Front.[18] He polled 2,955 votes (8.2%), forcing theLiberal candidate into fourth place.
Following the poor showing by the National Front at the1979 general election, andJohn Tyndall's subsequent departure, Brons became Chairman of the NF in 1980[16] and in doing so broke with his former mentor. Brons, though, led the NF in name only. InitiallyMartin Webster, National Activities Organiser, exerted the most influence, before thePolitical Soldier wing of the party became more important. Brons tended to support theFlag Group although he lost influence toIan Anderson and faded from his leading position. Nevertheless, Brons had links to the Political Soldier wing and is credited with having introduced the concept ofdistributism into the party, which formed a central part of the new ideology of the NF.[19] Brons co-edited the NF journalNew Nation, withRichard Verrall, the author of a work ofholocaust denial,Did Six Million Really Die?[16]
Brons edited the National Front's1983 general election manifesto, which "called for a global apartheid to prevent the 'extinction' of whites everywhere."[20] The manifesto declared that "The National Front rejects the whole concept of multiracialism. We recognise inherent racial differences in Man. The races of Man are profoundly unequal in their characteristics, potential and abilities."[20]
On at least two occasions in the early-1980s, Brons' far-right activities caused difficulties for his employer: on 24 June 1981, more than 500 student andAnti-Nazi League campaigners marched through Harrogate, taking over the college building where Brons was teaching; six protesters were arrested.[21] In February 1982, more than 300 protesters clashed with 100 National Front supporters outside Brons' classroom in central Harrogate, and in the process two students were stabbed and six people arrested.[22]
In October 1983, Brons called upon the principal of Harrogate College as a character witness,[7] when Brons was convicted by magistrates of using insulting words and behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace and fined £50.[23] Brons had been leading a group leafleting in Leeds city centre. A shop assistant reported that the group had been shouting "National Front" and makingclenched fist salutes, while an unnamed policeman is supposed to have heard "white power" and "death to Jews".[24] When a police officer of Malaysian origin asked the group to disperse, the policeman said that Brons replied: "I am aware of my legal rights. Inferior beings like you probably do not appreciate the principle of free speech,"[25] - an allegation which Brons has always denied.[26] His appeal toLeeds Crown Court was unsuccessful.[24]
Although Brons continued as a leading member and even wrote a number of articles for thePolitical Soldier-supportingNationalism Today, he was generally opposed to the positions of the'official' National Front and resigned from the chairmanship in November 1984.[27][28] He left the 'official' party altogether in 1986 but, unlike Webster who had been expelled in 1984, Brons became involved with theFlag Group, an NF Fronde.[29] It was Brons who, in 1987, approached Tyndall with a view to an electoral alliance between the Flag Group and the modernBritish National Party but the proposed deal fell through and was repudiated byMartin Wingfield inThe Flag newspaper.[30]
After leaving the 'official' National Front, in 1986, Brons chiefly dedicated himself to the duties of his lectureship at Harrogate College until his retirement in 2005.[24] However, he maintained his membership of the National Front (as the Flag Group became known on the dissolution of the 'official' party in 1989) until 1999. Upon his retirement, Brons joined the BNP in 2005.[12][31] He subsequently wrote at least two articles for the BNP's official magazineIdentity.[32]
Brons had a "tentative agreement" to return to work at Harrogate College in September 2009.[7] He had however been selected as BNP lead candidate for theEuropean Elections 2009 in theYorkshire and the Humber constituency,[31] and upon becoming the BNP's firstMember of the European Parliament he declined the college's offer.
Brons stood as a parliamentary candidate for theKeighley constituency at the2010 general election.[33][34] He came fourth in the election with 1,962 votes.[34]
In August 2010, Brons and fellow members of the BNP Policy Committee were asked by the chairman and advisory council to carry out a consultation of members about possible changes to the party's constitution,[35] with particular reference to two areas, governance of the party nationally and the rules for internal elections. On 8 November, his findings were published online.[36]
At the end of May 2011, Brons announced that he would seek nomination for theleadership of the British National Party in an internal election which would have been held in the autumn. Following constitutional changes rushed through byNick Griffin, the leadership election was brought forward to the summer. Brons was narrowly defeated, receiving 1,148 votes to Griffin's 1,157.[37][38]
On 16 October 2012, Brons resigned the BNP whip following disputes with the party leader Griffin, stating that Griffin had described him "in a text to his attack dogs as 'vermin'". He continued as an MEP[39] until 2014 when he did not stand for re-election.
Upon election to the European Parliament, Brons and his fellow BNP MEPNick Griffin were heavily critical of any legislation, current or pending, which they saw as designed to reduce the national sovereignty and independence of member states or to have a negative impact on Britain. He was a member of theConstitutional Affairs Committee[40] and a substitute for theCivil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee.[41]
On entering theEuropean Parliament Brons was designated to theDelegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee[42] this being a joint delegation to create dialogue with theCroatian Parliament at the timeCroatia was a candidate country. On 29/30 March 2010, the delegation including Brons met inZagreb,[43] Brons spoke in the Croatian Parliament on the state of play of the accession negotiations andEU-Croatia relations in the presence of representatives of theCroatian Government. He went on to say:
Although having, made a direct speech as a warning to the Croatian Parliament, Brons ended with anabstention in voting to continue negotiations. He justified this by stating:
The remaining members of the committee voted unanimously in favour.
On 30 November 2010, Brons again spoke of the negative impact that EU accession would have on the Croatian people, this time in the European Parliament. He used the opportunity to express his concerns over the double standards of the EU in relation to theLisbon Treaty; he also questioned member states governments' and media impartiality regarding the EU Question,[44] saying:
In November 2012, Brons and several other ex-BNP activists formed theBritish Democratic Party with himself as president of the party.[1][2]
UK Parliament elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Harrogate | National Front | 1,186 | 2.3 | |
| Oct 1974 | Harrogate | National Front | 1,030 | 2.3 | |
| 1977 by-election | Birmingham Stechford | National Front | 2,995 | 8.2 | |
| 1979 | Bradford North | National Front | 614 | 1.3 | |
| 1983 | Leeds East | National Front | 475 | 1.1 | |
| 2010 | Keighley | British National Party | 1,962 | 4.1 | [34] |
European Parliament elections
| Date of election | Region | Party | Votes | % | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Yorkshire and the Humber | British National Party | 120,139 | 9.8 | Elected | [45] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
